Blaming is worst than not complying to social distancing. 

​Yes, I said it!


I heard about the real contagion at Cargill plant in Alberta and that Filipino workers were being accused or blamed for causing another outbreak in the province.

I don't think we can benefit from this blame-mongering that put one community against the other.

Instead of asking how can we help, we need to stop looking for blame instead, look for solutions.

What Covid-19 taught all us all these weeks is that we need to be more discerning   about the information we are digesting and the voices out there in the public square. 

This is trash, period. There is no value whatsoever to the kind of misinformation and deception behind the allusion to certain cultural dynamics of a particular community or group of people.

I don't think we should go there. Not now, not even when there is no crisis. 

This time no one wants to feel isolated especially those who are in business.

Some of your suppliers, partners, and clients are hurting at the moment. 

This is the time to reach out and tell them you care, you know that there are shared experiences, and you are there to help.

I have been doing that in all of my community members. 

Because number one, you are not working or dealing with an organization, you are dealing with people.

People are scared, afraid, and unable to make sense of what is happening.

Provide that support and leverage your mission and resources to have that extra-customer service that they would need at this time.

During crisis time, it is not ethical to be sleazy and capitalizing on someone's pain. 

But you need to be present and make the effort to be relevant with results.


Commiserating is good but working with them towards practical solutions is way better!

My daughter was trying to get something done but can't said, "Mama, kids do their best. Kids do their best."


Why can't we all do our best with the shrinking options that we have. Many are now stuck in lock-down situations with recreation being taken away as social distancing is imposed.

I cannot overemphasize how the right attitude and mindset can get us out of the anxiety and debilitating restrictions we are facing. 

We may not be able to control so much of what is happening out there but we can control our responses, our attitudes, and our convictions of hope for the human spirit, compassion, and to become a force for good. We can control and design intentionally what is happening inside of us. 

Staying healthy, exercising, and giving up on negative mental frames can take us in a better place while staying at home and doing what we can to alleviate our individual woes.

The fact that we are keeping healthy and away from illness is a service to society and to the medical institutions and workers who are completely burdened with the epidemic. Being sane and cheerful at home is a service to our loved ones and families who are also struggling on their stresses. Being productive, learning a new skill, chatting with a friend help immensely with mental health. 

We can do our best. Stay safe!

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A recent meeting with another organization led me to believe that not all efforts are wasted on merely connecting. In the era of social media and autobots, in-person connecting is very primal-it is akin to breathing. We are social beings.

When businesses and organizations connect with one another on the basis of exchange of goods, services, and ideas, an exponential gain happens. But when results do not come quickly or clearly, we tend to see 'connection' events as good to have but not easily transmutable to business bottom lines.

How many connections fizzle away because we force the issue on people, whether it is an idea, ideology, religion, product, or service?

How many connections we didn't even try because we thought, it wasn't worth to even break a leg? 

How many connections just die because both parties have found it to be totally pretentious?

How many connections led to many more fruitful encounters with mutual benefits outweighing the costs of the transactions?

Think about what you have to offer, not what you can get. 

Be a connector between people and learn to give and reciprocate a kind gesture.

We are all in this together whether we acknowledge this or not.


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I was working one day when the phone rang. It was an unexpected phone call from someone I met in the course of my networking in the community.

Truly, of all people, those that you have connected will be the ones who will take the time to connect back with you.  It is the stuff of humans.

It is great to receive those calls, saying hi, asking for an expert opinion, getting to know you as a person, not just a brain to pick, and being honest about their limits and constraints.

Being transparent, honest, and responsive are very important traits in any sector, industry, professional, and life, in general. 

You cannot bring out something to the world and prosper from it unless there are real people that are supporting and believing in your project/work. It takes symbiosis to become a real asset to your network- the giving and receiving should be balanced.

If you are always on the receiving end of mercy, charity, and forgiveness,  then, don’t ask why friends do not call or suddenly disappear, customers don’t return for purchases or donors stopped giving or volunteering their time.

Even non-profits should invest in maintaining their relationships with donors! Not to do that is suicidal.

The real connection comes from mutual respect, recognition,  and responsiveness. A lot of people go through the motions being unresponsive (and inconsiderate!) to the situations, conditions, and predicaments of people, organizations, and groups.

Clerks that forget to change right;

 Customer service personnel that forgets to call back;

Government employees that forget to put the document inside the envelope for mailing! (This is a true story!) ;

Doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and others in the medical profession that forget to ask the right questions to patients;

And many more examples.

Take time to nurture those personal connections. If they are genuine, it will stand the test of time.  If it doesn’t, consider that some connections are brief, interest-based, and not meant to be that long.

Learn from connections that get you into trouble, and you will know how to value the authentic ones.



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