During this year, I have noticed (outside of the illness) that some people in business have struggled…and some have survived. Some have even thrived.  Some businesses fell off a cliff.  And yet some organizations can’t seem to keep up.  And while this often has to do with the industry….it doesn’t always.  Often two similar businesses in the same industry end up on the opposite of the spectrum.

What is the difference?

I spent some time thinking about this and decided that people seemed to fall into two camps.  They were either in the “when this is over” camp, that wanted to hunker down and get back to work when everything “got back to normal.”  Or people and organizations fell in the “now that we are here” camp.”  These folks decided that, at least for now, this IS the new normal so we needed to figure out how to deal with it.  As I argued in this blog, I felt like the 2nd group was not only more productive…but happier.

This morning Seth Godin simplified it one step further.

The people that have created something in 2020 did something that the other group did not do.  They planted seeds.  The continued to do the work.  Or as he would say in his new book, they continued “The Practice.”

If, on the other hand, you spent a chunk of 2020 in the “when this is over” camp, give yourself some grace.  You can start today.

As Seth says in the blog, “If you were kept from planting all the seeds you hoped to in 2020, that’s okay. Because the best time to plant more seeds is always right now. Or perhaps tomorrow.”

Let’s get out and do the work of planting seeds today.

Kirby Hasseman is the CEO of Hasseman Marketing, a full service marketing agency located in Ohio.  Learn more about Hasseman Marketing here.  And if you are interested in have him speak at your next event, you can learn more here.