Category Archives: Corona Virus

Corona Virus: Looking Ahead

Over the last couple of days we have been seeing a slight shift in the discussion around Corona virus. More and more people are talking about the mid- to long-term implications for our lives, be it on the private level or related to economic consequences. Either area will have to undergo long-lasting changes in behavior, until we have proven medication and vaccination.

The following argument is made based on the numbers we know for Germany as of this writing, and those data contain quite some uncertainty. As to other countries, I think my points are universally valid at their core, because it is next to impossible that such a disease will “behave” differently between countries. Yes, each country is at its own point in time with regard to how many people are infected. Also, the speed at which the virus spreads and therefore the number of fatalities vary due to different measures being invoked etc. But I have a hard time believing that otherwise things will be drastically different.

The core question for most people (and companies alike) is how long things will need to be as they are now. So far measures have been introduced in a pretty incremental way, rather than a big bang approach. The reason for that, as governments have emphasized over and over again, was that decisions had to be made “as we learn new facts” about Corona. While not wrong per se, the latter is certainly not the only rational for doing things this way. More importantly, it introduced people to those radical changes in small doses. There is the saying “nobody likes surprises” and I think this is behind most of the communication we have seen. First things are publicly debated as future possibilities for a while, so people can get used to them. And only after that they are made “rules”. In general this makes a lot of sense, simply to increase acceptance.

Chances are that we will see a “few” more such announcements. The next ones will probably focus more and more on what needs to happen before we can increase direct contact/interaction again. The immediate concern must be to limit the risk of infection. And here the current consensus, meanwhile, seems to be that wearing face masks is of critical importance. Finally I would like to add. Because for too long there had been official(!) statements that masks do not really help the broader population and should only be used by medical personal. This is one of the dumbest arguments I have heard my entire life! Either masks help or not (assuming you know how to use them correctly). This was nothing but a really stupid way of saying “we do not have enough masks”.

To develop a rough understanding where we are in the overall process, we need to think about how many people have already been infected. Early figures (and I have not seen an update on this for a while) estimated that 60% to 70% of the overall population will eventually contract the virus. Here in Germany, if we assume that six to ten times more people are infected than have been tested positive (currently around 125,000 of 83 million), that means less than 2% of the population have caught Corona so far. In this light it is safe to assume that we still have some way to go.

As to what all this means for the next couple of weeks, my guess is that as soon as enough face masks are available some restrictions will be lifted. The focus will likely be a combination of things to boost morale and help the economy. What will probably stay in place are recommendations to still limit contacts as far as possible. So for all businesses, where this mode of operation is possible, that will mean working from home for a long time to come.

Corona Virus: Question What You Read

Strictly speaking, this is post is not necessarily related to the Corona virus outbreak. But articles about the latter certainly increase its relevance a great deal. What I want to write about today is how we should deal with everything we read. Most things will also apply to TV, YouTube and other media, but the narrative will stick to articles for readability.

If you read something it is important to be aware about its nature (e.g. report vs. opinion), the author, and where it got published. These are all factors (and there are more) that have influenced the content, so you need to take them into account. At the end of the day the reason for publishing something is typically either money or politics. People that create content have a goal and they rarely disclose it openly.

For YouTube videos it is often money and in traditional newspapers we typically see an endorsement for a certain political position. And the latter can regularly be seen for TV as well. For me, when I create posts for this blog, it is the fun of writing and the surprise how articles turn direction while I work on them. Because writing is the tool to structure my thoughts and discover a topic. (For those who are more interested in this, please watch the video linked in Larry McEnerney: The Craft of Writing Effectively; it is quite long but really worth it.)

So it is your job to read between the lines, do some research, and develop an overall picture. It is this picture then, that defines the context in which the content has to be seen. And now it gets really interesting. Because you need to watch out for unfounded claims that mask themselves as objective truth. Often these will be thrown in almost casually, but then used to construct a whole chain of cause and effect-relationships. And those will, miraculously, support the author’s opinion. Surprise, surprise.

Once you have come into the habit of doing this, it will open your eyes and you will see many things in much more nuanced way. All of a sudden you identify the weak link in the line of argument. And you can then think about whether this invalidates the author’s position completely for you. Or you still agree with the verdict, but see that no proper argument has been delivered to support it.

Corona Virus: Disable Video in Calls?

With so many people working from home these days, the use of video calls has exploded. I personally think this is a good thing, because it changes the nature of calls dramatically. They move things closer to a personal interaction, which is a huge plus. The downside of this is an increase in the use of network bandwidth. Hence some people suggest to disable your video while not talking.

