As hurricane Rita rumbled toward the Texas coast last month, my wife and I were worried about its effects here in Austin. Each day of that week as the hurricane approached, I’d come home and turn on the news to see the forecast.
On one of these days I caught a piece of the game show “Jeopardy” as I changed channels. The contestants were running through a category on hurricanes. The first clue I heard was asking about the storm that hit Galveston in 1900 and killed over 6000 people. According to the latest forecast, this same city was in Rita’s path.
So here we sat with a major hurricane headed our way and Alex Trebek and the contestants were jovially asking and answering questions about this most serious issue.
I turned to my wife and asked, “Are you kidding me?” Why would Jeopardy or the TV network choose to air this episode during this week, of all times?
Follow Current Events
Watch the news or visit your favorite online news source. Your business and livelihood are directly affected by what is happening in the world around you.
If current events merit a change in your business practices, do it. If they require that you reshuffle your schedule, make the change. If you have to rename a product to be less offensive, make it happen.
Listen to your Customers
Let your customers easily give you feedback. This will allow you to see if you might have missed something–or worse, something obvious.
You Can’t Accommodate Everyone
Try your best to be sensitive to your customers and their situations. However, even when you do this you can’t appease everyone. You may always have outspoken opposition to whatever you do. Assess this feedback as objectively as possible. Act upon the reasonable feedback when it is the right thing to do.