Thriving when waning

We're entering hard times, and it's clear that strategies that have worked before no longer work. I feel this in my own business and some days it's extremely hard to remain focused and motivated.

But as I take a moment to reflect, it is becoming clearer that the only successful strategy is to focus energy on things that actually work, work for our times.

These are my observations:

What isn't working (at least for me)

— Social media has run its course. It was an engine for growth, but we are no longer in a period of growth so it is no longer an engine for business. Social media is a distraction.

— Subscriptions. They are just too easy to rationalize, creating value within subscriptions is only about retention, so it becomes treading water rather than driving revenue.

— Advertising. Persuading people that added value is worth the margin makes no sense when people are struggling to meet budgets.

— The reliance on single images to project a narrative is becoming weaker, partially because images are assumed to be fake but also because they are becoming a commodity.

— Polemic. There is enough to deal with without being at war with each other, using language to build common understanding is far more valuable than building factions.

— Content. Devaluing ideas, stories and personal understanding to be the vehicle to drive someone else’s clicks or sell advertising is a mistake. Content is more easily created by machines today than ever before — putting real thoughts and ideas amongst the fast food, popcorn World of content is wasteful.

What is working (for me)

— Direct conversations. Meet people, call people, listen, and practice empathy. People want to hear true stories, with insight that might help them get by each day a little more easily. Care for each other's mental health, listen to their stories.

— Hope. We will all need to work harder, for less and for longer, this is much easier to do when we have hope and are aligned on a greater goal. Share your hopes, and align with others who share that hope too.

— Being able to diagnose a problem, unwrap it from all of the symptoms, and get to the root cause. We have less time, fewer resources, and less patience, so getting to a root cause is essential.

— Stories are more powerful for me than images. Great stories contain truth, they aid human understanding and they can motivate people.

— Health and Wellbeing — we are asking more of ourselves, and so we need to be able to give more. Healthcare always booms in recessions because there are more casualties of effort. Looking after your core, routine, discipline, and getting results allows you to give more without breaking.

— Repair. I focus entirely on helping companies repair, repurpose, or reuse assets and resources. Becoming 'The repairer' in any field that you are in will make you essential. People who repair extend the life of limited resources and find value in things that are forgotten.

— Discounts, I am asked daily if I can do twice the work with half the budget. In reality, people are looking for discounts, and discounts can cheapen your value. Unless you offer discounts for loyalty. Think of those who need your help as members — offer them the friends and family discount if, and only if they join your cause.

— Mediation. With disintermediation, we take the value provided by those who were helping and split their revenue with other constituents. But this creates more work for everyone, especially customers. if your customers are time-poor, don't give them more work to do. Build tools that offer mediation at scale without incurring costs. Build tools for mediation that give time back.