While recognizing current events may make all of us a little queasy, today’s discussion of “Show Up and Throw Up” isn’t a graphic illustration of potential results. It relates to some writers’ thoughts about a practical way to get a first draft — of anything — started: Showing up and throwing something out there.
Now, more than ever, business leaders are charged with developing and communicating meaningful messages, to colleagues, to customers, and to prospective customers. Maybe embracing an action plan of showing up and throwing up might be just the tactic you need to help you avoid the paralysis that comes from expecting everything to be perfect the first time. Whether you’re creating a blog, podcast, email, a video, a tweet or other social media post, your customers likely need to hear from you and simple, empathetic messages go a long way in times like this.
So how do you show up and throw up? It’s actually pretty easy: Write or sketch out what you want to say. Write it like no one is going to read the first draft, because they aren’t. Once you’ve got that rough beginning under your belt, you’re well on your way. You’ll find that it’s so much easier to come back and edit a paragraph you just blasted out than laboring over that one word you were stuck on for the last hour. Try it. I’m thinking there’s a very good chance you’ll find this Show Up and Throw Up tactic is very empowering. Want more ideas? Pick a time your stomach can handle it, and then Google “Vomit Draft”- it really is a thing. Whether it’s Show Up and Throw Up, or embracing the Vomit Draft tactic, getting ideas from your head to paper (or video) will help a ton.
Now let’s to turn back and chat a bit about safety. While this may be in the “I know you know better” category, nevertheless, it bears a mention now that so many of us are working from home. The non-profit organization Electrical Safety First wants you to think about safety in this new normal working environment. The group did some quick research after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cities around the U.S. started issuing shelter in place orders and recommending businesses shift employees from working in offices to working at home. Their study found more than two-thirds of us working from home have added new extension leads or adaptors to accommodate additional electronics. It should come as no real surprise that a solid 38 percent of WFH folks are creating a fire risk by plugging more appliances into an adaptor than they usually would. Nearly half of those taking the survey admit to engaging in ‘daisy-chaining’– plugging one extension into another to either add more reach, or add more appliances. Even more alarming is that more than half of survey respondents admitted to either “often” or “sometimes” placing an electrical item such as a laptop or phone on their bed while it is charging. Beyond reminders to not charge devices on fabric and avoiding daisy-chaining as much as possible, if not altogether, Electrical Safety First also wants to make sure people understand the importance of using the OE charger meant for the device and unplugging once charging is complete. ESF even provides a cool “socket calculator” for folks to check out because, as I know you know, having multiple sockets on an extension cord doesn’t mean that it’s safe to use all of them at once.
Speaking of staying safe, it’s time you met Quinn the Quarantine Fox. Quinn is a product safety mascot for the CPSC, and has even been profiled in The New York Times. Joseph Galbo, who manages the CPSC social media accounts, told the Times, “Now more than ever, with people staying in their homes like they’re supposed to, we are fully expecting as an agency to see product-related injuries.” So far, Quinn’s social media posts have focused on child safety, poison control, smoke detectors, anchoring furniture, and preventing falls while sheltering in place. “We’re always analyzing what’s hurting people, and they’re coming to the CPSC accounts for immediate information,” says Galbo, but he adds that people are looking for distraction and connection at the same time. “That’s why we continue to move forward with this strategy of kooky characters teaching safety tips. I think people are still looking for that kind of escapism.” With all that’s swirling around us, I’ll take a little kooky with my safety tips any time.
We’ve advocated frequently in this space about eliminating single-use plastic. The COVID-19 pandemic has arguably tabled the discussion for now. Grocery retail has eliminated bulk goods and salad bars in the interest of public safety, replacing them with pre-packaged goods wrapped in plastic. Stores in our neighborhood are not allowing customers to bring their own bags into the store, while the debate about whether fabric reusable bags can transport the virus continues. Retail Wire suggests that the plastic debate has been stuck between two naive extremes. On one side, all plastic is bad. It pollutes the oceans and takes years to biodegrade. On the other side, beyond plastics there are few effective and inexpensive options for protecting the food supply, and the advantages plastic containers afford in manufacturing and display in the stores is hard to beat. We’re not going to solve the issue during the pandemic, as it’s really about safety and keeping consumers as protected as humanly possible. For now, retailers will offer those protections by way of products wrapped in plastic and packing consumer purchases in single-use bags. The hope here is one day we can get back to debating the issue as a public health issue, not as a political one.
So, for now let’s all show up and throw up, agree to avoid overloading electrical outlets and daisy-chaining our electronics, and stay a little kooky — all the while still staying on the safe side.
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. Connect with Jeff on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or read his latest musings on food, travel and social media on his personal blog jeffreypjacobs.com. Email jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.