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April 2020

by Martin Royal I was discussing with a friend last week about how, in the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, her 1,000+ strong global architecture company established a crisis management team. They established this team to explore how they would respond to the unfolding crisis. The team evolved organically as different stakeholders were brought in to understand the impact the crisis might have on different parts of the business. The team began holding, and continues to hold, daily huddles to monitor progress, projects, and deadlines and assess any changes. It was a rapid response to the unfolding crisis that allowed

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By KyoungHee Choi Let’s face it. Most entrepreneurs are struggling amid this COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The longer it continues, the more business will be crippled by the crisis and might not be able to recover. We are facing an unprecedented storm. Everyone is faced with incredible uncertainty. While businesses are rapidly adjusting their business plans, and working to quickly adapt to a new reality, it becomes critically important to focus on defensive moves that will maintain cash flow and long-term relationships with clients. Equally as important is the need to continuously find time to innovate, rethink business models and find new opportunities that

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By Eric Michrowski There's an old aphorism that is apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, which deals with the subject of cutting down a tree. 'Give me six hours to chop down a tree,' the saying goes, 'and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.' Various other versions of the saying exist, changing the times involved, but all with the same central thesis: use the majority of the time allotted to prepare for the task. Lincoln – or whomever the anonymous woodcutter at the root of this statement is – has oft been credited with an insightful observation about the necessity

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By Madison Hanscom For many who are still employed, difficult times will bring exhaustion. We are in a time when routines are being completely uprooted. Many individuals are essential workers, which means they are putting themselves and their families at risk by supporting our communities. These workers often are experiencing new responsibilities, changes in work hours, new stressors and sometimes compassion fatigue. Other individuals are now forced to work from home while juggling new responsibilities, caring for children during work hours, and suffering from guilt or tension if there is a dip in productivity. Just because we are living in a stressful

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By Dr. Josh Williams Leaders are ethically bound to provide a safe, secure work environment for employees. Consider these steps as we rebound into a new work reality: Provide more rotating and split shifts with onsite employees to minimize the number of people in a given space at any one time. This may include workplace re-designs to maximize social distancing. Clarify policies on social distancing, update requirements for cleaning/disinfecting work areas, increase housekeeping inspections, and reduce commonly shared items (work desks, writing instruments). Some organizations may even begin taking employees’ temperatures before, during, and after work until a vaccine is available. Policies should be

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By Madison Hanscom Safety climate is a shared perception that employees have regarding the relative importance of safe conduct in their workplace. This includes the procedures, policies, routines, and behaviors that get rewarded or the behaviors that are expected (1). It is widely understood there are a great deal of benefits associated with having a strong safety climate. A strong safety climate is associated with higher morale, less accidents, stronger safety motivation, more safety behaviors from employees, and so on (2,3). A less visible (yet still important) benefit of having a strong safety climate is the potential to protect workers and

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