How You Take Responsibility To Do What Is Difficult ✊🏿

Dear Reader,

My heart remains heavy with sorrow.

I continue to proudly bear witness to the enduring bravery of the masses of people whose names I don’t know as they persist in showing up day and night across my country to demand change.

“…There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” — Niccolò Machiavelli

These people represent the true diversity and strength of this great country of mine. They belong to various races, countries of origin, physical ages, economic circumstances, levels of education and sexual orientations.

In addition to congregating in major cities like Minneapolis, Washington DC, New York City and Los Angeles, people have turned out in record numbers in towns and villages too small to attract attention during normal times.

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” — President George Washington

Even Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, joined the marchers in Washington DC.

“One man with courage makes a majority.” — President Andrew Jackson

These men, women and children risk their health due to the unrelenting and invisible spread of COVID.

They also risk their personal safety since their peaceful expression of their First Amendment Rights are left to interpretation by individual police officers.

The various funeral ceremonies for George Floyd allowed people of diverse races and backgrounds not only to pay their respects for him, but also to dedicate themselves to creating a better world where no man, woman or child is presumed guilty based on the color of their skin.

But more importantly, George Floyd represents the loss of many other African American men, women and children whose lives were extinguished without regard for their humanity.

Take note:
We are currently living and experiencing history in the making of a magnitude that will be remembered for generations that have yet to be born.

We are at a turning point in history as important as the one our founding fathers faced.

Yes, I realize the irony of referencing historic American leaders who themselves owned slaves, discounted the rights of women, and failed to acknowledge people who followed other religious beliefs. 

Like you and me, these men were human and had their share of faults intermingled with their higher societal good qualities. And, as a Jewish woman, I wouldn’t have counted for most of American history.

Regardless of the color of your skin, the country where your ancestors (or you) came from, your religion, your mother tongue, level of education, amount of financial resources, age, sexual orientation, you deserve certain human rights. Among them are:

• Affordable, quality health care (like Senators have and senior citizens lack),
• Quality food that provides sufficient nutrition without excess carbohydrates,
• Housing that enables you to feel like a human being not a prisoner,
• Education that enables you achieve your true potential and
• People who accept and love you for who you are.

For those of you who wonder why I continue to highlight these events in a forum targeted at marketing, pay attention:

Marketing as practiced today evolved out of politics. At its core, the practice of marketing relies on the strategies of war. And ironically, to fund their wars, rulers needed marketers to create new sources of wealth.

If you truly want to understand marketing, then study these texts on the strategy of warfare:

• Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Written in the 5th-century BCE this text on the principles of war was introduced to Europe in 1782.
• Niccolò Machiavelli, Dell’arte Della Guerra (aka: The Art of War.) Written in 1520, this practical guide shows how to use and employ military forces before guns dominated the battlefield.
• Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings. Written in the 1640s.
• Carl von Clausewitz, Vom Kriege (On War.) Clausewitz was still working on this book when he died in 1831.
• B. H. Liddell Hart, Strategy. A series influential military histories written in the 1920s and later.
• Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War. A 2006 book exploring the subtle social game of everyday life informed military strategies.

Therefore, more important than any amount of profitable revenue you can generate, your higher responsibility as a marketer is to stand up for the rights and needs of those whose voices go unheard.

“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.” — Sun Tzu

During the past week, we have witnessed state and local governments enact long overdue changes in record time. Among them were the felony murder convictions for the police officers involved in George Floyd’s murder.

But don’t be fooled—these officials didn’t act based on choice!

Rather they were swayed by public action and opinion.

Because we, the people, now have the tools to record and share the true facts of their wrong doings with speed across platforms and channels to reach a broad audience who trust and believe them!

So, marketers take note:
You and your actions are subject to the same jury as these elected officials. 

“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” — President James Madison

Even if you have a job and haven’t been exposed to COVID, there’s still a good chance that you’re suffering in some way whether you admit it or not.

Beyond mental illness, a variety of other health issues have exploded as a result of the related stress and isolation.

So please take care of yourself.
Stop and figure out what you can do to be kind to yourself regardless of the constraints and responsibilities you have. And give yourself permission to find some inner peace.

Even if you take care of other people and they depend upon you because they’re small, sick or older, you need to take a break for your own wellbeing. It doesn’t have to be something major. It can be as small as taking a bubble bath with soothing music and the door locked.

We need to protect the good of everyone to protect individuals.
I continue to hope that you and yours continue to be safe and healthy.
Shout out to new readers:  Steve, Deborah, Cecile, Viola, Shiho, John, Nikita, Ray, Henry, Brendan, Jack, Tesfaye, John, Jim, Brian, Idm, Katherine, Sarolta, Talisa, Riffat, Anand and  Pam.

Thank you and welcome to the Actionable Marketing Community!

Happy Marketing,
Heidi

P.S.: Join me for Voice Global on June 17, 2020.
Register for this FREE, 24 hour, worldwide livestream conference.   

[ Note the new date. The event was postponed to honor the Funeral of George Floyd. ]

Voice Global covers voice technology from designers, developers, startup executives and investors. Learn what the who’s who of the VOICE industry have to say (including me!)

My session broadcast time is: 3:30-4:00 PM EST
Look for: “Voice Marketing: What You Need To Know Now” on channel VG3

Also check out the Inside Voice Podcast. 

 

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Includes actionable tips and lots of photos.

• Unless noted otherwise, all photos are ©2020 by Heidi Cohen
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