At home, my family has made a daily practice of asking, "What can I do to be of service?" That has meant things like reaching out by phone to those who may be feeling isolated, hosting online gatherings to help preserve connection during this isolating time, and checking in with all the people in our extended community to offer whatever assistance we can.
At work, which is still very much going on though none of us are in the same place physically, that has meant focusing on our responsibility to help safeguard the health and well-being of all the people we affect--colleagues, consultants, member firms, friends and neighbors, and part-time workers who are reliant on us including building staff and those who man data centers. We're lucky to be in a position where we can help others by acting as organizers and building things to help connect them with services they need, and we intend to make good use of that luck.
All of this comes before any business priority. Whatever the consequences are on that front, we'll deal with them later. Our economy can recover over the long-term, but we will never be able to bring back lives that are lost.
Of all the steps we can take right now, one of the most critical is to practice extreme social distancing.
Epidemiologists, scientists, and doctors, with the help of local leaders and journalists, have made it abundantly clear that our primary collective goal at this stage is to practice social distancing in order to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. This will prevent our medical system from becoming overwhelmed, making it possible for those who are severely ill to get the care they need.
Because of the exponential rate of spread, preventing just one infection today will prevent 2600 infections over the next three months.
This dynamic model shows what this looks like and how social distancing can affect it:
Here's another useful tool that shows data-based spread projections state-by-state
If you think social distancing might be "overreacting" or that it doesn't apply to you because you're young or asymptomatic or don't have any underlying medical conditions, these excellent resources can tell you more about why every one of us should be practicing it.
Social Distance Game (see how many lives your level of social distancing can save)
Now is the time to practice social distancing. That means not only avoiding large gatherings but also eliminating all nonessential in person contact with others--whether at a store, an appointment, or even a small get-together of a few friends.
Please join me in taking action. Be of service however you can. Look for opportunities to do this every day. Most of all, keep the faith in the values that guide you in good times. They'll serve you--and all of us--even better in the rough ones.
