Perspective Check
We’ve all probably been watching too much doom and gloom unfold on our various screens, and the reason for it isn’t exactly surprising. You see, newsfolk have been saying ¨if it bleeds, it leads¨ on this side of the planet for generations, and there might be no better evidence of that marketing strategy than in the current crisis.
Just the other day I was reading an article about a 35-year-old who tragically passed away after being infected, and I began to clutch my pearls aghast until reaching the end of the article, where I learned he had severe asthma and was undergoing chemo for testicular cancer…not exactly the picture of health, pandemic or not.
Gotta be a scary time for people who always read the headlines and never the article.
Listen, there´s no question that coronavirus is not a good thing–who in their right mind and office wouldn’t be concerned–but the fearmongering that’s going around is almost as unhealthy and even more contagious. We don’t really know much about this thing…can barely nail down a mortality rate. That´s why if you´re like me, prone to a bit of anxiety even when things are going perfectly to plan, I recommend you do a periodic news cleanse…you’ll feel better, I promise.So instead of hearing how “it’s out of control” take a look at some raw data with this website and then compare it to the seasonal flu. It puts things in perspective in the US with a population of 330 million.
A New Normal
Turning things off, then back on is a time-honored primary repair method. You do it with your phone when it’s acting funny, you do it with yourself when you need to ¨sleep on¨ a decision, and we’re doing it with our global civilization for a while.
Of course, we´ll need to keep our teams updated in the interim since our clients will doubtless have more questions than ever these days, and the Zoom conferencing app is a great way to do it. They even let you select a custom background for your chat, like ¨outside¨ for those who remember it fondly.
Learning to Let Go
If you´re managing a team that usually works onsite and is now checking in from their living room couch, you might be able to read the writing on the wall: your people are probably going to want to work remotely more often even once this whole thing blows over. I´m not going to go on and on about the best ways to be productive in a work-from-home scenario…that work has been done for me, remotely I might add.
However, if you´re going to press me for a single suggestion, I would submit Amazon Work Spaces for your approval. If you´re already using AWS for your office, you can save 5 percent monthly by also getting the Amazon Business Credit Card, pretty nice little perk. If you´re still on the fence about it and want to find out what the good word is, just shoot me an email and I can break it down a bit…I’ll be at the home office all week, obvio.
Inside, In Shape
I´ll be honest, one of my more consistent background worries during this lockdown period is that my workout regimen is toast…I´m worried that in a month or two, when I sit around the house I will sit all around the house.
Between my beloved Apple Earbud Pros--legitimately a life changing product, pick up a pair at Best Buy while they´re still open and score a nice little discount by applying for a Best Buy card while you´re at it–and these convenient resistance bands that are a lot lighter than a pair of dumbbells, I´ll be all set to maintain the peak performance physique that today´s insurance industry demands.
The Last Word
Well, that´s about all I have for you this week on the tech end, but before I go I want to leave you with some powerful positivity this week.
Almost everyone is feeling the economic impact of the crisis, but just as in the days after the Southern California forest fires that claimed my former family home, the hardest times can bring out the best in people…like with this humble New Jersey pizza man who took out a $50,000 line of credit specifically so he could take care of his employees for as long as the shutdown lasts…we´re all in this together, and could use a lot more of that in the world we all share.
All right, I´m off my soapbox…for this time, that is. Stay safe everyone, catch you for the next inspired installment of ¨Brad´s Blog!¨