"Lockdown" Messages

As the president of the Goodyear Veteran's Association (employee resource groups), I have been sending out a weekly lockdown email to share with the folks my thoughts on our "current situation". I have been encouraged by the responses. I'd like to share my messages with you, so far, on the first 5 weeks of "Lockdown".

Week 1:

GVA,

Just wanted to reach out to everyone and share a couple of my thoughts on this past week.

I think we can agree, this past week has been really strange. I think, in working with my direct reports, we found there were a lot of ways to be effective in this new “normal”. I also believe we discovered a lot of things that would be challenging to sustain unless we make some changes in how we work. But again, it has only been 5 days.

Things are still evolving quickly, so it will be important to stay connected to your team, and the GO.

When we get through this, and we will, we will probably all have a lot of professional and personal lessons learned to incorporate into our future selves.

As you head into the weekend, my personal ask to you is that you USE YOUR HEAD. There are a lot of people out there that won’t. And it is in all of our best interests to not allow ourselves to get caught up in the chaos.

Be the light.

You are all leaders. It is now time to lead. There are people around us, people that we care about and people that care about us, that need it. 

Take care of yourself, and don’t take any unnecessary risks. 

If you need something, ask. We are going to get through this, together.

Be Smart, Be Safe.

That is all.

Week 2:

Good afternoon GVA,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the events of the last 5 days. I think what jumps out at me the most, is that we all just need to do the right thing. Doing the right thing right now comes in a couple of simple actions.

1. Practice Social Distancing
2. Take care of yourself (practice self-care). 
3. The way we work right now is different. And for those of us where working from home is new, we have to acknowledge that, and adjust accordingly. 
4. Set a schedule and stick to it.
5. Exercise
6. Get some fresh air, daily.
7. Take care of the people around you. 
8. The way you’ve interacted with the people in your life has changed, you have to acknowledge that too, and adjust accordingly. 
9. www.Zoom.com is a good thing.
10. Think critically about the information you are being fed. Don’t feed into the hype. Our situation is real. Don’t let it consume you (social media can be very anti-social). 

I also think about the fact that when this is all over, and it will be, we will have borne witness to the full spectrum of leadership ability (at every level of our society). Take notes, the historians will.

Facts. Based on the current trajectory:

• Someone you know is going to test positive for the coronavirus. 
• Someone you know is going to get sick. 
• More than likely, that same someone you know, that tested positive, that got sick, is going to get well and end up being OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fnrtrNfXo0

Again, we all have a choice to make. That choice is to be excellent. Be excellent.

 Week 3:

Lockdown week three is almost in the can.

It has been an interesting week. If you are reading this, you have no doubt been affected by some of the decisions that were made and announced yesterday. Please continue to be smart and be safe.

My reflections today are going to come in four parts. First, I am going to talk about the importance of staying connected. Then, I am going to make some statements that are dangerously close to being political. Third, I’ll share with you some of my thoughts on how to manage through this very uncertain time. And finally, I’ll share with you some of my own personal reflections and thoughts.

What I have noticed, during my time working remotely, and specifically now that we are “sheltering in place”, are my interactions with my co-workers have become even more valuable to me than ever before. I ‘see’ my team every day. Monday, that will change. Starting on Monday, there will be people that I won’t be able to interact with, workwise, for weeks at a time. I am going to miss it. I would have never before said that that was something I needed, but it is. As a manager of others, it is very important to me that I continue to stay connected to my team. This is different that someone being on vacation for a couple of weeks. When we are on vacation, hopefully we are with family and friends doing something fun. In our current situation, we are going to have people potentially shut-in, in their homes, with minimal interactions with anyone. I am not going to violate any work rules, but I am not going to let any of “my people” fall into total isolation. I have their personal emails and phone numbers, and I am going to check in on them when they are on furlough (for them and me).

