Nick Lowe penned the lyrics “You’ve got to be cruel to be kind” in 1978, which, coincidentally, was my first year in the hearth industry. Lowe’s lyrics were clearly influenced by the truth in Shakespeare’s oxymoron “I must be cruel, only to be kind / thus bad begins and worse remains behind” and you, as a business leader, should pay heed as well.

We’ll all look back, not all that fondly, at what will be called the “COVID years” as a period of running a three-year-long marathon at a sprinter’s pace. It took its toll—maybe not on your revenue line, but certainly on the mental state of you and your team. But we’re still standing. What does the future hold? Your crystal ball is as good as mine, but I do know this: Even a “normal” business year will feel like a downturn given the torrid pace you’ve been running, so it’s a great time to heed the instructions to STOP, DROP, and ROLL.

“If you could make only one recommendation to a specialty retailer, what would it be?” That question was put to me recently by, not surprisingly, a specialty retailer. After a full minute of mentally checking off all the common sins I’ve seen over the years, I landed on the one, mortal sin that triggers a whole host of issues behind it. I reengaged eye contact and said, “Your front door.”