History is written by the victors. I want to congratulate all Victorian and Melburnian retailers; all service and hospitality providers in Australia’s second-most populous State on your Step 3 lockdown reopening, due October 26 to November 2.

Yesterday your State reported bringing daily Covid-19 case numbers down from a Wave 2 of 725 in August to one. Today you reported just two.

It’s a feat unparalleled in the Free World, as we await a northern hemisphere facing the prospect of Covid-19 numbers out of control, exacerbated by a flu season and winter.

You’ve proven that lockdown pending a vaccine will work against a pandemic virus. You’re seeing countries scrambling to copy your plan. And now you’re about to prepare for a bumper Christmas retail season despite some hiccups along the way, as they undergo curfews and lockdowns as you did.

Getting over the hump with Covid-19 has been an unbelievably hard slog that has tested everyone. Meaning, all Victorians are the victors here.

Except those businesses that have played politics with a virus in a 24-7 news cycle that have made their owners or executives feel they have “celebrity” or “influence”. A few of them have even popped up on my LinkedIn feed from time to time.

Well, you do have influence but it’s not of the type you think. You forgot you’re running businesses—needing revenue. So, my PR tip to you is this.

You’ve gone public with your distain, your vitriol, your divisiveness and critique of your fellow Victorians who have pledged among themselves, as a community, to knuckle down against an extraordinary health threat: no matter who they voted for the last time around.

You’ve done so while branding yourselves in your—and your businesses’—names.

Now’s the time to sweep away your footsteps. Unless it was your intent to alienate the bulk of Victorian consumers and whomever they talk to by the Law of 15.

You see, you’ve really been suckered by a media industry relying on you to parrot their faux angst to sell their ads for their profit. Not yours.

To the victors go the spoils. It’s time you joined the winning side. When it comes to the balance sheet, we only value goodwill.

It’s ok. It’s easy to forget that the wise and the fool are indiscernible when they keep their mouths shut. All leaders make mistakes after all and success has many progenitors.

© 2020 Adam Parker.