Next, it is even more important, every day, that you distill the facts from the noise. This week, there were statements made by officials that suggest that we, as citizens going about our day to day lives outside of our homes, should consider wearing a mask. Furthermore, in that same conversation (press conference), it was suggested that a scarf would be just as effective as a mask “because the fabric is thicker”. People, that is clearly inaccurate information. If we believed that scarves were as effective as masks, doctors would wear bandanas in the O-R. Has anyone ever seen a doctor operating on a patient wearing a Harley-Davidson bandana like an old-timey bank robber? We should save the masks and PPE for those medical professionals fighting to save our lives when we are in crisis.   The other element of this pandemic that we need to start processing is that there are a significant number of people that are positive with the coronavirus but are asymptomatic. This means they are interacting with people and unknowingly/unwittingly infecting people, people that then take the virus into their homes and potentially infect those that might be in a high-risk category. You might be one of these asymptomatic people. The point is, there is a lot we simply don’t know, period. So, if you want to do the right thing, and minimize the risk to you and those you care about, exercise the only risk mitigation that we know that does work. STAY AT HOME, SHELTER IN PLACE. If you stay at home, you don’t need a mask, nor will you increase your risk to exposure or exposing someone else.

I believe we are the masters of our destiny (and you are too). In the face of what is going on in the world, that might seem like an unrealistic belief. However, I still stand behind that belief, more so now than ever before. Let me share with you why. If you’ve spent one on one time with me, I’ve probably shared my secret with you. If that is the case, this would be good time to reflect on it. If not, and this is new to you, please give it some thought, and determine if and how it applies to you. The magic equation:

E + R = O

In any interaction or situation there is an Event, a Reaction/Response and an Outcome. You cannot control or in some cases even predict the Event. The pandemic, how you are treated by the COSTCO greater and your last conversation with your stir-crazy teenager, are examples of an event. You simply cannot control the event and should not dwell on it. Events are going to happen. You just have to accept that. 99% out the time though, you can significantly impact (even control) the Outcome, based on your Response/Reaction. You have 100% control of your Response/Reaction. You must take a moment to pause and think about your Response/Reaction after the event, specifically, in the context of what you want the Outcome to be. More than likely, especially in an emotionally elevated interaction, you can create the desired positive Outcome by how you choose to react/respond to that event. I challenge you to be deliberate and intentional in your responses and reactions, now and in the future.

Finally, I’d like to share with you some things that I’ve noticed. Every evening, I try and go for 4-mile walk through my neighborhood. My walk takes me through our downtown. Throughout the week and during my walks, I’ve learned:

• Instagram “celebrities” are losing their minds.
• It is going to be tough for our downtown to recover on the other side of this thing. Even more reason to support family-owned small businesses.
• People are still out and about, walking their dogs, jogging, smiling and saying hello.
• Little, helmet-wearing kids on bicycles don’t understand the concept of social distancing on the sidewalk. I have found myself nearly diving into hedges to maintain my six feet.
• I can maintain a 17-minute mile for 4+ miles (and close my exercise ring).
• And lastly, during my walks, I’ve added some new channels to my Pandora channel lineup, and it turns out, I am big Led Zeppelin fan. Who knew?

That is all.

Be smart, Be Safe

Week 4:

Good evening GVA,

Sorry to be so late on this one, the short week caught me off guard, and had a virtual, pre-holiday, social hour with my team on ZOOM, so worth it.

Anywho…

A couple of really unrelated items tonight.

It is official, we have reached the 4-week mark of working remotely. Many other leaders have already articulated it, but I think it is worth noting, that most of us were told on Friday the 13th, that we were going to start working remotely on Monday the 16th, and essentially had the weekend to prepare. And we stepped up. Sure, not everything went perfectly, but the ‘wheels didn’t come off’ and we were able to continue to do business. My initial ‘home office’ was kind of sketchy. The first 3 days in a folding chair really made me appreciate the chairs we have in the office.

I am by no means a source of news. I do however recommend everyone log onto the Johns Hopkins Website to get the facts on Covid-19. They are the ‘gold standard’, at least right now for facts.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu

One of the things I’ve been watching is the number of confirmed cases by state. Facts: Ohio was number 16 on the list for confirmed cases for the last month. This week we dropped to 17. That means, the things that we are doing in Ohio are making a difference relative to the rest of the country. I can’t say that I have always agreed with our governor on his policies, but his action and response to this pandemic are going to have a positive impact on the overall public health and welfare of the citizens of Ohio. And, the fact that the leadership team at Goodyear followed suite matters, a lot. The first quote I’ll drop tonight is “Inaction is an action”, and we can see where others, on different levels, didn’t decisively act, and the unfortunate results.

