If you’ve ever had your air conditioner at home stop working, you know how badly it sucks. And if you’re really lucky, it goes out during a heat wave, when all the technicians’ schedules are jam-packed and you have to wait.
So, what do you do in the process? You pull out every fan in the house, close all the curtains and doors in hopes of keeping the sun’s hot rays out, and wait for relief.
Have you ever had this happen to you at work? Maybe your office didn’t literally lose its ability to cool the space (although if it did, we sympathize), but you suddenly found yourself without something you counted on to make your daily marketing activities more comfortable or more productive.
Maybe it was an outstanding employee who suddenly gave you his or her notice. Maybe it was a piece of equipment or software that started acting wonky. Maybe it was a mailing list or a standard promotion that no longer seemed to get a good response. Whatever it was, it probably made for some uncomfortable days.
While it certainly isn’t pleasant losing a valuable part of your system, there are steps you can take to make the most of your situation until things are right again.
Step 1: Reevaluate your situation. Depending on what you’ve lost, you may not be totally up the creek. With a little luck and flexibility, you can still complete and use your project at a later time.
Step 2: Check your resources. Although you may have temporarily lost your go-to individual, program, process, or piece of equipment, chances are that you have back-ups, maybe even older versions, of the thing you lost. Don’t limit yourself to the confines of your office, either. You may have partners, clients, or neighbors who can temporarily lend you a hand.
Step 3: Shift gears. If the loss of one thing prevents you from accomplishing a task, do something else. You don’t have to be rendered completely unproductive. Instead, consider other avenues you can cruise while you’re waiting for your “air” to get fixed. Is your email program currently preventing you from sending out an important promotion? Take your message to your website, social media, and the phones. Has your written-content creator left the building? Make a video. Despite what you might believe, making a video to share on social media or your website doesn’t have to involve a professional videographer or fancy video cameras. All you need is a smart phone, good lighting, and a message.
No one likes to find themselves without the creature comforts or modern conveniences that help us get through our days. However, with a little patience and ingenuity, you’ll find a way to keep it cool.