When the Spanish conquistador Cortés and his men first arrived in what became Mexico, they asked the people they encountered, “What is the name of this place?” The native Mayans consistently replied, “Yucatán,” which means…
There was a time when many of us worried about nothing more important than whether we were going to get a promotion or have good weather on our vacation. Is that true? Am I making that up? Maybe it’s just nostalgia for “good old days” that never existed. But look at us now. We face a pandemic that is starting to look like a permanent fixture in our lives, especially if/as the coronavirus mutates. Our systemic racism as a nation has been laid bare before us once again. Our divisiveness has grown so extreme many people can’t even talk with their relatives and neighbors anymore. Our democracy is under attack and both ends of the political spectrum think this is true. Whoa! Is this the way to open a newsletter, article, or blog post?
Wow! These last few months have just been surreal! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t long for a return to the way things were (except those who have decided that sleeping, exercising, cooking, and reading shouldn’t be considered luxuries). However, there are several reasons to guard against such thoughts:
At the end of May, I wrote a piece for Forbes about the outrage people are so quick to feel these days. It began like this: “We are outraged. “We are outraged when we see someone without a mask. Outraged when asked to wear a mask. Outraged with every headline. Outraged by every social media comment. Outraged before breakfast. After lunch. During dinner. In our dreams. It’s an epidemic. And I’m convinced our outrage is more destructive than the novel coronavirus.” (read more) Obviously, I was thinking about pandemic outrage. Boy, what a difference a day can make!
We are outraged. We are outraged when we see someone without a mask. Outraged when asked to wear a mask. Outraged with every headline. Outraged by every comment on social media. Outraged before breakfast. After lunch. During dinner. In our dreams. It’s an epidemic. And I’m convinced our outrage is more destructive than the coronavirus. How Destructive Is Outrage?
In an interview on NPR, Eliese Goldbach, the author of Rust, talked about working in a steel mill during the recession of 2008. When asked how her ideas about steelworkers changed during her three years there, she explained that they weren’t just one type of person.
I remember being given a task as a new intern years ago. The request was so vague and confusing that the first thing I did was to dig into the project and try to figure out what my manager was asking of me. A week later I went back to him with a list of concrete objectives. He agreed. I smiled and said I was finished. This is what you call lucky delegation. I had just completed the task that he expected would keep me busy for the whole summer. That’s not the norm. More common results include: Continue Reading
I don’t know if I can teach you how to create clarity in one short article, especially when your situations all differ radically and speed is of the essence, but I’m going to try because creating clarity has never been more important.
I’m worried sick about some businesses and totally impressed by others that have responded quickly, some brilliantly. The range of problems caused by the coronavirus could not be broader. Just among my own clients and contacts efforts span everything from shifting operations into home offices to establishing iron clad disinfecting and distancing protocols to tracking daily changes in governmental regulations across hundreds of countries to sourcing new materials and retooling machines to creating systems for online ordering and delivery to making momentous workforce decisions to switching from plated meals to take and bake options. All while the world continues to shift under their feet.