Last week I had lunch with the CEO of a very large digital ad agency. One of the things he told me was, "I have friends who are UPS drivers, I have friends who are big time CEOs and friends who are everything in between. They are all telling me that they are busier than they ever have been with no end in sight." I’ve felt the same way for some time. There are a lot of things behind this: working harder to make a buck in a tight economy, the thousands of messages coming our way (email, social media, etc.), and global competition, to name a few. This all means that it is harder to run a business. And it impacts our personal lives because our friends and families are dealing with the same things, one way or another.
What can you do? I'm not sure. But here are a few things worth trying:
- Don't let media make it worse. Fortunately, media outlets are better than they were a few months ago when, if you watched the news regularly, you didn't know if the sun would come out tomorrow.
- Watch (or don't watch) your incoming messaging. I have written about this many times. Emails, social media, etc. - if you don't control the water coming out of this fire hose, you are letting others dictate your agenda.
- Focus on fewer things. This might be the toughest thing on this list because, as I said above, business is more complicated. If nothing else, create a few metrics and follow them closely.
- Accept the new normal. This is how we are going to be for a while so accept it and focus on what you can control. Discuss this with your team and family.
- Figure out how to capitalize on the new normal. I haven't figured this one out yet. Ideas that you care to share?