I caught a whiff of this as it was unfolding. This article is a really good short from my pal Selene Yeager at my old Alma Mater of Internshippery Bicycling Mag. Give it a read and take pause.
If I may expand a bit, let’s take this quote as a spring board:
“We’re just an irreverent group of dudes who thought it was funny and we wanted to get some traffic.”
And there in lies the biggest problem. Let me break it down for anyone who just doesn’t get what all the “to-do” is about: If you own a business, you represent not only yourself, but an ethos and inspiration for those within that broader community which in this case, is the cycling community. What you choose to put out in the world represents your brand and the very DNA that makes it a living breathing entity. You absolutely cannot float through your work day blindly without a greater understanding of your community. Everything you do matters. Everything you say has repercussions. What’s missing is a critical thought process for creating content that matters and carries weight. Instead, we get shit like this. As Selene poignantly states: Be the one who stops the cycle; Stop selling women and start selling TO woman.
So from one business owner to all the others out there in the cycling community: The weight of responsibility for bearing the torch of respect is amplified beyond measure. Respect is something I take very seriously and I treat each and every client and would be client with the mutual respect and grace I’d expect for myself, my friends and my family. Think about this as you head into your weekend and hopefully, take on Monday with renewed clarity.
Community
It’s taken me a bit of time to digest this one.
I caught a whiff of this as it was unfolding. This article is a really good short from my pal Selene Yeager at my old Alma Mater of Internshippery Bicycling Mag. Give it a read and take pause.
If I may expand a bit, let’s take this quote as a spring board:
“We’re just an irreverent group of dudes who thought it was funny and we wanted to get some traffic.”
And there in lies the biggest problem. Let me break it down for anyone who just doesn’t get what all the “to-do” is about: If you own a business, you represent not only yourself, but an ethos and inspiration for those within that broader community which in this case, is the cycling community. What you choose to put out in the world represents your brand and the very DNA that makes it a living breathing entity. You absolutely cannot float through your work day blindly without a greater understanding of your community. Everything you do matters. Everything you say has repercussions. What’s missing is a critical thought process for creating content that matters and carries weight. Instead, we get shit like this. As Selene poignantly states: Be the one who stops the cycle; Stop selling women and start selling TO woman.
So from one business owner to all the others out there in the cycling community: The weight of responsibility for bearing the torch of respect is amplified beyond measure. Respect is something I take very seriously and I treat each and every client and would be client with the mutual respect and grace I’d expect for myself, my friends and my family. Think about this as you head into your weekend and hopefully, take on Monday with renewed clarity.