This experience is difficult to draw from

They say that good decision making come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.

Let’s be honest though, unless you are 102 years old (1918 Spanish Flu), we have never experienced anything like this before. Which means we don’t really know what to expect with the next step in all of this because there is no experience to draw back on.

Since everyone’s compass is a bit different from our own, each of us now creates a new standard, a set of rules, on how others should be behaving. No ones will match with others.

Which creates tension with the choices ahead.

How do we balance the impossible task of staying inside/social distancing versus opening the economy back up?

63% of Americans can’t come up with $500 for an emergency. So, most are not prepared to shelter in place the next 18 months until a vaccine is developed.

That in itself is a daunting challenge. The soonest we have ever developed a vaccine is 5 years. So, the timeline is difficult but not impossible. But then once you have a vaccine you have the challenges of production and distribution. (Who goes first?)

Social distancing saves lives and flattens the curve but it won’t ultimately stop the virus. Many are being put in a precarious situation, being forced back to work and increasing exposure. Hard choices are being made and unfortunately some will use this to exploit a personal agenda.

Bottom line: Let’s not be quick to judge others for the decisions they are making. We are all scared. Blame and intense criticism is only contributing to the violent conversations. This is a long road. The only way to change people’s minds is to craft a story that will inspire change. We can’t do this without first having empathy. We have to hear everyone’s needs.

Empathy leads to change. Not the other way around.

Hat tip: Take 10 minutes and read the well thought out piece by Bill Gates explaining the path to a vaccine. Very informative.