I would like to propose a slightly more nuanced approach. To me disabling the video while listening can be appropriate for meetings that are about content. If someone is sharing a screen so that people can discuss the current state of some work item, there is indeed little value from six small faces at the bottom of the screen.

But increasingly folks use video calls for social purposes, like the famous virtual morning coffee round. And here things are different in my view. As in the physical equivalent, there are people who dominate the discussion and those who mostly listen. The second group is just as important as the first, and not seeing their faces would be a great loss for the purpose of the call. So for this kind of meeting I recommend to leave video turned on at all times.

Corona Virus: Priorities

Pretty much everything in life is about priorities. If someone tells you “I did not have time to do XYZ” it actually means that XYZ was not high enough on their list of priorities. Setting priorities is critical whenever there are limited resources to allocate, or conflicting goals to balance. And naturally this becomes much more important under circumstances like we have them now with the fast-spreading Corona virus.

What I find irritating is how often the “comfort” of people seems to play a role in discussions these days. Because it is nothing more than loss of comfort, if people cannot leave their home whenever they like. Instead, the wording in such discussions is often along the lines of “people cannot endure such ‘isolation’ for an extended period of time”. Really?

My grandparents  fled their home at the end of World War II on foot with a small child and nothing more than they could carry. And today we have so many people living in a war zone, who experience things that I don’t even want to think about. That is endurance!

So where is the problem if someone needs to stay at home in order to help save lifes? Are we so selfish a society that my pleasure is worth someone else’s health or even life? Because that is what the decision to stay at home or not is about at the end of the day.

Corona Virus: Holding the Team Together

While the number of people who work remotely (usually from home) has been growing significantly for a number of years, it is still far away from mainstream. So when people are now forced to work from home entirely due to the Corona virus, it is a new experience for many. Do not underestimate the difference between doing this two days a week vs. full-blown.

Apart from individual challenges, this also means a big change for the team, we are usually  a part of. People have shown quite some creativity to overcome this situation and find ways to keep bonds strong. Some folks I know have introduced a virtual morning coffee round. Others started to use video for their conference calls for the first time, although they had so far rejected it.

Below you will find a video from the team of Simon Sinek. These people have been working remotely for years and share their approach to be a team, even if they almost never meet in reality. I can truly recommend watching this video.

Corona Virus: Careless People

I had not planned to write something on the Corona virus. What meaningful content could I produce that was not out there yet? But the point has come where I need to reflect on a few things for myself. So why not share this …

My overall take is that there is a remarkable number of people out there who combine ignorance (I only believe what I see and/or understand) and lack of compassion (it’s ok as long as I don’t die). Or is it simply selfishness? I mean, how can anyone in their right mind accept the fact that there is a risk of someone else dying, just because he or she “needs” to  party?

When I grew up, my parents (born in the early 1940s) would occasionally talk about things they remembered from their early childhood. E.g. the extreme winter of 1946/47 where it was so cold in the house that water froze in the jar over night. Or how it was common to walk to school for at least 30 minutes one way regardless of the weather. It never frightened me, but in hindsight I guess that it instilled a feeling of being thankful for what my sister and I did not have to endure.

Both my parents had had a happy childhood. Very modest by today’s standards, but with loving parents that were understanding and forgiving. But there had also been rules and all this was passed on to us children (born in the mid-1970s). So my sister and I learned a decent amount of discipline, but there was also a lot of freedom and fun.

In addition we experienced a few setbacks that our parents had carefully selected for learning. During those “exercises” it was always clear to us that nothing catastrophic would come our way. But we learned that life is not always fair, that we do not always get what we want (may we deserve it or not), and that we are not “special”. (We knew that we were special for our parents, though.) All in all this made us somewhat modest, resilient, and compassionate.

What I have often seen in education over the last 15 to 20 years is that parents long to make their children happy all the time. To keep any hardship away from them. This is done with the best of intentions, but it is not the parents’ job. What they need to do is prepare the children for an independent life. Yes, that includes fun, freedom, a safe harbor, etc. But it also requires learning how to deal with rules, frustration, setbacks, and all sorts of challenges.

Most importantly children need to learn that it is not always about them. That they are part of a community (in fact of many communities with a different role in each of them) where it is often necessary to compromise. Personal freedom has its limits where it affects others in a negative way. But how can children develop a sense for this, if they get what they want all the time?

The teenagers that go out and party, risking to infect others who might die as a consequence, are not the ones to blame. Responsible are those who failed to instill the right values and behaviors into them. Yes, that may include the parents. But society as  a whole is to blame as well. And this is where I have hope that at least one positive thing may come out of the Corona crisis (although the price is terrible). That we will start to reflect on what is critical for society as a whole and how to make it part of our lives.

Good luck to all of us!