Ability To Forget

Today's Marketing Cookie is an important truth for everyone, especially business people.  

I want to point out that the fortune says, "ability to forget," not "tendency to forget." One of the biggest problems I see in marketing is how many marketers forget the basics. Marketers must constantly remind themselves to know their audience, understand their needs, and stay relevant. Marketers can become mesmerized by the hottest new media or fancy marketing technologies and lose sight of marketing basics. So, while the ability to forget is a crucial trait of greatness, I must stress that marketers should never lose their memory of lessons learned, otherwise, you'll repeat mistakes that took a lifetime to learn.  

What does it mean to forget? Why would forgetting make one great?  

Sometimes in business, people make poor, and even criminal decisions in the name of profit, advancement, or self-preservation. The most talented business people are able to take advantage of an opportunity and pull their company ahead of the competition. They have a knack for fixing inefficiencies and finding ways to save money or increase profit margins. They are truly talented business people and can save a company from closing. Unfortunately, a person's strengths are also often their greatest weaknesses. Being really good at capitalizing on opportunities does not mean one always should—especially when it crosses a gray line of ethics or breaks the law.  

When someone crosses the line, there is almost always a victim. Sometimes the victim is the government or a company, but too often the victims are people. Employees are sometimes managed out of a company to boost margins and maximize value before a company is put up for sale. You sometimes hear about people who were laid off just before the end of the year to increase net profits—so bonuses can be given to top executives. These situations are ugly and can tarnish one's trust in people. The good news is that not everyone in business is untrustworthy. The bad news is that bad experiences with bad people often get in the way of trusting good people.  

Sure. I've experienced my fair share of cutthroats, cheaters, and swindlers over the years. Yes. I have been burnt, robbed, pushed, and bullied enough times that I sometimes even lost my smile. 

On the other hand, my life has also been blessed with many wonderfully generous and caring people. These good people make it possible to forget those few rotten eggs. While today's fortune suggests that the ability to forget is a test of greatness, I'd rather shine the light of adoration on the do-gooders who reinstill our confidence in humaity and who make forggetting the hoodlums possible. They are all the greatness we need in this world!