“You can’t please all of the people, all of the time,” is more than a maxim, it’s reality. Once you’ve published person A, person B asks, “why not Me?” Cover topic X, someone wonders, “why not Y and Z?”
Let’s talk tempests, teapots, transparency and transcendence in Manufactured Housing (MH) news and commentary.
Tempest in a Teapot
Wikipedia says a “Tempest in a teapot (American English), or storm in a teacup (British English), is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion.” (Italics and bold added).
Being exaggerated out of proportion is more prone to happen in a relatively small industry. Covering a topic results in calls or messages of the “thanks” and “no thanks” varieties.
Sometimes people think they see something in digital print that upon closer examination isn’t there.
But misreading an article doesn’t keep some from fuming.
Ironically, this proves the power and potential to rouse found in digital publishing!
Segue
On ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com, some articles are drawing not just significant attention, but serious feedback. More than one caller – and hundreds of messages – have come in because of the NBC News video, our MH vs high winds/tornado video and Introduction to Manufactured Housing video, which opened caller’s or writer’s eyes to previously overlooked and misunderstand realities.
Manufactured homes are better than most realize, and properly installed can be superior to conventional construction in durability.
A man called who during his military career flew “many times” in C-130 aircraft. “Tony, I know first hand just how powerful the winds and turbulence can be from a single C-130.”
A skeptic about manufactured homes was now impressed. We organized facts in the second video linked above in a fashion that opened a mind.
Opening minds is a key step to selling more MHs.
Transparency
A publicly traded company, an official explained, has to be transparent about news. I was told transparency is an advantage.
“Good, bad or indifferent, you put the news out there,” is a close paraphrase (it might even be word for word, but I wasn’t taking notes at that moment…) “Once it’s out, then it’s done and you proceed to take the steps to move ahead.”
Brilliant.
Scapegoat?
When someone doesn’t like some fact or comment, especially when perceived as making X look bad, the first question ought to be, did you read it correctly? What did the article actually 
say?
A Staples test shows misreading is common.
Another question ought to be, is someone uncomfortable about a topic pros are already talking about? If someone is embarrassed – which isn’t the intent – why are they embarrassed?
Finger pointing routinely means three fingers are pointing back at the one leveling the 
complaint. Don’t blame the messenger for someone else’s mistake.
Transparency suggests, “Fix the issue, move on.”
Head in the sand, how’s that working for you?
Since when is going into denial a successful business strategy? High-performance business expert Jim Collins says look at the cold, hard, brutal facts and deal with them.
Publishing a story or video revealing a previously misunderstood MH reality results in “Aha!” moments for a shopper, investor, researcher, media or officials.
That sells more homes.
Similarly, pointing out issues – even if briefly unpopular – may cause corrective measures, or keep a problem from reoccurring.
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We know story tips are growing, not shrinking.
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We had a record readership summer.
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For every critique, we get more “thank you” calls/messages.
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Your peers are voting with browsers and handheld devices by the thousands daily.
Investors, educators and others are keen on researching MH do so via our 2 online platforms. We’re good for business and associations. ManufacturedHomeLivingNews and MHProNews are part of the solution.
Addressing what holds the industry back helps pros and MH reach its potential!
Nor can or should we do this alone! These efforts flow from synergy between writers, sponsors, reader tips, clients and us.
Lancing the Boil
Got a boil? Lance it. Out comes puss and blood. It’s ugly and hurts. Healing follows.
Transcendence
There is much we don’t publish, frankly because so much is irrelevant or garbage.
Once bad news or allegations are out, they should be dealt with. Blaming the messenger is wasted time.
We aren’t capricious.
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How does manufactured housing achieve more than so-so results?
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How do we continue advancing?
Isn’t it by candidly looking at painful issues crying for attention, while showcasing favorable facts which are misunderstood?
Vocabulary defines this as:
“Transcendence is the act of rising above something to a superior state.” ##
(Image credits, WikiCommons)
