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December 2020
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A FEW SILVER LININGS FROM 2020
Here’s to a Better
W ith everything that’s happened this year, it’s hard to believe that it started on a high note. The economy was booming. I took my whole family down to Cabo to celebrate the New Year. Things were looking up at the start of the new decade. Now, at the close of 2020, most of us just can’t wait to get the year behind us and move on.
this year, but she had a very mild illness and recovered quickly. Beyond that, all of us have remained in good health. I hope and pray that will remain the case for everyone as the year closes out. Finally, I’m thankful to be living in the United States during this time. Despite all our shortcomings and problems, I still firmly believe that this is the best place in the world to be, and I wouldn’t want to celebrate the holidays anywhere else. While I suspect nobody is getting through the
While it’s certainly been a hard year for almost everyone, as I look back on where we were at the start of the pandemic and where we are now, I can’t
pandemic unscathed, and while different states and cities face different sets of challenges, we will all adapt to our new circumstances — or at the very least , we will soldier on through them. After all, we are Americans and that’s just what we do. As we look forward to a new year, I’m hopeful that we can make next year better than this one. The year’s challenges are hopefully diminishing, and I’m optimistic that this means the economy will recover and people will heal. I don’t want to pretend like things are fine just because I’ve found some silver linings. Things aren’t fine for a lot of people, but I’m confident they’ll get better. I hope that all of you have Christmas plans to look forward to this year, whether that means gathering with loved ones to exchange gifts, connecting with
help but be thankful that things didn’t turn out worse. Even though Thanksgiving has passed, and I didn’t write about thankfulness in my November newsletter (instead , in honor of Veteran’s Day, I let my father share the story of my grandfather’s military service during WWII), I think that as we continue to celebrate the holiday season, the themes of thankfulness are still very much relevant, and the things that I’m thankful for this year are still worth mentioning. When businesses first started shutting down earlier this year, I would be lying if I said we weren’t concerned. However, as we came to understand the full extent of the shutdowns in the months that followed, I was thankful that a vast majority of our clients were deemed “essential”. We don’t have
“As we look forward to a new year, I’m hopeful that we can make it better than this one.”
one another over Zoom, or otherwise spending time with the people you care about. After a year like this, we all deserve a break before tackling the opportunities and the challenges that the upcoming year will surely bring.
many clients that work in the travel, restaurant, or hotel industries, so that meant our clients could stay in business without having to stop working. A significant blessing all around!
I’m also thankful that by and large, my family has made it through this pandemic with our health. One of my daughters caught COVID-19 earlier
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DECISIONS, DECISIONS Tactics for Making the Best Business Choices As a business leader, you’re likely well-versed in making decisions, but in the midst of a global health crisis, a political minefield, and environmental disasters, planning for the upcoming year is different territory for even the most seasoned business professionals. So, how do you make the right decisions for your 2021 plans? Start with these three steps. No. 1: Look at the data. Data has never steered you wrong before, so don’t stop using it now. However, you have to use the right data and contextualize it with today’s lenses. For example, when choosing a new marketing campaign or direction, continue looking at the cost, revenue, potential errors, and risk factors. Use those to make an informed decision about which step to take. For example, is the campaign empathetic to the needs of your clients, or will it come off as tone-deaf? ( Hint : Try split testing in 2020 before fully deploying a new campaign in 2021!) No. 2: Don’t go with the status quo. “This is how we’ve always done it” will kill your business. Nothing is the same as it was just one year ago. The entire world has transformed, and attempting to continue with what’s “normal” will only cause you to miss what could be. As you plan for 2021, consider the abnormal. Look at options you would have never considered doing and test their efficacy. If one fails, move on. But there’s a big chance that you may stumble into something that is totally unique and completely worth your time. No. 3: Embrace change. You’ve set your course. You have your team in place. You’re excited to begin. Now, get ready to change everything. Sounds exhausting, right? But it can happen. Rather than being resistant to what isn’t working, admit defeat and move on. If there’s one benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we were all given a crash course on how to adapt quickly. Take those lessons and apply them to your 2021 plan. Be prepared to admit when your original plan isn’t working because staying on an ineffective course can do more harm than good.
