Our Covid Diary Week 3: To the Bottom of Maslow's Triangle .... and Back Up Again

What has brought you joy this week? That's the question I've been asking myself as I prepare to put pen to paper. Struck me that I've definitely been up and down old Maslow's triangle so I'm going to record both ends. I'll warn you now, if you're not interested in food, skip the first half.

Monday

My son didn't stir from his bed until noon, and before I could think "well, at least he won't be on the playstation all day ..." he appeared in the kitchen declaring an intention to bake. And it didn't stop there. The blueberry and lemon cake was for pudding. Later in the day he re-appeared, opened a few tins, pulled out the original River Cafe cook book and whipped up the most delicious Penne Arrabiata .

Tuesday

No idea where they get it from, but my kids are quite competitive, which is probably the reason why, on Tuesday, we were treated to a full-on Ottolenghi Simple menu (by the way this book is totally mis-titled).

The good thing about this was that it took her mind off the awful situation that is the ditching of A levels. As of Tuesday we still did not know whether the school were going to set further mock exams or not.

Rest of the week

Don't worry, even I'm bored with this now. The point is that food has become central to our lives. Thinking about what to cook, cooking it, eating it together as a family has become one of the highlights of the day. I guess it's not just fulfilling the "food" bit of the triangle but also the "belonging and love" piece.

We have friends and relatives who live alone and Zoom, Houseparty and Facetime are proving invaluable in helping us all keep in touch and connected. There's definitely something visceral about being able to see people as well as hear them.

Esteem Needs: Feelings of accomplishment

Safety and belonging needs sated, how on earth do you go about creating a sense of accomplishment when your business is effectively on hold, your clients have other priorities and the people you're trying to help are - like you - stuck at home?

Well, you crack on, basically. You find a different way to be helpful. We said we'd find ways to be useful to people and so that's exactly what we will do. Having conquered Zoom to deliver a "return to work" bootcamp, we decided to take the next step and deliver some of our training using the same platform.

Which is why, on Wednesday, Steph & I found ourselves disclosing our personality styles and the way we both complement each other and occasionally find each other frustrating (to say the least) during her training session on "Dealing with Difficult People".

Now this made me laugh. Sharon, who took these photos during the training session, assures me that she didn't mean to suggest that I was a narcissist - arrogant, with a sense of entitlement etc etc ...but you do have to wonder.

We began by offering the training to all the people we've placed as Associates through one of the three Reignite Academy programmes we have run so far. Our plan in the next few weeks is to add new topics and make available more broadly.

Self Actualisation: Is it at all possible during a crisis?

Bizarrely, it was this week that it really hit home. Now is a great time to sit back and think creatively about where we want to be when we come out the other side. All the rules are suspended. How we come back is up to us. Here's an extract from an email Nick Jones, founder of the Soho House group, sent out recently

Like many of you, we see this as an opportunity to reflect, regroup and come back stronger than ever ...

He's absolutely right. For us, at the Reignite Academy it's time to ask some searching questions.

• What does membership mean? What benefits do we want to deliver, where can we add value to our member firms? And what, in turn, will we require from member firms? (Are we prepared to say "no" if we suspect potential members are simply paying lip service?)
• How do we best support our candidates during their transition back to a full-on career? We've used one particular model so far, how could that be improved? How do we balance the need to develop personal relationships and connections with the value that can be delivered more widely using online platforms? What's the right mix?
• Where do we want to play? Beginning in London made sense when we were a new venture and we had assumed that any geographic expansion would need to be slow. Why? We began by focusing purely on roles in private practice but what about barristers, lawyers working in-house, lawyers taking on non-fee earning roles? Wouldn't they value our support?

It's actually quite exciting to think that we have the time and space to reflect, to ask for input, to talk to clients and candidates about what they really value, and to be bold and creative about what we want to achieve in the future.

As long, of course, as we're adequately fed and watered. Now, what's for dinner tonight ....