Corona has brought out some black humour this week.

This is a joke going around Israel. Which is the higher number- the average count of daily tests for the virus, the number of eggs available for sale or the number of general elections the country has to face every twelve months? (Quick explanation – the first is far too low, the second has seen a ‘scramble’ by the government to import the difference, and the third is three, for now).

However, the joke forces us to ask the questions: Why after a month of planning are the number of tests low by any standards? And why are eggs flown in from Europe, when local farmers are destroying produce as the price they are paid makes it uneconomical for them to sell locally?

No straight answers are available. And that is why business mentors are rarely employed by public authorities. It is the job of the outsider to raise problems in such a manner that they force out the painful truth, which in turn will hopefully result in changes.

I recently read two blogs on why or why not to work with business coaches and mentors. The first is an excellent summary of the pros and cons of hiring a coach. Maybe not surprising as it is written by a business owner, the author ignores my key point. The second explains how “a business coach can help no matter where you are in the process of developing your business…”

A great example of this issue was released in clip, produced by Jay Shetty. He observes correctly that so many of us stubbornly hold on to our bad moments in life. He latches on to that well-known fact that we all typically host 60,000 thoughts in an average day.

So, why don’t we also recall and keep those good times – our successes? Isn’t that more important? Ouch – he has a point!

How does this work in practice? Along with about a dozen other mentors in the Jerusalem area, we have been asked to reach out to the community of new immigrants, who have set up a business. ‘Just talk to them for an hour. See what you can do.’

I have already linked up with several such people. Typically, they initially sounded down, even surprised that I should be showing concern. I prod and encourage and prod more and ask about something else.

All have come out of the sessions realising that they do not have to let corona beat the proverbial out of their hard-earned enterprises. They have more options than they had first accepted. To quote one gentlemen who wrote to me:

Thanks for reaching out to me today. I actually feel like it was some kind of boost I really needed.

What will the Israeli government do? Who knows. The Health Minister has been uninspiring (at best) and is now ill with corona. Most of his other colleagues can be heard via their silence.

I admire the Israeli business owners, who are showing resilience and thus learning to ask their own questions. To end on a positive note, just dive into this most motivating of stories from the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv.

Be well. Keep safe.