Bursts of Color - Hunting Rabbits
I love analogies. Here's one I heard last week and have been repeating, since it feels relevant for many of us:
We're like a village that has survived by hunting deer. But now the deer are gone. We think the deer will come back someday, but we don't know when, or how many. So yes, we can survive off frozen deer meat for a while. But it will be better if we can learn to hunt rabbits.
So What's a Deer and What's a Rabbit?
At the known risk of spoiling a joke by explaining it... a deer is anything in your Go-To-Market function that has significant exposure to people density: restaurants, travel, conferences, airplanes, office buildings, etc. Rabbits are customer segments and tactics that can thrive in a less-dense world.
The Deer Herd May Be Thin For a Long Time
I'm optimistic that we are flattening the curve and that some restrictions may start lifting sooner than later. However, there are also data points that make me think it's going to be quite a while before trade-shows and international flights are full. Examples:
Stanford canceled all on-campus activity through summer.
Gavin Newsom said NFL games this fall are unlikely.
Bill Gates is funding factories to make vaccines in 18 months.
Fun With Rabbit Hunting
It's inspiring to see all the entrepreneurial pivots people are testing in order to make the best of this time. A few that caught my eye:
The Tonight Show: At Home Edition.
Workstream focused on surge hiring for supermarkets.
Remote wine club tastings (wine shipped beforehand).
GMTM's Virtual Combine in place of recruiting camps.
Sports store pickup service for bike & ski tuning.
It's Just An Analogy
I know you're several steps ahead of me, and this deer/rabbit thing may not be relevant to you. Hope you enjoyed the story anyhow. :-)