These are tough times for everyone. And I admit these are tough times for me. Like many, I came into 2020 thinking this would be my year. This was the year I was going to give more time and attention to my dreams - some of which I have been postponing for years - and to make amends for what was a very disappointing 2019 that climaxed with many setbacks in December that should have crashed me. The only thing that kept me going then was the thought that I could make up for it all in 2020.

And then boom! Covid-19 hit and now no one really knows what the future - or at least the rest of the year - holds. And I have had to admit to myself that some of the dreams that I have had for a very long time might never materialize because it is very possible that the world as we used to know it is gone for good. And that is tough. That is very very tough. So some days I find myself slip into dark places. I have developed a personal formula to ensure I never stay down for too long. I am constantly on the lookout for things that give my spirit a lift, when I get low.

Last week, while searching Youtube for vids - my favourite past time for a few years now - I chanced on the speech that made Obama a political rockstar: his 2004 DNC keynote address in Boston.

I was torn between watching that or Abedi Pele's exploits in the 1993 Champs League finals. I decided to watch both: first Abedi and then Obama. And while Abedi's scintillating performance thrilled me, it was Obama's speech that will keep me seeking more of its kind on Youtube and thus forfeiting sleep, but ultimately serve to recharge my batteries.

Obama! The audacity of hope personified! Such an inspiring story. If ever anything showed that any dream was possible, Obama's 2008 victory was it.

It brought back memories of that night in Labone - Headlines Hospitality - when New York University in Ghana and Multimedua teamed up to screen the 2008 American elections live. I was an Obama addict then, mainly because I am a sucker for beautiful stories that start as improbable, like Leicester winning the EPL in 2016. I really really love beautiful stories. I had watched keenly as Obamamania picked storm, and played my part in my small corner online. I also produced and sold Obama t-shirts, which were hugely patronized; THE Paul Adom Otchere bought more than 10 of those. I was as passionate about Obama and the elections as anyone else in the world. I argued myself hoarse many times, pushing agenda Obama.

When he was officially declared the winner at dawn Ghana time, I wailed, out of joy. My sister hugged me as I cried like a baby. I don’t remember ever feeling that kind of emotion before or after that day. I however grew to become not as passionate about him during his Presidency, but he will always have a special place in my heart. I love beautiful stories. And his is up there with the best of the best. As someone who has always been passionate about marketing from right out of SSS, I studied his campaign like a course. Pure genius! The campaign was so on point, Obama would have beaten anybody.

Now let me state the reason for this uncharacteristically long post. These are tough days for everyone. If you are business owner these could be much tougher days in the sense that very much likely there is now a persistent premonition that your life is going to go absolutely south from here. Some of you haven't earned any income for two weeks or more. And all of a sudden you don't know what the future holds for you. The thought that your business which has served as your master status – you can read up on that – maybe for years could collapse, could be crippling. And that is why I want to inspire you using parallels from the Obama story.

Do you feel you don’t have what it takes?

Obama was not supposed to have secured the endorsement of the DNC. He was an absolute outsider. He was a novice with no right to such an ambition. He was a black man but even Black Americans didn't identify with him initially because they said his dad was a first-generation African, making him more African than African American. He didn't belong to any camp or constituency, or so it seemed initially. His surname rhymed with Osama - America's number one enemy at the time and his middle name was Hussein, as in Saddam Hussein. At the time he announced his intention to run, America was engaged in two wars because of Hussein and Osama.

He was rumoured to be a Muslim at a time when it was un-American to be a Muslim. He was 2 years into his stint as a junior senator and thus lacked experience. I am sure those he first discussed his ambitions with must have thought he was joking. Having participated and led brainstorms for over a decade, I want to chip in the fact that some of the best ideas initially sound ridiculous. So don't be in a hurry to discard ideas that seem improbable. Obama was not supposed to win. And yet he did convincingly and so can you.

It begins with deciding you are going to win. This is very important. Businesses are collapsing, businesses are going to collapse, but yours won't be one of those. Once you have decided on that you have to dig in. You need a plan.

“Study to shew thyself approved”

You need to understand what you are up against. Understand the implications of what is going on: the effects on the global economy, Ghanaian economy and businesses. Understand what is happening to your customer. You need to read, listen to and watch content that provide valuable insights.

Obama knew he was against the powerful establishment. It was a given that Hilary was the next one up. The wife of one of America's most loved Presidents of all time; she had been working at this for a long time. She had the establishment behind her and thus had the money: a very critical ingredient when it comes to political campaigns. Obama had nothing. Or so it seemed. Obama turned what was supposed to be his weakness into his advantage. He was anti-establishment meaning he was the change people desired. He was a commoner and thus could be counted on to put the needs of the ordinary American first.