When you do a quick “Google” search about habits, there is a lot of scientific data that suggests the time it takes a habit to transition into a new behavior. There is a belief that 21 days is all it takes, but more data suggests that it is more like 66 days. Not sure how they get so specific, but that is what the data suggests. Meaning, we are about halfway there to the point where this ‘new norm’ becomes the ‘norm’. Interestingly enough, that almost coincides exactly with when we expect to be given the all-clear to come out of sheltering in place. Not trying to create any connections that don’t exist, but, it will be interesting to see what we look like when we get the all clear and what new behaviors we will have adopted.

Keeping with the thought of habits. Now is a fantastic time to be thinking about “Sharpening the Saw”. If you recognize that as the 7th habit, are you taking the opportunity to sharpen your saw? If you didn’t recognize the 7th habit, I strongly recommend you get a copy of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and use this time to invest in some personal development. When I think of personal development, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a foundational building block in self-improvement. Read it if you haven’t. Practice it if you have.

Keeping with sharpening the saw, I’d like to share with you a short, personal inspirational story. Please indulge me. When I was in Brazil, I was able to hire a young man, as an intern, at the proving grounds. When I interviewed him, I realized that he had and has a lot of potential. He has continued to be a tremendous asset to Goodyear over the years. When I left Brazil, I offered to continue to be a formal mentor for him as he continues his Goodyear journey, and we speak a couple of times a month. When we spoke last week, we talked about a lot of different things. One of the things that he said to me, that has inspired me to rethink my remote time was, he has read seven books since he has been at home. Seven. That is a book every other day for him. He also specifically told me; he was “sharpening the saw”. Why did that impact me so much? I introduced him (and the proving grounds) to the 7 habits. As a result of our conversation, I realized I wasn’t using this time to sharpen my saw. I have since taken a couple of classes online, finished one book, and started the next. My point here is, there is inspiration all around us, all you have to do is be open to it and embrace it. Be inspired by something, and more importantly be inspirational. 

Last week, my friend Ronda shared with me some feedback on my weekly address. In it, she shared with me some insights on grief. As you go about your life in the new norm, it is OK to have a myriad of different feelings. This is new territory for us all.

These are very real. Many of us experience these stages in our normal day to day life. As we progress through this thing, we are going to be faced with some tough situations, many of us have already. I assure you, if you are on this grief, spectrum you are not alone, and it is OK. In fact, it is normal to have the feelings that you might be having. The key is understanding, accepting and realizing that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train, but a true exit out of the tunnel. Grief is normal. Grief takes time. You are going to be OK. If you feel like things are not OK, please reach out to someone to talk about it. And if you don’t think you have someone that will listen to you, call the folks at Achieve Solutions : 1-877-606-1129. There are people in your life “in your corner”.

I’ll close tonight with a final thought and quote. I wish you all a safe and restful holiday. For those of you that are going to be away for a while, I wish you luck and health in the time away. We will see you on the other side. 

And finally:

“Crisis doesn’t create character, it reveals it”. 

What have you revealed?

Be Smart, Be Safe

That is all.

Week 5:

Good afternoon GVA (et al.),

We are shutting the door on week five. I hope this finds everyone, still hunkered down and in good health. Please continue to be smart and take care of yourself and your loved ones. 

 I suspect many of you, like me, have found yourself asking yourself periodically, what day is it?  And genuinely marveling at the fact that you truly don’t know. I’d say having a “day off” last Friday (or whatever day it was) really threw me for a loop. Sidebar: If you work from home, what is a sick day?

