Letter to my team in the time of Coronavirus

When the Coronavirus hit, I immediately felt the anxiety level rise with those around me — whether it be health, economic or social concerns, COVID19 is having a real, immediate impact on our world. And everyone feels it.

I tend to be a ‘lead from behind’ kind of person, but in a time like this, it feels intuitive to step up and take genuine, thoughtful action to serve my team and my community.

So I wrote this letter to remind myself and those who work with me that my #1 intention is to run a business with truth, transparency, courage. Businesses are major drivers of our world, and what we do and how we lead impacts more than just our bottom line.

Getting in front of any crisis can help mitigate negative impact on one’s business on multiple levels: morale, economic, operational, performance, etc.

However, it can also be a vulnerable act: I don’t want to over-react or cause alarm. I don’t want to say something stupid, or be wrong.

But taking a swift, decisive stand to step forward and communicate with my team or my community can also be an act of strength. Any historian will tell you that fear and panic is often the root cause for humanity’s crisis events becoming, well, bigger.

I (virtually) attended a presentation today (via IVY Social University) by Frank M. Snowden, professor emeritus of the history of medicine at Yale, on How Pandemics Change History, and How to Lead During an Epidemic.

He reminded us that disease, and crisis, acts to “hold up a mirror to ourselves.” How we act now says more about our character than any other act…and certainly more than any ‘personal brand’ efforts we might have previously made [said as someone whose career was born and raised in the branding industry].

If you’re in a leadership position — of any kind — let’s act thoughtfully and speak kindly. Often simple, clear communication from leadership can be the most powerful service there is.

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Hi Team.

With the World Health Organization declaring coronavirus an official pandemic, I thought it a good time to address you all as your ‘fearless leader.’

I know there’s a lot going on, but I want to remind everyone that while the world is ‘shutting down’, it’s not ‘falling apart.’ It’s true: COVID19 will have real impact on our world, but we can meet this challenge with grace, clarity and reason.

R. [our CFO] and I took a webinar yesterday on how the coronavirus might impact our industry and type of business, and have put together a Plan A and Plan B for House of Who for the rest of 2020. We are happy to report that much prior learning, work and planning has us fairly well-positioned at this time, and we are taking steps to mitigate impact in the coming months.

Our industry is what’s called a ‘lag’ industry — meaning, it tends to lag behind general economic trends, and as such are generally affected a few weeks or months after the wider economic trends. If there’s a dip, it means we won’t feel it right away, but it also means it takes us a little longer to recover.

I say this to be transparent about the fact that we may see work slow in Q2/Q3. We are prepared for this. We will continue to honor everyone’s contract & employment agreements, and as always, we focus on creating stability.

What House of Who is doing:

• we are officially closing our office and moving all meetings & events to 100% remote for the rest of March and will reassess.
• we have a financial plan to weather moderate economic impact
• we have a plan to increase outreach and alternative revenue sources
• we have lots of fun internal projects to keep us busy :)

What you can do:

• Practice good hygiene and stay educated with reliable sources. Here are official CDC guidelines.
• Take good care of yourself on a physical, emotional, mental, spiritual level
• Isolate yourself physically but don’t isolate yourself emotionally. Stay connected; support yourself and others in staying grounded.
• Please do your best to avoid sensationalistic news (that includes too much social media!) It’s not helpful to constantly bombard yourself with information. I recommend sticking to core news like tracking WHO and CDC.
• Live your life and adapt to this temporary event. People and fear are way scarier than any influenza.

R. and I are always available if you have any other questions.

In truth,

Shannon

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If you’re interested in connecting or exchanging ways to lead in uncertain times, please comment below or contact me directly here. Find out more about my company at House of Who, Inc. I’m always happy to share my learnings and learn from others.