Dream bigger...

 “If your dream only includes you, it's too small.” Ava DuVernay

 

Florida’s governor said something interesting yesterday – ‘masks can be required but wearing them can’t be enforced’.  I’m not a fan, but he’s right. Something like this is beyond government’s ability to enforce it: it requires public enforcement.  Recently I saw a woman confront someone whose mask wasn’t worn correctly – meaning it didn’t cover their nose. She asked politely that they wear it correctly and then pointed to her daughter and asked that they do it for her.  This is not a question of politics – it’s one of common sense and decency.  It’s not us versus them – it’s all of us versus this airborne virus. It’s not about personal freedoms – it’s about we’re all in this s#*thole together. We can all dream about getting back to normal but if that dream only includes you, it’s too small.  We’ve all got to make it back to normal together: if one doesn’t make it then no one will. Seven months of this is too long… way longer than any of us anticipated. We can get there if everyone wears a mask correctly, keep their distance, and washes their hands. Simple, purposeful, and smart. Keep doing that until the doctors and their science sound the all-clear. Until then, do what it takes to make this dream come true today.

 

Ava Marie DuVernay (born 1972): American filmmaker

All planning is local...

A company’s reopening plan and actions are critical parts of winning back customers during this pandemic. Customers want creative combinations of service and safety and are willing to adapt to those changing practices. Good companies see the restrictions they’re under for what they are and not what they hoped they would be… meaning, accept them, figure out how to adapt to them, and get the benefit for their employees and customers and bottom line from them.  Meaning: study your options, develop appropriate plans, train and coach your employees, explain the new “normal” to everyone, keep them focused, and adapt as things evolve. I’m still steaming about the experience I had the other night at a local restaurant here – they either didn’t plan or care, or they were just inept in maintaining their focus. Posting on YELP and other social media sites or deciding whether to go back and be repeat customers are the ways people respond to the marketplace, especially in these challenging times: that’s the real bottom line for any reopening plan. It’s the product AND the way it’s presented. You control that, not some policy or politician – because just like they say about politics, all Covid-19 plans are local. In your shop, on your shoulders. Take action and see that for what it is – not what or how you hoped it would be, today.

 Fred Crawford: President of Aflac Inc. 

Getting back to normal is difficult...

After nearly 208 days of self-isolation and eating at home, my wife and I decided to eat in a restaurant last night. We had just traveled 50 miles to get flu shots and wanted to eat before the ride back to our cabin in the woods. I didn’t think too much about it since the news was filled with restaurant openings that required safe practices. We went to a large restaurant, figuring its size would allow appropriate distancing. As we were seated I noticed several tables with 10 diners each, and shortly after that the hostess seated 8 businessmen at the table next to ours. All wore masks while walking; none wore masks at their tables. Everyone was smiling and talking and drinking and eating and acting like they should under the stated guidelines.  But it still unnerved me. I’d been out before, but mostly to grocery stores and other places where everyone was wearing masks. I clearly underestimated how hard it might be to go back into an environment filled with people without masks and how long it might take to get back to acting and feeling normal. Going back out into the world and getting back to normal is definitely going to require some serious mental preparation and practice. Don’t underestimate how hard it will be getting back to being yourself today.

 

Miles Davis (1926 – 1991): American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer

Be cautious and prudent...

Everyone says this has been a really crazy and challenging year: many seem to be walking on eggshells, not knowing what to do. Like: my wife and I have been living in these mountains since Spring, but we're uncertain whether to stay here where it’s safe or return to Las Vegas where it may not yet be. Or: me being nervous about getting back behind the wheel after hitting that deer last week - I’d never hit one before, and that has me thinking and looking twice while driving. For others it’s like worrying about making decisions at work  – what if they make a bad one and people get sick. And Covid-19  has scared many away from doing what they do – but it shouldn’t make any of us afraid to go out and do things safely. Whether it’s living or driving or managing or proceeding, you can’t help being scared; but you shouldn’t be afraid to do what you do. The record is pretty clear that if you wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands you’ll be relatively safe. After being isolated and scared, people should be smart about what they do and cautiously unafraid about living their lives. Listen to experts and decide for yourself what’s best, then coach and guide those you’re responsible for by responding to their questions and needs and helping them find ways to be unafraid about living their lives carefully, creatively, and safely. Be cautious but unafraid today.

