Showing Up Matters

As we continue to watch, with equal parts shock, sadness, and solidarity, a country gripped by a pandemic, our eyes fill and our hearts swell for the frontline workers who are risking their lives to come to the aid of others – doctors, nurses, first responders, senior living staff, home health aides, grocery workers, and other essential personnel. They are our friends, neighbors, family, and everyday heroes.

At a time like this, in light of the bigger picture, it can be easy to lose focus and wonder if what we do matters. What does it matter if I send one more email or join one more Zoom meeting? It matters.

Showing Up Matters

While I would never purport that knowledge workers logging into our company servers from the safety of our homes are at all like the aforementioned heroes, I know our work counts.

It counts because the only thing we can control is ourselves. Showing up, staying the course, conducting our work and our lives with integrity is all we can control. And when we do those things, they add up. They add up for our colleagues, our clients, their clients, the vendors who rely on our business and whose businesses we rely on, and for the economy as a whole.

It counts because, as I have said before, communication is at the heart of everything we do – as product and service providers, leaders, colleagues, partners, or customers. It is is the backbone of every business. Communication is how we learn the good news and the critical. It’s how we spread the message of new solutions, emerging opportunities, and promising advancements.

It counts because communication translates to leadership. It’s what sets the tone for the country, our companies, our culture. We’ve seen the results of ineffective communication – fear, confusion, doubt – and we’ve seen the impact of effective communication from leaders like Governor Cuomo and Dr. Fauci. We know it makes a difference.

So my simple message today is keep showing up. Know that it matters. And be safe!

P.S. Now go wash your hands.