A Power Outage Serves as a Reminder of the Interwoven Nature of Disruption, Collaboration, Mindset and Process

I live on an island in Puget Sound, Washington, about thirty miles north of Seattle. The city is famous for rain, because we’re in the track of many storms that blow in from the Pacific. And through a natural quirk of the landscape, the island where I live is in the blast pipe of the storms, as they squeeze through the Trait of Juan de Luca.

All of which is to say, when we get windstorms, they can be quite rough on the island. And that’s what happened last Friday night.

At quarter to ten, I happened to glance at my watch, which showed 5 mph current windspeed that was projected to jump to 35 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph within the next fifteen minutes. The power went out as soon as the winds kicked up..

We slept in a downstairs bedroom that night, as the winds whipped through the hundred-foot tall Douglas firs that populate the whole island. We could hear trees dropping, as we hunkered down for the night.

The next morning, we emerged to survey the damage. 

An 80-foot tree had crashed onto the chicken coop. And as I walked toward our road, I discovered several huge downed trees were now blocking the 500-foot drive we share with our neighbors. A neighbor drove up the road to tell us all routes out of the neighborhood were blocked by downed trees, power lines and telephone poles snapped in half. 

That was the scene all over the island.

That first morning, we all came out to clear the drive. It became a neighborhood party as we cut through the wall of fallen trees. It was fun.

Then we discovered a 90-foot tree suddenly leaning dangerously toward the house. A neighbor gave us the name and phone number of the tree service he uses. They came out that first day, took a look, and quoted a $1000 fee to take it out the following day.

It had to be taken out immediately, so now we were down $1000 from the storm.

The power remained out for 72 hours. The first day was fun. We drove our Jeep into town, despite road closures. It was an adventure.

But the following day, it grew tiresome, living by generator, cooking on a hotplate, no hot water, constantly running out to get more gas. And by the third day, I was done. I hadn’t been able to get any new creative work done the whole time. And now, I couldn’t get on my scheduled Zoom sessions.

When the power finally returned, everything changed. My wife saw an immediate change in my demeanor. I was back, too.

And I realized, the power outage was a microcosm of what it takes to thrive in our businesses during a recession.

Collaboration: Weed Strategy tells us to team up with the smarted people we know, as fast as we can. They tell us to seek collaboration wherever we can. During the power outage, that showed up everywhere. Neighbors helped neighbors. Power crews converged from Oregon, British Columbia and all over Washington to repair the power system across the island. Without them, we’d still be in the dark. Vendors where there, in town, to help all of us cope. Civilization is collaboration. As the next recession approaches, collaborations are critical.

Mindset Support system: Disruption corrodes mindset. You may start out with a positive outlook, but keeping it there is tough work. A strong support system is a must. Join a mastermind, start a group, get good people around you who will lift you when you’re down, hold you accountable, and collaborate to help you win new business.

Be needed: During the outage, we visited the only station offering non-ethanol gas repeatedly. The nearly six-dollar prices and long lines didn’t deter us, because we needed fuel to tun the generator. Similarly, while we weren’t looking to drop a thousand bucks on a tree, we gladly spent it to protect the house. Offering a service or product that is critically needed no matter what’s happening in the economy is an essential for thriving during a recession. Even if you’re offering something that isn’t a necessity, find a way to turn it into one (marketers, Ahem!)

Unfair advantages: The weeds tell us without unfair advantages, we have no business being in business. We found out having a generator and chainsaw were absolutely necessary to navigate the scene of disruption. I didn’t want to spend $1,000 on a random tree, but I had to eliminate the new threat. The tree service, being in the right place at the right time with the right solution was clearly an unfair advantage. The gas station selling ethanol-free fuel clearly had an unfair advantage. Some vendors did well, but I’m sure not much incense and candles were sold from the touristy boutique shops on the island. Unfair advantages are critical at any time, but essential to thrive during disruptions.

The power outage serves as a practice run for the promised next recession. Preparation is critical. Take stock of your unfair advantages and cultivate new ones. Create collaborations that help you grow your business no matter what’s happening in the economy. Do everything you can to make your product or service essential to your customers’ success. And build or join a success support group to keep your mindset powered throughout the disruption.

When the lights go out in the economy, you don’t want to be out of gas. And you don’t want to he struggling to survive selling incense and candles.

#Blackout #Recession #Mindset #strategy #collaboration #thrive