Well, this crazy year continues to progress. One question that has become awkward is, “How are you?”

I had a client from Estonia that always joked they didn’t understand this question. Do I really want to know? Yes, I do.

I always try to answer honestly. I connect with people deeper; I learn how other people live; I’ve expanded my sense of compassion; and yes, I’ve made more money.

I see more people opening up this year, and that’s a good thing.

The biggest reason deals fall apart is the game of Partnership Poker. When fear your counterpart can’t handle rejection makes you keep your cards close to your chest. Communication falls apart and the deal falls apart.

But really partners are in the same position, each trying to assess if a risky deal makes business sense.

If you’re willing to be honest about yourself, it goes a long way towards letting your counterpart know you’re emotionally mature enough to drop the game of Partnership Poker so you can just make the right business decision together.

If you have also started to truly answer “How are you?”, pay attention. Is it yielding a truer, more honest way to live and work? Maybe you can make it a habit too.

How am I?

Last quarter was a lot, no doubt about it. It wasn’t painless. People died. Children were trapped at home. Business risk went way up.

But things are looking up. Canada is coming out the other side, it appears. I’m worried schools won’t reopen and the US border won’t reopen.

I’ve gotten the Cloud Software Association to a sustainable place. We have recruited a new board, a wonderful community leadership team, a calendar of expertise, and more surprises coming.

My own startup, AppBind has been growing. We’re making it easy for SaaS companies to activate their value added reseller channel, like marketing agencies and service partners. We’re adding VARs, we’ve signed SaaS launch partners, and we’re almost done closing our pre-Seed financing round.

So, I got through the first quarter somehow.

How are you?