Things You Should Know

Associate Insights

For Great Things to Happen, Everyone Must Contribute

It’s been a wild ride over these past few months!

Because of Covid-19 and the George Floyd murder, everyone has been tested in ways that only a small few thought possible, and the lives of every single US Citizen has been disrupted.

This disruption has opened the floodgates on thoughts, ideas, and opinions on who is to blame for the problems and what should be done to get the problems fixed.

All of us in business must continue to push forward, regardless of what is happening in society, and there are some great lessons to take away from the events of the day to implement in the work place.

Most importantly, for anything of significance to be achieved, multiple parties must contribute.  No single person or single group can ever do as much as a larger collective group can, as long as everyone is working together and on the same page, incredible possibilities exist!

              Why Did The Coronavirus Make it to the USA?

Many people feel that the President of the United States is to blame for the virus entering the country and how it has spread rampant throughout the USA, as he ignored all of the signs and signals and downplayed the potential threat of the virus. 

A large portion of Americans put the blame solely on the Chinese, they should have let us and others know about it while it was spreading within their country, and if so we could have taken precautions from it making its way here.

For those of us in business, we can learn a great lesson here.  If China was more transparent with their  knowledge and understanding of the virus, then the USA could have prepared differently.  We also can learn that the federal government could have taken the threat more seriously at the beginning and potentially have limited its penetration into the country.

It’s not just China and it’s not just the USA federal government who failed in this endeavor, it was both of them and is an example where both sides underperformed.  The result, a widespread and deadly pandemic. 

The lesson for us in business is that all parties needed to be on point to achieve something great, like inhibiting the penetration of the coronavirus into the USA.

                   Now That the Virus is Here, What Should We Do?

It’s the end of June now and there is no slowdown in sight with the coronavirus.  After 3 months of a virtual shutdown, it’s clear to me that herd -immunity in the USA will arrive long before any vaccine.

Many pundits point to glowing examples of the way other countries have handled COVID-19, including Canada, members of the European Union, countries in Asia.

Why can’t we be like them?

Simply put, America is different. 

The USA does not operate like any other country on the planet. 

We are too diverse to adopt a homogeneous mindset that is necessary for a consistent approach to attacking COVID-19.  Rural mid-western conservatives, large city and west coast liberals, the unfortunate many who struggle and push the poverty line in daily life, and moderates all over the country, all think differently and see the world differently. 

Everyone has a different view on how to manage the droplets!

And it sure seems like the party crowd between the ages of 18 and 40 has moved past worrying about getting sick or dying from COVID-19 or in passing it along to others who may be susceptible to harm. 

The partying crowd is gathering in large groups and flat out partying it up, and it’s really not that much of a surprise after they were cooped up for 3 months and learning that the virus is not likely going to kill them.

The same holds true for the enormous groups of protesters, many without wearing masks, who have been seen moving about like an amoeba.

But as far as the virus goes, large groups and gatherings create mass spreading and outbreaks of the virus, even if many in these large groups wear masks. 

This cannot be disputed. 

It is no surprise to hear of outbreaks from large parties in the Ozarks, the Carolinas, and Florida.  A couple of weeks ago, over 60,000 people gathered in Houston, to protest on behalf of George Floyd.  This protest was one of many large gatherings cited in Texas, and it is no surprise that Texas is one of the hot spots now.

Herd-immunity, here we come.

Also, our form of government, even though it is a democracy, is constantly influenced by corporations, lobbyists, and special interest groups, so it is impossible to imagine a cohesive message of leadership on anything throughout the country that doesn’t have a special interest in mind. 

Adding to this challenge is that the executive branch, members of congress, and the state governments all have a differing perspective on how the pandemic should be handled.  They are consistent though in delivering mixed messages on what Americans should do.

For every 99 years out of 100, our diversity and form of government have proven to be a fascinating combination propelling the US into the position as the world leading country.

But during a pandemic, we have shown that we will struggle more than any other country on the planet in controlling it. 

Our strengths become our weakness.

The diversity of our population leads to an inability to create a cohesive mindset on anything in this country. 

To manage and control the pandemic everyone needs to be on the same page, the citizens and the government and it is not happening right now in the USA.

The lesson for us in business is that for anything significant to be accomplished, all parties involved need to be on the same page, and it starts with the message from leadership and carries on to every other member of the organization.

Protests, Racism, Hate Crimes, Looting, Police Brutality

Recently a protest was being arranged to ‘de-fund the police’, and the organizers called in to ask for police protection at the rally.

Just think about that for a second.

There are differing opinions on what ‘de-fund’ means, some think it’s taking away $ and investing in the community, while others think it means eliminating the police altogether.

Reform the police maybe?  Or maybe improve the police?

There is nothing wrong with trying to make things better. 

All of us should constantly try to do better, including law enforcement, but I don’t think a society without law enforcement is realistic or practical.

Maybe it would be possible if everyone always followed the law, and nobody broke the law, but I am not the one to ask, as I just received my 3rd speeding ticket of the year.

It seems simple though, obey the law, but if you break it and get arrested don’t try to resist the arrest, and if someone tries to resist arrest it is not a license to automatically put that person down.

But no humans are perfect, and work needs to be done.

Aside from the police, the African American Community has been vocal about some of the injustices in society, and rightfully so.

But just being vocal is not going to get society to the point where people think of skin color, like they do of hair color. 

It’s going to take everyone (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Police) to behave differently for a long period of time. 

Increased empathy on all sides, continued communication, positive behaviors from all parties, the elimination of racial hate crimes on all sides, and ending the looting and vandalism are good places to start.

If the goal is to truly build better relationships, destruction is not the approach.

Peaceful protesting and professional persistence on initiatives from all sides present the best opportunities for improvement and time will tell if progress is made.

The lesson for us in business holds true here as well, for anything significant to be accomplished, all parties involved need to make a consistent positive effort in working together towards the goal over an extended period of time.

Jim Guerrera

Author Info

Jim Guerrera

Jim Guerrera, Managing Director, founded SCN in 2000. Jim is primarily responsible for the development of the leaders at SCN, strategic planning, the hiring and development of company associates, culture leadership, core value leadership, sales le...

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