For many of us it conjures up memories and emotions of wholesomeness, family, fall colors, great food and of course, being thankful to God for all of the blessings we have.

Despite the fact Thanksgiving is just about being swept off the map and overshadowed as a major holiday these days…it will always be a significant holiday I will respect and honor in my lifetime.

I believe Thanksgiving 2009 offers up a special opportunity to those of us in business. No doubt it’s been a tough year for many of us here in the U.S. despite what the news says. I was just reading in my local paper that most folks say (that’s you and I not the talking heads) that the economy hasn’t hit bottom yet.  In fact, many were saying things like things like …

Don’t buy the bull! Anybody who thinks things are turning around is living in a dream world.

Worst yet to come. Hold on to your wallets folks. It’s only starting.

Something is very wrong in America. Have you ever known a federal government to do anything efficiently?

This one really hit home with me…

Stimulus didn’t work. No matter the media is reporting unemployment rose to 10.2 percent in October 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The economy shed 190,000 jobs in October for a total of 7.3 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007. That does not show any signs things are getting better. What are all those people doing to make a living now?

You can agree or disagree with these views but the point is the U.S. has had a tough year and many businesses have seriously felt the effects of those 7.3 million job losses and all the other things going on in the 2009 economy.

I point all this out to lead to what I call a “blessing in disguise for those of us in business”…and that blessing is wrapped up in this year’s Thanksgiving!

Why do I say this?

Well for starters, this holiday can be an extremely helpful milestone for us to look back over our should as to what the past 11 months held so we can learn from it. At the same it can be the pivotal point for looking forward to the new year and getting our bearings to make adjustments before the onslaught of the mad rush and stress the Christmas holidays and the New Year always bring no matter how hard we try to fight it off.

Think about it. If this is a part of your 2009 strategy, this alone could help transform your business for 2010!

But that’s not all. Thanksgiving also offers us the opportunity to reevaluate the heart of our business. What I mean is, in case you haven’t noticed, customers no longer will not accept lip service, status quo, missions statements, slick advertising or gimmicks and all that phony baloney stuff. What they want are businesses to walk their talk, demonstrate you deliver what you promise you will, be treated with respect and such. They want to be loved!

I know that may sound corny but it’s been said its one of the greatest need we humans have and we do some crazy things to try and get it. Why not sincerely give it to your customers… if it’s what they want? Thanksgiving can be the perfect time for you to fall in love with your customers again. It’s also a great time to redefine what kinds of customers you really enjoy working with too you know.

In addition, Thanksgiving is steeped in transition. Fall to winter, end to new beginning, and fast pace to slowing down. See the opportunities in transitions.

Every business that wants to succeed in the 21^st century needs to get very good at transitions. Business will never be the same as it was and as it continues to evolve and morph just like the seasons do, I believe anyone in business who does not embrace change in this new business era will likely not make it over the long haul. What transitions will you employ in your business for 2010? Keep in mind; transition without creative strategy is just busyness. Thanksgiving is a good time to seriously think about this and start planning.

Lastly, but not least…Thanksgiving 2009 holds incredible opportunity to transform your business because its very purpose is about being thankful and blessing others. Despite what has gone on with this lousy economy this year…anyone still in business, both large or small has many reasons to be thankful.

This has been one of the toughest times to be in business this country has seen in a long, long, time. Being thankful for our business, our employees (if we have them), or customers and vendors just does something magical to your outlook and purpose for being in business.

Business is people serving people. That’s why it even exists! People are at their best when they are thankful and that most certainly translates into their businesses.

Man, I love Thanksgiving and all the blessings God has bestowed upon me even though I have had one tough year in business. I also love I can have a business in the greatest country in the world, America.

Have a very ‘blessed’ Thanksgiving everyone.

So I decided to check out what was going on and lo and behold, many fellow tweets were voicing their not so nice things about P Diddy (Sean “Diddy” Combs).

See for yourself…

#unfollowdiddy is trending so I read his tweets. He’s less of a jerk than I expected, but arrogant as he**. Twitters taking him down a peg.

#unfollowdiddy FOLLOW ME FOR A FREE #unfollowdiddy T SHIRT -ONE WINNER EVERY HOUR SM L XL

Good Morning twit fam!! I see the movement #unfollowdiddy is still going strong!

I think I will #unfollowdiddy even though I never followed him because it seems to be the cool thing to do today.

@iamdiddy if you love your followers so much, why not follow them back? #unfollowdiddy {so…why not?}

#unfollowdiddy because he’s a loser!

#unfollowdiddy It’s not because he hit 1 million. It’s how he did it. He kept screaming at people to RT. It was unnatural.

WOW! He is getting slammed by ‘the people’!! This is just a very small sampling of what is on the mind of the fans.

This whole #unfollowdiddy campaign is freaking hilarious. I unfollowed him a long time ago because he was so annoying.

I think they hurt Diddy’s feelings…he’s taken the #unfollowdiddy thing personally…LOL

What did he do to receive so much wrath?

That’s not the focus of my sharing today but I can tell you it had to do with folks perceiving he has double standards.

The point I am wanting to make in bringing this to your attention is not to spread gossip but to AGAIN backup up my position with real live facts…your brand is in the hands of the people.

And as you can see…it doesn’t matter WHO you are. If you are a super star or a politician, a local restaurant, a freelancer, or whatever. In minutes, you can be swept up in a fury of good or bad PR (People Release) and it can have huge repercussions (both good or bad).

What can you do to try and make sure what happened to P Diddy (Sean “Diddy” Combs) today does not happen to you?

Here are just a few proactive things to help ensure you don’t get on the bad list.

Be Real! People are fed up with lip service and falseness. Don’t be fake! Old fashioned things like character, honor and integrity will take you a long way in today’s marketplace both online and off (imagine that, this is back in style!).

Care about People! Don’t get full of yourself. Pay attention to what you do and how you treat people online and off. Don’t treat some better than others because they have more stature. You never know who you are dealing with and that can come back and bite you someday. Someone is always watching and talking about you and your business or brand. You cant fake care!

Don’t be Just a Taker! In today’s community minded economy, being a genuine giver is an expected and appreciated quality. What can you do to help others better their lives?

Take Your Tribe Serious! If you are in the position to have a following no matter how large or small, see that as a privilege, not a right. If you have such a following it is your responsibility to learn all you can on how to be the best you can for them and how to nurture your tribe. Here’s something I don’t see much of… help someone you don’t know move up a notch in their business. Like Gary Vaynerchuck says (paraphrased)…Social Equity is as valuable to anyone in business as Financial Equity. This is Tribenomics for sure.

If you are not in tune with how social community and social media works and how to best position your business and brand…get a professional to help you get positioned for this right now! Because here’s the thing…with or without you, the people rule!

P.S. If you need some advice or referral for help on this please feel free to contact me at hn @ strategicbusinessdesigner.com

However, I would have to add to his statement…

“More important by far is creating a desire to share”.

But I add to that…before people will even take note you have created a desire to share, they are going to do a “Motive Check”.

Motive is more important than ever in today’s marketplace because we have just had it with all the hype, lies, switch-n-bait, etc.

And yes, making the effort to ensure your “Motive Check” hits the mark and you are in fact genuine in your interactions with the marketplace may take you a bit longer in reaching your target market and getting results, your integrity will far out pace the Hypie crap pitched everywhere online and offline today.