THIS IS THE CRAZY SEASON black fridayfor consumers and the companies which serve them.  We’re less than a month away from Christmas, and in the US we just had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  It’s a time for family and brotherly love.

Then, OMG, we totally obliterate that goodwill with the worst bout of consumerism this planet has ever seen.  It’s getting worse every year.

Through this blog, I’m speaking to the businesses which have a deeper foundation than just making money.  You’re out to change the world (or perhaps just your community) through who you are and what you do.

It’s not bad that you feel conflicted about this whole Black Friday thing.

You know you’re trying to be a different kind of company.  You thought it was going to be easy?  Nope, maybe you’ll have to make some tough choices.

You’ll actually let your employees be with family on a major holiday.

You’ll promote yourself in more honest and useful ways than the pounds and pounds of screaming flyers I received in the paper on Thursday.

You’ll let your customers know that they’re deeply appreciated, not just as credit cards to empty and put your business in the black in the last 10% of the year.

This can be a time of difficult emotional journey for all of us – things may be crazy in the business world, and probably are personally as well.

Is it time to become a bit more thoughtful?