Weekly Alert: Now Is Not the Time

mlns='> Content Marketing Awards - Early entry deadline TODAY! [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List](  Weekly News 4.24.20 Connect with CMI How We're Navigating The New Now of Content Marketing In absence of CMI’s previously scheduled in-person event, general manager Stephanie Stahl shares our reaction to and preparation for your new normal, from events and videos to blogs and social. And she wants to hear from you too. [Read more]( By Stephanie Stahl [High-Level Strategy] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [Hey Brands, Don’t Make 2005’s Mistake on Your Future Virtual Events]( [by Robert Rose]( [Content Creation] - [Content Curation Tips and Examples to Fill Your Editorial Calendar]( by Jodi Harris [Content Creation] - [5 Surprising Ways to Optimize Websites With Video]( by Keith Harrington [Content Creation] - [Time to Ask What, So What, and Now What? [The Weekly Wrap]]( by Robert Rose [Trends and Research] - [Tech-Free Tips for Dialing Up Your Content Operations]( Clare McDermott [Chief Content Officer Exclusive]  A Note From Robert Rose Now Is Not the Time “Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.” If there’s one wish that’s high on nearly everyone’s list, it’s this one. The only refrain that could drown out that wish out is the cry of “There will be no such thing as normal ever again.” Both are wrong. As we start to come out of this global crisis, many marketers are wondering what to do. But before we do anything else, we should reflect. Almost 20 years ago, a professor of nursing at Swansea University published a helpful framework for self-reflection and communication in the book [Critical Reflection for Nursing and the Helping Professions: A User’s Guide](. The approach is based on answering three simple questions: - What? Answering this question helps us describe what happened, focusing on consequences, responses, feelings, and challenges the situation raised. - So what? This reflection helps us to process what we’ve learned about ourselves and leads us to develop models, attitudes, and other improvements. - Now what? In this step, we identify what we need to do in the future to achieve better outcomes and evolve our learning. These three questions mirror a progression many people work through during disruptive experiences. But when we are still in the moment, it’s hard to see anything other than what’s staring back at us. You can see this in the COVID-19 crisis. In the early days of the pandemic, officials shared definitions and forecasts of the ramifications of what we were facing. These definitions influenced the so what – the models of how to respond, recommended remedies, and many people’s attitudes toward the crisis. As we enter the now what stage, lessons learned and forecasts for the next (or new) normal are coming in. These now what discussions tend to claim either that we’re through the worst of it (so let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming) or that things will never be normal again. We mistakenly believe we should use our analysis from the what and so what stages to prepare for what comes after the abnormal. We believe our experience so far will help us see around the next corner. It doesn’t. The three-question exercise was designed for reflection after an event or experience ends. Asking now what isn’t the same as asking what’s next. The now what reflection asks us to consider what was, what we did, and now how we might evolve ourselves to optimize for a better future no matter what comes next. In other words, we can’t predict exactly what’s coming. We can reflect on how to prepare ourselves to better handle things – any things – that may come our way. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll all go through the now what stage of this crisis. There will be many predictions about the next, new normal. There will be new models for everything. Some of those models will be right, some will be wrong, and most will be obvious. As the quote attributed to statistician George Box goes: “All models are wrong – but some are useful.” What won’t be obvious is the need to reflect. I urge everyone to put aside the predictions for a moment. Pause. Reflect. Ask what, so what, and now what for your work. I promise it will move you from “getting back to regularly scheduled programming” and towards the program that “new you” will create for whatever is needed. It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Robert's weekly updates, please have them [subscribe](. Tune to the Weekly Wrap Listen to the latest episode and browse the show notes[right here](. Or subscribe on [Apple Podcasts]( or [Stitcher]( so you’ll never miss a show.  Sponsored Content The Complete Guide to Sales and Marketing Alignment If you’re like many B2B marketing leaders, you know that sales and marketing alignment is important, but you also know that investing in alignment can be a costly and complicated venture. This white paper aims to help with this—covering how to achieve sales and marketing alignment, where you sit in the sales and marketing equation, and what strategies and tactics will help you get there. [View here »](  More From CMI It's time for the 2020 Content Marketing Awards! We're now accepting entries for your epic content marketing that you strategized on, created, designed, and distributed in 2019. Our early deadline is TODAY! If you're a brand or agency submitting multiple entries, take advantage of the lowest entry prices. [We look forward to seeing your submissions! »](  CMI Video We're posting full-length CMWorld 2019 breakout sessions and keynotes on our YouTube channel. We hope this helps you over the next few months as you sharpen skills, revisit your documented content marketing strategy, and more. [Watch the video »](  [COVID-19 CONTENT MARKETING RESOURCES]( Events [Content Marketing World]( [ContentTECH Summit]( [Master Classes]( [Content Marketing Awards]( Resources [Research]( [White Paper/eBook Library]( [Content VIPs]( [CMI Business Directory]( Education [Content Marketing University]( [Chief Content Officer]( [Webinars]( [Career Center]( Interested in advertising with CMI? [Learn more.]( To stop receiving future Content Marketing Institute update emails, please respond [here](. Copyright © 2020 Informa Connect, All rights reserved Content Marketing Institute, an Informa Connect 605 3rd Ave | New York | NY 10158 [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Statement]( [informa tech]