I’m tired. This is a business, but we live with it like it’s a family member. When our clients feel anxious, we feel anxious. Many of our clients have ridden a rollercoaster of anxiety this year—longer sales cycles, lost sales, no sales. Squeezed margins. Fewer profits. We watch clients swallow down panic. Nearly every business conversation begins or ends with the latest estimation—never a summation—of when things will turn.
In a pep talk this morning Jeffrey reminded me to fight. Our clients are fighting hard for their businesses. We are required, as their partners, to fight hard—now harder—for them. Their trust in us mandates that we be 1) better students of the environment to bring them the best thinking, 2) quicker to cut through the clutter to distinguish them in the minds of their consumers and 3) smarter about what initiatives to keep, toss or place on hold.
I love a good fight, but I can’t fight for myself or anyone else without passion. Today, I had to stop to remember what I’m really passionate about. It’s potential. I love finding and championing the best in those I love and the clients I serve.
It’s funny, the track the mind takes when someone admonishes you. Mine went to a Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake & Palmer) piano solo. It came up on Jeffrey’s ipod several weeks ago as we headed to a K-State football game. It’s intense. When I asked Jeffrey about it he said that Emerson pushed his genius so hard that he ended up with severe nerve damage in his hands and wrists. He was passionate about playing the keyboards to a high standard.
Entry #1—passion. Do you remember yours?
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