The past week has been bazooka filled with an insane torrent of headlines. And Tom Hanks’ tweet felt like the tipping point. Is this real life? How can anyone be sure.. Plainly, the world is different now than it was just a couple weeks ago and we’re all straining to see through to the other side.

We’re almost surely in the early innings of an economic downturn. In order to grow an economy, one pre-requisite is that the economy in question must be sending people to work and keeping businesses open. That is not our reality. From coast to coast there are shutdowns and “non-essential” work has ground to a halt. Unprecedented.

In many ways, it’s easy to feel that these gale force headwinds are outside of our control. Most of them are. Although from another perspective, this is a time to separate the pros from the amateurs. It is time to turn it up a notch.

What can we do to help our teams (and ourselves) during this challenging time?

• People First – are you checking in with your people? Everyone has a lot going on personally and professionally. Ask how they’re doing. How’s their family? How are their significant others? Friends, pets, etc. They’ll remember who was there for them personally during this time. And who wasn’t.

• Self Preservation – no one is flying on any airplane right now. But when there’s an emergency on a flight you have to put your oxygen mask on first. Take some time to eat a nice meal, get a sweat in, have a glass of wine, or whatever else helps you breathe slower.

• Scenario Planning – planning is always healthy. In a changing environment it’s essential. What are the best, worst, and likely scenarios of your plans against changing hiring assumptions, revenue growth, retention rate, etc. in this environment. What happens if your best person leaves? What happens if your top customer puts things on pause? Be prepared for it. Even expect it so there are fewer surprises.

• Opportunity – some businesses and customers will benefit from this new environment. Spend time identifying those opportunities to keep your business innovating. Remote team software, delivery services, gaming sectors to name a few. Is your business positioned to sell to those customers so that you can keep money in the bank, your business running, and your workforce employed?

One day at a time people. “Be quick but don’t hurry” -John Wooden