Week 21.10 On Nomadland and Vaccines

A year ago on March 7, I was returning from my last vacation and was wiping down seats and preparing for a situation that I was in no way prepared for. It was also the anniversary of the death of my beloved grandfather who had died 52 years early and whose memory stays with me and speaks with me every day. 

This weekend I watched Nomadland. It is an extraordinarily beautiful and exceptionally crafted film by Chloe Zhao and superbly acted by Francis McDormand. It is about a sixty-year-old woman displaced by the closing of the gypsum plant in Empire Nevada during the great recession who joins the world of American nomads, living a subsistence life dwelling in vans, traveling from job to job. The film juxtaposes the beautiful vistas of the American West, full of promise and freedom, with the imposing structures of the American economy that seem to sap the will and strip the soul. She becomes part of a group of fellow nomads who are kind and loving and have created their own community declaring that not having to pay rent is a liberation. Most of the other actors are playing themselves, sharing their true stories. I felt profound empathy for them, finding in their detachment, a truth about society, social safety nets, and the price of a society that in subtle and not so subtle ways, elevates objects over people. It is a beautiful film that I heartily recommend and it has left me profoundly sad and slightly angry.

I live in New York and I have been so committed to a fair vaccine role out, excited by the growing numbers of people getting vaccinated, the attention focused on equitable distribution, and the promise of the acceleration of the rollout. I am amazed and appreciative that only one year after the start of the pandemic, we have a robust vaccine program. I am excited by the prospect of returning to the normal of social gathering (my personal litmus test for normal.) This weekend, I can’t lie it may be because I saw Nomadland, my eyes were opened to the inequities of vaccine distribution in New York and the lack of leadership that may be a contributing factor. I have been waiting to find out when I should expect my turn would come to be vaccinated. I have no particular priority, I am not of a certain age, no co-morbidities, not a front-line worker. This weekend, I noticed that many people have begun to hack the system. It began with a few people who figured out that you can get a vaccine that would be thrown out at the end of the day. Others figured out that while co-morbidities qualify you for a vaccine, the documents are usually not checked. And others found they could make multiple appointments in case they missed one they would have a backup. I suspect that most of the vaccines are being given in an orderly fashion to those who need them. But the perception that so many people are circumventing the system feels to me like a break down of social contract and a failure of leadership. 

When I think of leadership, I think of the roles of the leader to set the vision, empower the people, and hold them accountable. The great CEO, Alan Mulally called this Working Together. It is a profound and poetic system of leadership that values people first, commits to transparency, and is firm in its accountability. In a small way, Working Together reminds me of my grandfather who has a men’s clothing store and would have agreed with Alan that the first job of a leader with respect to all stakeholders is to “love them up.” New York leadership in this vaccine rollout has not made that happen. Appointments are difficult to get, even more so for the understandably digitally challenged elderly who are the first recipients. And the lack of clearly communicating a plan has created additional stress unnecessarily. 

The disenfranchisement of the American nomad and the lack of transparency of the NY vaccine rollout is an opportunity to call our attention to the value of leadership. I still believe that the prime role of the leader is to care for and love all members of their community, to set a vision and act selflessly, and for each of us to hold each other and ourselves accountable. Study after study shows that putting people first is the path to sustainable profits. I recognize my privilege of having the seeds planted in my heart by my grandfather and for the reinforcement, I receive from people like Alan, and Marshall and so many members of my 100 Coaches community. As we pass into the second year of the pandemic, we know that things will be different and that for many of us things will be better. Let’s not forget or leave behind the staggering number of people who will be displaced by the changes brought by the post-pandemic world, and find a way to make their world different from the lives of the people displaced by the closing of the plant in Empire NV.

Methods

You help executives, teams, and organizations transform their businesses from the very top every day. But how do you ensure that transformation filters down throughout everyone, right down to the front-line workers? How can you multiply that value for your client in an affordable way, even beyond managers and executives? Let Methods of Leaders be a tool that you offer in collaboration with your IP or expertise that adds value and can help change lives all the way up and down the organization. Methods of Leaders is creating high-quality, interactive e-learning videos featuring coaches from the MG100 pool. With an ever-expanding library of content from both new and existing coaches, you’ll always be able to find relevant and exciting content to learn from, so you can take your business or organization to the next level. Do you want to get involved with Methods? Would you like to be able to view content? Email: [email protected]

Mark Thompson launches the Chief Executive Podcast! 

Mark is excited to be hosting this podcast with some amazing guests, including Venus Williams, Charles Schwab, Richard Branson, Dalai Lama, Dave Chang, Dr. Jim Kim, and more! This week features NBA Championship Player and Olympian, our own Pau Gasol. Pau and Mark sat down to talk about how he stays focused and present, handles stress, and the importance of preparation for all he does. Be sure to share, subscribe and enjoy new episodes weekly! Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. 

And, as always, thank you, Marshall, for making all of this possible

With love and gratitude

Scott