 So, what has happened in the last week? Goodyear released a statement about first quarter 2020 earnings. I am not a finance guy, but my takeaways were: we restructured out debt (good thing), we didn’t make as much in money in the first quarter of 2020 as we did in 2019 (expected, we are in a pandemic), our stock price didn’t nose dive after the announcement (good thing). Again, not a financial analyst, but I think we were not reporting doom and gloom (good thing). Darren Wells has a video on the “GO” to explain more…

 Over the last 5 weeks, I’ve been observing some of the behaviors of our leaders. One of the most profound observations I have seen is inconsistency of message. I’m not just talking about a single person or group. We are in strange times, and we are all making this up as we go along. However, there have been some folks (either in defined leadership positions or not), that have demonstrated exceptional leadership. Leaders MUST be able articulate the message and STAY THE COURSE. That course being, we don’t know the answer right now, we are learning as we go, we are in this together, and we are committed to do the right thing, all the time. I can easily get behind those folks, and trust that they are going to make the best decisions possible (even when no one is looking). We don’t need to be “higher-ups” to act that way. We can all stay the course in our circles of influence.

 I have been trying to figure out why I have been so tired. I have been getting adequate sleep, and I don’t think I’ve developed any new medical conditions. What I think is happening, is the stress of uncertainty has been weighing on me heavily. Let’s explore, shall we? In other parts of the world (and other parts of this country), there are people where their normal day to day existence is constantly in jeopardy. If you live in some of the places in the world that are embroiled in decades-long wars, or in under-developed countries where things that we take for granted (like clean running water) are not necessarily normal, those folks have adapted to those stresses. I honestly think it is no different than what I feel when I walk down the street in NYC (or spend a long time in General Quarters). There is a palpable stress due to the environment. People that live in these places are sometimes not even aware of the stress but have adapted to survive in it. I think what happened to me, and probably many other people, is the instantaneous introduction of that kind of uncertainty stress is keeping me from being relaxed, even when I sleep. That lack of ability to relax is catching up to me. Having recognized that, this weekend I am going to explore some of the stress-relief techniques that I know help me quiet my mind (yoga, “Calm” app, leisure reading, Xbox…). Give it some thought if you can’t explain why you feel so tired.

 I am going to focus on (and submit to you to think about too), when we get through this, and we will, how am I working on my better self? I’ve not been as deliberate or as intentional as I think I can be, and I’m adjusting. I have spent A LOT of time in my own head, and there are some things I’m going to explore. On the other side of this thing, we should all have taken the time to make ourselves individually and collectively better.

 TIPS:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/20-little-habits-that-will-help-you-live-a-better-life_b_11014408

 I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on some of the things that I “need”. Like I mentioned before, I do have a need for interaction with my Goodyear team, as well as others that I have routinely interacted with. Going “cold-turkey” was a bit of system shock. Oddly enough, my 30-minute commute is something that also falls into the “need” category. Despite the idiots on route 8, I used that commute time in the car to mentally prepare for the workday on the way in and decompress from the workday on the way home. It gave me a chance to transform from home-Tom to work-Tom, then back again. Now, with the 30 second commute to my basement, the two Toms are sorta merged together. I don’t need the $4.00 Starbucks or $8.00 lunch. But, walking down to the cafeteria, or the lobby for a break is important. It did break up my day. Have you been able to identify some of the “needs” you had, as recently as 6 weeks ago, that may not be so critical in your life right now?

 I need to feel safe. I need to feel like there is an end in sight. At least for now, those needs are being met. I’m still dodging kids on bikes on the sidewalk. Older couples out walking still wave when we pass. My new favorite pizza place is still making pizzas (Friday night is pizza night at the Peeples’ - some of that stimulus money going to local businesses). Cottonelle is still making toilet paper. Gojo is still making hand sanitizer. And we haven’t had to tap into the Hawaiian SPAM reserve. We are not in the clear yet, and we shouldn’t rush, but we are making progress. Wear a mask if you need to go out to places with concentrated people. Now is the time to HOLD FAST, we’ll get there.

 Please continue to be smart and be safe.

 That is all.

 PS.

"Stay the course": A phrase used in the context of a war or battle meaning to pursue a goal regardless of any obstacles or criticism.

“Hold Fast”: To remain securely adhered (to something).