William Faulkner (1897 – 1962): American writer of novels, short stories, screenplays, poetry, essays, and a play, and Nobel Prize laureate 

Enjoy the joys of October...

When summer ends and fall begins, it’s October.  When the nights grow cold and the leaves begin to change, it’s October. When apples ripen and are pressed into cider, it’s October. Every year, it’s the same, but somehow I never grow tired of it. I look forward to my birthday on the 3^rd and Halloween (and our anniversary) on the 31^st, the two ends of every October. The smell of fallen leaves reminds me of my earliest memories: bundled up, playing outdoors, knowing that a warm house awaited. This year it’s different: most people I know are still in some form of limbo as the pandemic continues, so there was no birthday cake and certainly no blowing out of candles, and Halloween preparations are mostly centered around trying to figure out how to give out candy without the traditional doorway exchanges. But like everything else in our lives, these Covid-related challenges are being creatively overcome.  On Zoom, I could blow out the candles with gusto and nobody was there to worry about it; and families are putting together treat bags that the tricksters can safely pick up and take. None of these are as fun as what we’d normally do, but they’ll do until more can be done. Cut back a little on scheduling so much and encourage your people to get out and enjoy this glorious month. Let’s all be glad there are Octobers today.

 

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874 – 1942): Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables

Be thankful for what you have...

We got up yesterday planning to drive to Vermont to see my wife’s sister, hoping to see some extraordinary fall foliage along the way. That's what I planned to write about today. But a little more than an hour into our journey we found ourselves broken down on the side of the road after hitting a deer. We walked away uninjured, the deer didn’t. Nature brings us all kinds of wonders, both good and not so good: while the changing seasons are amazing, animals are killed crossing the nation’s highways, forests and homes are destroyed by wildfires, storms upend communities, and countless other natural disasters wreak havoc in other ways. Nature gives and nature takes. Like many with a personal story, I posted our mishap on Facebook and received lots of comments: many thankful that we weren’t injured, and more than a few expressed sadness for the deer. It certainly could have been worse; thankfully for us it wasn’t. We’ve been in the Adirondack Mountains all summer and have enjoyed the beauty found here so, on balance, we’re way ahead. And as the day progressed we realized how lucky and fortunate we were… and are. Don’t let the bad things that happen in life ruin the good ones that do. The shock is wearing off now and we’re reminded to stop and smell the flowers when bad things happen. Let nature bring you solace today. 

Anne Frank (1929-1945): German-Dutch Diarist and one of the most discussed victims of the Holocaust

Don't take unnecessary chances...

Everything we say and do has an impact on someone or something: like a pebble thrown into water, there are always ripples. Our words can help or hurt, and everything in between; likewise, our actions. Leaders are never ‘off the record’ – whatever is told to them needs to be taken seriously, and everything they say carries the weight of the company. And ‘off the cuff’ remarks can and often do come back, good or bad. Or jokes with employees: the risk of those words or actions being misconstrued is more probable today than ever; fun to some can be worrisome to others. Because we live in a world where instant communications and social media can spread images and recordings instantaneously, the need to think before acting or speaking is critical. This is certainly true in normal times, but with employees on furlough or layoff or working from home, good clear communications and messaging needs to be professionally designed and effectively delivered if you want them to have the intended effect.  Consider all the questions that might result from your actions or words, think through any answers before giving them, allot time to resolve misunderstandings, and survey (formally or informally) those wo are or may be directly or indirectly affected to ensure that what you meant is what was understood.  Happy and satisfied employees and customers don’t get that way by chance… and everything makes a difference in that – one way or another. Decide what kind of difference you want to make today.

 Dame Jane Goodall (born 1934): English primatologist and anthropologist, and considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees