So many challenges for all of us on the management journey. This week it is increasingly hard for us to separate our mission of providing actionable evergreen help to those pathfinders from the invisible elephant stampeding around us. A massive intangible wrench thrown into the works of a fully online society in the form of a global pandemic.

There is nothing else, above the fold, worth talking about this week. Truly. Work at a company with European or Asian exposure? Coronavirus. Travel? Sports? Concerts? School? Small gatherings? Washing your hands? Wiping your bum? Coronavirus. You get the point. It is EVERYWHERE!

Absolutely unprecedented, challenging, scary, and…opportunistic?

What? Yes.

Proper planning prevents poor performance. These could be difficult times. Perhaps it will only be a couple weeks. Could be a couple months. Now is the time to buckle up, plan, and lead to make the best of understanding and mitigating a rapidly deteriorating situation.

From a management perspective, here are some potential ideas to keep the tempo up and your team focused on operations within this circling tempest of distraction and fear:

• Virtual Meetings
  • Be present and visual with cameras on
  • Will the format resonate the same as in person meetings? Experiment with visuals, audio, and participant rotation
  • Have fun. Tour the home offices of your colleagues!
• Chatter
  • Maintain daily, even hourly discussion
  • Keep people engaged and use those engagements to get updates as business conditions change. They are going to change rapidly
• Physical Location Adjustments
  • Twitter employees promote the hashtag #lovewhereyouwork. How is your home office / coffee shop / co-working space setup? Customize it to your liking and adjust to new realities for the medium term
  • Take time for yourself. Less time commuting = more time exercising, meditating, reading or whatever else you always wished there was time to do
• Space & Time = Introspection
  • New contexts for ideation? Create
  • Old projects? Dust them off
  • Q2 Goals? How about 5 year goals?
  • More family and friends time? Priceless, be grateful

Always best to try and see the bright side of things in what feels like a dark time. Stay safe out there people. Thinking of you all!