1. He best represented a departure from the norm in American politics 2. Because he had no big backers he had to turn to ordinary Americans to fund his campaign and by so doing converted people who otherwise would have sat on the fringes or entirely sat it all out, to feel and act as shareholders. Obama's victory was suddenly going to be the victory of millions of Americans who hitherto hadn't counted much.



You can also turn what seems like your biggest challenges into opportunities.

The Obama campaign correctly identified what was the pulse of the nation and the campaign. What the main insight was and rode that well: America wanted a change; Obama was the best possible bet.

In the coming days, you have to learn how to understand what is going on and more importantly understand what your customer needs. When I first got into marketing communications, you needed to do research - some expensive and meticulous - to get customer insights. Nowadays your customers and my customers are telling us every single day, what it is that they want – for free. Having trained in two of the world's best creative traditions - Saatchi & Saathi and DDB - I'm well-vexed in using creative tools to solve business challenges, but the two things I count on the most in coming up with ideas and deciding on what works are:

1. Introspection - what does this pandemic mean to me? What is it doing to my pocket? How is this shaping my life, my needs and wants? What changes do I have to make? What does the future look like for/to me?

2. Empathy - what is happening to my customer? What does all of this mean to him/her? How is he/she affected? How are her/his needs affected? What changes does he/she have to make? And most importantly: how can I be of help to my customer?



If you do the above truthfully, you will be in a good position to understand where your business stands and what needs to be done.

Can you survive doing ‘business as usual” or do you need to make some changes?

Then you will need to have the hard conversation with yourself and then with your team: with all that's happening do we have a business if we go with the services and products we were engaged in before this hit?

The simple way to test for that is to answer the question: is there a need for your products and services today? If your answer is yes, then you are lucky. You will only need to make minor adjustments including working to make your products and services available and visible online, optimize deliveries, change suppliers, produce things that you used to count on people for, develop skills such as photography, graphic designing etc.



If however patronage has dwindled massively or is absolutely nonexistent, then the cold truth is there might be no market for your products and services until there is a recovery, which could take up to a year or more. If you are in this category, then you need to pivot or repurpose: “what are the market needs I can fulfill working with the resources I have?” What might work for you might be something close to what you used to do or might be absolutely different.

Again, learn! Learn! Learn!

The key to doing this effectively is learning: understanding business, finance, digital marketing... You have to learn as if your life depends on it. Truth is, those you could previously count on to do stuff like this for you are also equally hot. You have to do most of this for yourself. The good news is everything you need is available for free online.



It’s time to break your back! And do whatever is necessary.

Back to the Obamaspiration: Yes You Can. Is it hard? Absolutely! But it's doable. Obama and his campaign team had to break their backs. They had to put in more work than any campaign team has ever had to. It will take a lot of work. The main decision you have to make is to commit to doing what it takes to steer your ship. If you are determined, you will make it. Obama made it and so can you.

And you have to be ready to tweak and change your plan when need be and adapt to situations and challenges quickly. When Obama started to start to give Hilary a good run for her money, Obama's Pastor’s issue came up. Videos of Pastor Jeremiah’s controversial sermons spread like wildfire. Obama had to react decisively. When you begin the fight to save your business, you will find out that so many things that were easy to do pre-Corona, now require so much effort.



Start right!

Without question, putting in so much effort into winning the first DNC primaries in Iowa was key to Obama going on to become the 44th President of the USA. People tend to support success. When people feel you have a chance, they are more likely to support you. That is why it is absolutely key – and will become more important in the days that follow – that whenever you are unveiling a business, brand, product or service, that you do so in the most impactful way. Marianne Williamson wrote, “There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people do not feel insecure around you.” I am coopting this, ”There is nothing prudent about starting small, so others don’t feel threatened.” In an age where virtually everyone suffers some form of ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder – largely due to information overload, you really have just one chance to make an impression. Don’t ever waste it.

It’s okay to lose some battles. Even big battles.

Obama vs Hilary went right down to the wire. It was a tough race. And Obama did lose some key states that made his bid at the very least, shaky. Some of your ideas will fail. You might throw money after the wrong things in trying to keep your business afloat. As they saying goes, “it’s alright to lose a few battles, but as long as you win the war, that’s all that matters.” Some losses will hurt more than others. Never, ever stay down for too long. Learn from your losses and move on, quickly. Speed is absolutely key; and there is really no time to be wasted licking wounds.



Grandstanding is necessary sometimes.

Finally, when you find something that works, you need to learn to “put on a show” in marketing it. You have to find a way to make your product or service look and feel more loved that it probably is – even create artificial need maybe - because as the social norm theory shows most people opt for what they think others like. Obama’s speech in Berlin established the ‘outsider’ who was deemed not candidate material, as a statesman with global appeal, even before he became president. And that made more people comfortable with making him a President.

However long this storm rages, may this be your mantra: Yes I can!