March 29, 2020

Hi Gang,

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to find the news really disorienting (OK, more so than usual). All these trackers and models with list of caveats; politicians pointing fingers and fighting over resources; people in my ACTUAL friend network debating the severity of the crisis on Facebook (we thought the election was polarizing). In this weekend edition, I’ll aim to make this productive.

In the survey you responded to on March 26 (results attached), I asked:

What do you need right now?

34% Share ideas and insights (please see The Library; please steal liberally and share with your teams if helpful)

19% Connection (I have a separate thread for those who want to ‘reply all’ and connect directly – please let me know if you’d like to join)

14% Contribute to solving the crisis (I am very encouraged by this article, Why coronavirus antibody testing in one town could provide a way forward)

12% Problem-solving (see Top 5 Questions below)

9% Engagement (arguably overlaps with ‘sharing ideas and insights’)

7% Humor (see below & go to Friday's post: Vital Signs - Humor Edition, in case you missed it)

5% Virtual daycare (oh man… you got me here. :/ Maybe the stimulus package should include iPads.)

Top 5 Questions for Your Peers

If you could take a moment to share responses, I will aggregate for the group.

• What aspects or changes to your business model do you anticipate will remain long term, after COVID-19?

• How can you access capital or funding in this environment?

• Are labs still operating? If so, on what level? How are you maintaining productivity?

• How are you keeping employees motivated, engaged and connected?

• