It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.. 

Charles Dickens “A tale of two cities” 

I wrote in a recent article about our collective “failure of imagination” to see what was coming around the corner with COVID 19. And now the words of Charles Dickens, written over 160 years ago, speak to the paradoxical times we live in: where queues of people two blocks long form outside of supermarkets and clubs, bars and stadiums shut down in many towns and cities and airlines are now running a bare bones service; with all the follow-on financial impacts for staff, contractors and their families. These are also knock on implications few of us could have imagined, even if we did know, rationally, that a pandemic might occur. 

But we are also seeing some beautiful sides of human behaviour as well: singing on the balconies in Italy, notes to neighbours, friends and elderly folk down the street with offers to assist, and other practical acts of help. We are even seeing governments help in some (but not all) countries where an increasing number of politicians are starting to come to their senses that we are, indeed, all in this together and we need to work together to limit the wounds being caused, as our house of cards falls down in front of our eyes. 

Some have said that our reaction to the pandemic has been, and is, excessive and we should “keep calm and carry on”. They say that COVID19 is no worse than many other seasonal illnesses. My reaction is that these are additional deaths we are seeing. To date, on 16th March 2020, they amount to 6500, and rising, in just 12 weeks. That’s the equivalent of 2 plane crashes with 250 people, each week, since the beginning of January. This is not something to be simply dismissed as a drop in the ocean. To those who have been downplaying this unfolding crisis, I say they should reflect on how they would feel if one of their friends or family become seriously ill or died.

And why did I put the diagram of circles surrounded by other circles at the head of this article? Look again at the inner circles, are they the same size? Do they seem to be the same size? This well-known optical illusion by Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) highlights the power of perspective when we are looking at things. We tend to see things in relative terms. And this applies to us in these difficult times. Our sense of perspective is being challenged. Our assumptions about what is really important are being challenged. This is unsettling for us all (and I write this as a self-employed consultant with a diary that’s emptier for the next two months than it has been in the last 10 years). 

Immediate concerns aside, it’s a time for us to get connected with one another (virtually, or safe distancing permitting) to help one another regain a sense of perspective, a sense of identity a sense of community and sense of resolve to address the challenges ahead. At the same time, it’s also a time to be on our guard, to make sure that our values, and what’s important are not lost. Of course we’ll need to be pragmatic and flexible, but we also need to make sure that key standards and principles are not sacrificed on the grounds of expediency.

In my professional role in governance, risk and compliance this question is something I will be turning my attention to in the forthcoming weeks, since I can see lots of opportunities for organisations (and the boards and managers that manage them) to lose their way in the way they manage through this crisis, cutting the wrong corners and therefore creating another wave of problems two years on from now. 

Seems like a rather down-beat ending for this article, but that’s how I’m honestly feeling right now. And I need to turn to some work now, as I suspect many of you reading might as well (whatever that work is, commercial, charity, a home-maker or a volunteer) .. 

Wishing you and yours all the best ..

#covid19, #coronavirus, #values, #grc, #compliance, #risk, #internalaudit #ethics #Charlesdickens