There’s a lot of bad news out there, whether we’re talking about the pandemic that’s swept across the U.S. and around the world or the ongoing discussions and protests related to racial injustice that have become a hot topic in recent weeks. [related]
Those who want to avoid such negativity in their lives can now download a new uplifting content app “that curates positive and uplifting content” from news reports around the world and deliver them to readers in an ad-free format as part of what developers call “part of your self-care routine.”
Perhaps it’s my upbringing and background as a longtime newshound—25 years in the professional ranks and counting—but I think this sounds like an absolutely terrible idea. (I guess this pretty much assures that this blog post won’t be part of the next Ever Widening Circles uplifting news report, huh?)
I understand as a parent wanting to shelter children of some age from some of the horrors of our world, but I can’t imagine taking that mentality as an adult.
Sure, I quickly changed the TV channel or scrolled past a graphic tweet in the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings if my then-4-year-old daughter was around, but she’s now learning both in school and at home about the protests around the world related to racial injustice.
I don’t make it a habit of watching the TV news or even reading every negative story that comes across my Twitter feed, but that doesn’t mean I want to be completely ignorant of bad news or avoid it completely.
Making Real-Time Changes
Take that mentality a step further and apply it to your AV integration business. How can you make the necessary adjustments to stem the tide of negativity on a particular project or a new product line if you don’t know it’s actually happening?
Wouldn’t you rather know about a problem as soon as it happens so you can make the changes to ensure the problem doesn’t last longer than necessary? Or would you just rather than every company meeting comes from the rose-colored perspective?
How do you correct mistakes if you don’t know they’ve happening? I’d much rather hear the bad news right upfront than hear a sugar-coated, sanitized version of it.
Maybe that makes me a news masochist, but I think most people would rather get the story straight than hear it in G-rated form.
And I’m guessing your customers would probably appreciate it more if you fixed their problems quickly rather than pretend they never happened.
