This morning I had a conversation with a founder I advise and consider a friend.
They said they were pondering whether it was worth remaining in London or exploring pastures anew. “May be the grass is greener on the other side”, they said airing the doubt they were also sorting through.
When I prodded which specific grass they were considering, they replied that they were not looking at grass in a specific area but that London as home turf was getting murky.
My advice to them:
The grass is green where you water it; but you cannot plant grass in desert sand and keep watering it in the hope that it will thrive. You are currently assessing grass as you see it now. You — we all — need to assess where is not a desert right now, where a desert will be in short order, where may be an oasis right now – and whether the desert is encroaching on it or whether the oasis is expanding.
It was not a conclusive conversation, probably not very satisfying. But sometimes a spark is needed for further thinking. The extended metaphor hopefully served that.
(This post is in a series of posts I wrote during the covid19 pandemic that began 2020.)