As you might have received in your inboxes, restaurants, businesses, organizations, government agencies have sent their own crisis mitigation policy statements on COVID-19. 

In those statements, they have succumbed into the overabundance of caution, to suspend their events or ask their staff to work from home. 

While these measures are meant to "flatten the curve" of the virus spread, we are also bombarded by all sorts of misinformation from social media and even our well-meaning friends and relatives who resort to more panic-driven actions than anything of rational mindset and objectivity.

Caution based out of solid evidence is a good parameter but once it borders on panic, fear-mongering, and delusional thinking of doomsday scenarios, it becomes a vehicle for more social unrest and collective fright.

Let us be mindful that we need to be calm, level-headed, and objective about the virus as much as we can so we don't spread more fear and heighten the level of insecurity that people feel while they are self-isolating and social distancing from other people.


For those of us who are healthy and able to navigate the closing spaces in our community due to the pandemic, we need to show compassion, understanding, and care for those that are actually sick or feeling symptomatic. We do this not by buying more supplies that we can need for 14-days self-isolation or by refusing to let fear control our lives. 

There is not a single hand sanitizer in the stores.

Believe it or not, people have been panic buying more than they should.

We can stop the fear mongering right now by using logic to dispel the most insidious rumors and fears spreading.

It starts with understanding that people will survive and have been surviving from COVID-19. 

Taking the necessary precautions for an ordinary flu is fine but beyond the stock piling of food, panic buying on sanitizers and alcohol, and tissue papers, and hoarding several medicines are totally useless.

The 14-day quarantine is good for those that have actually known that they can be infected seriously knowing that either, they had been on a cruise ship where an infected persons lived with them; second, they have been to flights where the destinations have been known to have the most infections, and third, community transmissions wherein in that case, staying at home when you feel like having a weak immune system is a must.

I flew today on a one-hour flight from Alberta to BC.  People are living their lives mindful that the risks are not intense enough to stay at home, lock the doors, and don't go to work and school. The airport is quiet and the line-up to customs is almost nil. 

For those that schools and workplaces were shut down, there is a big reason for that.

Aside from that, live your life with the same intentionality as you would in a normal flu season. We should monitor the risks around us but not get paralyzed by fear and fear-based myths surrounding COVID-19.

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Not all opportunities are equal.

There are opportunities that are just right for your organization and opportunities that you should overlook because

1) it is not enough to be a sustainable venture;

2) it takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and monies to get it off on the ground and even maintain;

3) it doesn't represent your current wheelhouse and departing from what works could get you distracted and confused; 

4) it is a fake opportunity, a carrot being dangled without the evidence of its real value and feasibility;

​5) you are overreading into the situation. 

Not all ideas are germane as business opportunities. Not all offers or interests should be taken seriously.

Test them diligently and be sure that they represent most viable vehicle towards your ultimate goals. Know the people that you are talking with or will work with and check their track record of success or achievement.

There are no shortcuts to careful thought and consideration of the issues that you weigh in. The real value versus the actual costs of making those investments including the time it will take to get it fully completed, should not be underestimated. Most of the time, new projects and initiatives collapse under their own weight putting too much at the beginning when it is important to be light on the foot and formless when things are in flux. If you are not the decision-maker, it is better to be flexible and adaptive, listening to counsel and opinions of those that can make it or break it. 

Remember to be positively inactive when there is no need to take action, especially when the gains are far less than they tend to appear. 

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from troubles if you can.
It won't mean your weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand.
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

Sounds familiar? Kenny Rogers 's story-telling through songs is impeccable. Gets me down the memory lane every time I hear this song. 

This article has nothing to do with silly fights and adolescent baptism of fire. This is about turning the other way when presented with situations that not only put you in a disadvantaged position but also jeopardizes your future ability to exercise your leadership and overcome challenges.

Whether you own a business, manage a million-dollar project, or run a team in your department, there are times when you are confronted with an ethical situation or a gray issue. When in doubt, it is time to reflect on the following:

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Am I acting in good faith, being firm about my intentions, objectives, and desires on this specific situation?

​Is the other party acting in good faith? Are they acting and behaving consistently with their intentions and objectives on the issue? Are they pushing too hard, delaying, or withholding important information? 

 Am I presented with a situation that is unscrupulous, way out of the normal bounds of ethics or appropriate behavior? Is the deal too good to be true or laced with conditions that will undermine my sense of control and options?

If you have answered no or maybe to the last two questions, walk away from any situation that will unnecessarily create entanglements, compromises, and deals that are not in your best interests to pursue. Find an adviser who can sort things out for you and better yet delay the decision until you have some clarity around the issues that you want to resolve.

"Walk away from troubles, son..."

If you look at the best people in every industry, job, or occupation anywhere in the world, you will notice that there is one thing that they do consistently, incessantly, and effectively. They engineer their evolution.

To pick at and blame the circumstances, the weather, your spouse,  the economy, the competition, the politicians, the robots, and the social media for all the bad things that are happening in your business, career, and life is like saying,  "Poor me, I have no control and maybe just curl up at home and stay safe!"

We can all do more than that!

The best competent people I know have used their assets to become the epitome of their best bankable selves, especially in the future.

The future of work is about the unique offering, abilities, and massive differentiation. To stand out in the sea of gig workers,  part-time hobbyists, and Alexas,  it is not just incumbent upon the professionals to be the best but also be the top 2% of the pyramid.

Standardization, conformity, and harmonization are a thing of the past. The new worker is an agile maven with multiple skills and competencies that can run around robots and machines out of their batteries. This new worker has high-touch qualities that eliminate the isolation in the customer experience and puts back the human intelligence missing in many transactions.

Work will no longer be a division between your social time, family time, and paying activities. These activities will become wrapped around within the lifestyle and talents of the individual. The remote will dominate the marketplace, and new products and services will serve this new arrangement which represents every other individual outside the cubicle norm.

The most evolved will win big in this new wide world of work.
 

My family went to an antique festival the other week and met some interesting people. One of that was the balloon lady who was hired to provide balloon entertainment to children.

I had a conversation with her briefly because she was prolific in what she was doing. Apparently with one masters, it didn't work for me so she is taking another masters which this particular job is paying for.  

Two masters and you can't get a decent job in your line of profession is tragic. It speaks about how education is not in-line with the needs of the economy and how young people are victimized by this thinking that when you get a higher education, you automatically are good for life! 

I asked her with all the knowledge that she had (knowledge is power right?) she can build a business and say no to a 9-5 routine and get herself established. She said, "but I love living in a student dorm."

I understand the love for learning if this is your thing but clearly,  this is the case of failure-to-launch, staying for the comfort of the educational system and fearing to venture out in the unknown and flexing your muscles or bruising your body to a certain extent to get to what you want. I have met some people who stayed in universities for the longest time they want because out-there is too disorganized and chaotic. 

In life and business, to stay where you are  is never an option. You need to step boldly into the what constitutes the next feasible and achievable progress for your personal and professional development. Failure to try to win is an abominable state of affairs. 

Knowledge alone is not power. The creative and innovative use of knowledge is power. This is not textbook knowledge but application of knowledge for human progress is powerful. 

This is no wonder, that she can't get past how the university hockey players she is tutoring were amazed that there were textbooks for the tutorial. Well, these varsities are living their dream, though.