Bubbles!

How do you feel about bubbles? Just saying the word brings a smile to my face. Bubbles! Bubbles bring about a feeling of joy. Maybe because as kids we enjoyed fun bubble baths? Maybe it is because bubbles can float in the air for a fleeting moment with timeless beauty and a connection to the eternal? Whatever the reason, bubbles are all around us.

Bubbles and Selbbubs

What is a bubble really? A bubble is just a pocket of air typically enclosed by a soapy film of water surrounded by air. The soap in the water makes the water stretchy or elastic. The soap makes the bubbles stronger too. So, what makes a bubble burst? It could be some sort of pointy object. Left alone though, evaporation. That watery soapy spherical surface is evaporating as it interfaces with the air around it. It loses its strength and pops.

Bubbles seem to strike a very delicate balance in nature, just like a business might. There needs to be air blown in at the right pace, the soapy surface has to be just strong enough to hold it together, and conditions have to be just right to avoid sharp edges and keep evaporation at bay. For a business, there needs to be revenue coming in, an inspiring mission holding everything together, and an eye on innovation.

If you knew all that, then here is something you didn’t know. There are anti-bubbles. Are they the opposite of bubbles? If so, how? Anti-bubbles are a liquid surrounded by a spherical layer of air which is surrounded by another liquid. If you saw one, it would look like a drop of a colored liquid in a different liquid. Those don’t last as long as the ones we are familiar with. They don’t seem to go against bubbles though, so maybe the proper term is “Selbbub”? Mapping this on to the business world, this speaks to the counter-intuitive, creative nature of business and all its vast possibilities. There is no one model of business. Each is as unique as every bubble or selbbub that’s ever existed.

The Business In The Plastic Bubble

Imagine your business is inside a really big bubble. Now, can you tell you are in it? Probably not. But what if you could? Is there anything you can do about it? Now what if you intentionally put yourself or your business in a bubble? During the pandemic we have heard about numerous bubbles being formed. People created various bubbles to protect themselves and their families, to keep a sports league going, or to make things feel “normal”. However, what if what you thought was “normal” prior to the pandemic was actually you being in a bubble you didn’t know you were in?

Think about it. Were you and/or your business in a bubble two years ago and didn’t know it? Two years ago I was flying everywhere I had to be. I was an automatic “yes” to invitations unless something else was already scheduled. Even though I would tell people otherwise, whatever I had wasn’t really enough. Without thinking, I needed more, bigger, and better in everything. Why? Maybe it's my human condition to prove I’ve made it or that I am good enough or that my business should be respected and admired. You could say, my business and I were in the comparison bubble. Can you relate?

Luckily we didn’t have to wait for evaporation to happen to this bubble. The virus provided a pinprick that burst many of our bubbles. For a moment, we all got real about what’s important in business and life.

Tiny Bubbles

In 1966, the great Hawaiian Don Ho made the song Tiny Bubbles popular. Apparently, little bubbles in his wine made him feel happy, fine, and warm all over. It made him want to love us all forever. What I love about the song is that tiny bubbles are cute and harmless. Big bubbles, however, whether they be economic like the debt bubble and the perceived crypto bubble, or a business bubble like over-concentration with one supplier or customer, can be perilous. So, it is best to examine all the possible bubbles you could be in that you didn’t choose and find a way to make them tiny to you. In other words, before the possibility of a bubble bursting, prepare yourself in such a way that the impact is tiny.

This will take some serious out-of-the-bubble thinking. Maybe your business is in a networking bubble? Maybe your business is only successful because it is in some other business’ bubble which is about to burst? On a larger note, maybe we are all in an electricity bubble, or a dollar bubble? I really don’t know, but it’s worth a look!

Bubble Wrap

May your business find ways to stretch itself and be strong while avoiding the sharp elbows of competition and obsolescence. May you also keep your bubbles tiny, so you can feel warm and fine. And may you appreciate those rare selbbubs that float your way.

Maybe my mission is to replace Tiny Bubbles with a new bubble rap? That’s all that has bubbled up for me today.

Here's to you and your awesome future.

Until then, keep your feet on the board and keep riding your wave!

Robert J. Khoury

CEO Agile Rainmakers