COVID Reflections: Given the shift to working from home, the damage to our economy, the spike in unemployment, the rise of regional government, and the decimation of industries and other things, it is clear that COVID is less an interruption than a disruption. We are free to lament this, but it’s not all bad. For starters, the virus has reminded us that we are mortal and dependent—no small things! It has also helped revitalize neighborhoods. Before the virus, many Americans knew more about what was going on around the world than they did what was going on across the street. That is less true today—and surely is a good thing.
College in the Fall? After facing months of challenges and scary fall scenarios, last week many colleges received good news. The number of students indicating plans to return in the fall spiked. The reason? Apparently, after weeks of sheltering-in-place alongside Mom, Dad, and their kid brother, collegians decided they’d rather take their chances with the virus. From what I hear, Mom, Dad, and the kid brother mailed in the deposit.
Missing the Sage: During moments like this, we miss seasoned voices of wisdom—like Peter Drucker. I dearly wish we had his historically informed insights about this moment. I was reminded twice this week of Drucker (who lived through polio, yellow fever, small pox, and other plagues—to say nothing of World Wars and Depressions):
- Life after 65. The first came from a post by Jim Collins who noted that after Drucker died, Collins had a chance to visit his office. On one bookshelf, someone had arranged the 35 books Drucker had written in the order in which he had written them. Collins remarked that when he put his finger on the book Drucker wrote when he was 65, 2/3’s of the books were still to the right. Old age did not slow him down. If anything, it spurred him to greater productivity.
- Drucker on Leaders: I also stumbled across Drucker’s insights about leaders, which I find profound for their simplicity. He wrote that great leaders: 1) have followers; 2) get results—they do the right things and don’t worry about popularity; 3) know that leadership is responsibility, not rank, privileges, or titles; and 4) great leaders set good examples.
Keeping Score: One of the reasons we miss sports is because the players keep score. Would you watch if they didn’t? I share this to say that one of the stresses of the moment is that few of us know how we are doing.
Quotes Worth ReQuoting:
- “It’s a good thing to know in times like these that there have always been times like these!” Paul Harvey
- “Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and he left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’” Peter Larson
- In 2018, US audiences began spending more on digital in-home entertainment than movie theaters. More interestingly, in 2019 we began spending more time on our mobile devices than watching TV. And that time continues to increase. Today, the average US adult spends over four hours per day on a mobile device.
- The great pandemic is not COVID-19 but sin.