Yesterday, I saw a blog post by some marketing guru that really pissed me off. Essentially, he was cheering the fact that we’re going through a tough economic time.

I’m sorry, but I find that appalling.

Yes, Virginia, we are in a recession. Be it far from me to deny that, let alone cheer it on. In fact, I can’t understand why someone would.

The blog post I read yesterday was essentially saying “good, we’re in a recession. That means you are going to be forced to change your marketing. Your competition will go away, and you’ll be standing, because you adapted. YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL THIS HAPPENED! I, for one, am thrilled” 

(this isn’t verbatim - his was actually MORE cheerful - I envisioned him doing the “tightly wound Type-A prick dance” as he wrote that)

Now, on the surface, I get it - he’s saying that in a recession, one should change their marketing, do different things, etc etc. Yea, that’s fine advice. 

But you know, there’s something wrong about cheering while people lose their jobs and saying it’s a good thing… my goodness, there is a line where “positive thinking” becomes “asshole in a suit” and this guy crossed it.  

Know what? I don’t want my competition to go away. I want all of us to thrive. My competition - my real competition - adds credibility to my industry, which can only help me.

Later in the post, this guy said something like “and all of you might want to acknowledge this recession, but count me out - I refuse to participate.”

Again, this is kind of “asshole” territory.  As if just willing it away will change the very real fact that less money is being spent.

Same as before, I “get” the overall message - if you make smart marketing choices, you may not get affected as much. Again, sound advice. But the delivery is arrogant and pompous.

Yes, the recession is real, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t affected. I have changed a few things (this site is one of my changes); I have a few more changes in the works, and I think many of them have helped me. Business is down, but last year was my best year ever, so in comparison, that’s not such a bad thing - I do not subscribe to the “must go up every year” mentality (in one sense, it’s that kind of thinking that partially is responsible for this mess.) But business is not down for me as much as it is elsewhere, and the things I’ve done have helped me. Trust me, I’ll be here a good, long time.

Again, putting your head in the sand and saying “I refuse to participate” is nothing more than arrogant puffery. Saying “this is real, and I’m doing what I can to make sure I’m ok” is genuine.

Be genuine. And don’t be “happy” that times are hard. It’s arrogant. Plus, I’m a believer in Karma - be a jerk, and life will eventually treat you as one. 

Have a nice weekend, all.