Many people are now working from home, and research is showing that having a workspace separate from the places that are a part of your “home life” can help decrease burnout. This is also true for the little workers in your family: your kids who are doing this year’s school work on a laptop from the living room. That was partly what inspired 44-year-old Mitchell Couch of Lemoore, California, to tackle making desks for his children. That, and just wanting to have some place for them to organize all their school supplies. Couch works as a building inspector and has two decades of carpentry experience. So, after a short trip to the hardware store where he bought $50 worth of building materials, he made a couple of inexpensive desks for his kids. He might have thought that his project would end there, but in fact, it was far from over. After posting pictures of the desks on his social media accounts, other parents who followed him showed a lot of enthusiasm for his project, asking him for blueprints so they could replicate his creation. Not long after, Couch put a video of himself making one of his desks up on his YouTube channel for anyone who wanted to follow suit. The next morning, he received 200 messages about the desk — one of which was from family friends Karin and David McKinney, the owners of the local Grocery Outlet. They decided to reach out to Couch with a special offer: If he would build 35 desks for students learning from home, they would cover the costs of the building materials. Couch signed onto the project enthusiastically, and he got to putting the desks together right away. He even got his family involved with the project. His wife, Janessa, was on sanding duty, and his kids joined the “assembly line” whenever they could. So far, Couch has put together 40 desks, and Janessa has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of creating even more desks. The couple hopes to help their community for as long as is necessary.
Don’t avoid it. Planning for 2021 is necessary — even if you need to change course quickly.
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Beyond the $800 Million Settlement How Localized Catastrophes Can Have Global Consequences
I n early October of 2020, nearly three years after the horrific Las Vegas Strip shooting, a court approved a settlement from MGM Resorts International and their insurers that totaled $800 million, which was to be dispersed to more than 4,400 relatives and victims. During the Oct. 1, 2017, tragedy, a lone gunman fired into a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the window of the Mandalay Bay Hotel using military-grade weapons. Hundreds of people were injured, and 58 died. A civil complaint, which included a 170-page list of all those who considered themselves victims of the shooting in some way, accused MGM Resorts of negligence, wrongful death, and liability in the shooting. MGM Resorts did not acknowledge liability but did agree to pay $49 million as a part of the settlement. The other $751 million came from MGM Resorts’ insurance companies.
Though it took over three years after the shooting to come to this settlement, it is a big deal. $800 million is a lot of money. However, since $751 million of the settlement was paid out by insurance companies, subsequent increases in insurance prices will affect people throughout society. Most insurance companies purchase reinsurance, which is insurance from another insurance company that the first insurance company can use to insulate itself from financial risk in the wake of a catastrophe, like the Las Vegas Strip shooting. When insurance companies pay out mega- settlements to victims, their reinsurance premiums go up, and these costs get spread out among all insurers. Rates go up everywhere for everyone. So, even though it’s a good thing that the victims are receiving some recompense for their losses, it’s good to keep in mind just how major events like this can affect the big picture.
Have a Laugh!
Easy way out on Pg. 4
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INSIDE This Issue A Few Silver Linings From 2020 page 1
Tactics for Making the Best Business Choices
California Man Builds 40 Desks for Students Learning From Home page 2
Beyond the $800 Million Settlement
Take a Break page 3
Avoid These 2 Mistakes for 2021 Sales Success page 4
The 2 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make When Setting Sales Goals for 2021
Finding that perfect goal number means that sales leaders will have to sort through a lot of data. Rely on both external and internal data to develop an understanding of the sales outlook for 2021. What do the 2020 numbers forecast for your business? What kinds of services or products are the most popular? What’s the forecast of the economy or your industry? These questions can guide you as you set your goals. Mistake No. 2: Failing to Plan Properly You will not accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself and your team if you don’t provide the steps to get there. Pull information from industry leaders as well as your sales team, workers on the floor, and marketing managers. Your employees have valuable viewpoints on your
business, while outside forces shift your view from internal to external. With this combined information, hash out a plan with your sales team. Don’t leave the Zoom meeting until you have tangible steps in place. A plan is only as good as its execution, and when there’s no opportunity to prepare, it will undoubtedly fail. Your quarterly and yearly sales goals for 2021 should be set now so that your team has ample time to prepare. This will allow for additional training or discussions about proper tactics and strategies for marketing and selling your business to targeted customers. Before you know it, 2020 will be in the past. Don’t forget to make tangible sales goals and a plan for 2021 before it’s too late.
Regardless of how 2020 treated your business, 2021 is fast approaching, and this past year is about to become a closed chapter. It’s time to examine both the bad and the good that happened in 2020 and set tangible sales goals for 2021. Just be sure you don’t fall into these two traps. Mistake No. 1: Making Your Goals Unrealistic Setting an unrealistic goal for each quarter is sure to lead to failure. The trick is to push the limits of what has been done without settling on a number that is completely unachievable. Remember, if your team begins to exceed expectations, you can adjust and increase your goal! It’s far better to overachieve than to underperform.
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