We will see this through ... again
By Michael Greene -- Furniture Today, September 17, 2001
I know there are lots of little and big things swirling around out there that keep you dodging from pillar to post all day long. And a good many hours during the night too.
However, you and I know that we've been through this scenario before, in other decades, with all kinds of nuances appearing on the stage that have nothing to do with our home furnishings act but still draw our attention.
Stuff like the Crash of '29 and the Great Depression. Stuff like dodging bullets in Europe twice. Times like the '70s, with no free lunches. Days like the OPEC gasoline squeeze. Infantile paralysis. Segregation. The campus turmoil of the '60s and the terrors of Vietnam.
Just a few of the troubles in River City, USA, long before last week's horrible terrorist attacks.
Not to forget the death of Main Street small businesses and the birth of "heaven" in the malls. All tough stuff, especially if you had to live and breathe it instead of just write a column about it.
The point? We'll tackle anything new on the horizon and see it through.
So what are you yakking about, Michael? I'm yakking about us taking personal care not to lose touch with the "real" important things of our day and time.
Real important, Michael? Is trying to do business today and keeping on track daily merely chopped liver? No way, my friends. It's serious stuff, 24 hours a day.
Which brings the Ol' Swami to you and me. Because during the last few decades, we have taken broad steps towards improving the relationships in families, in mom-and-pop businesses, in humongous corporate structures (managers and doers), in woman/man relationships, plus seniors and kids, ours and someone else's.
It therefore behooves us, you and me, to make sure that as we solve the tough everyday business problems we don't sacrifice the tremendous gains we have made in the way we work and live. To make sure that our conduct in doing business in a tough climate does not wash away our human strides.
Sure, tough days and nights always call for tough business decisions. But has that ever been any different? Nope. We still have to be kind to one another, to smile at one another, to think about one another's welfare (that includes our customers) and not forget that tomorrow is another day.
And to start it all off right, don't forget, today, to tell those you love that you love them. An extra kiss wouldn't hurt either.
Thanks, again, for listening.
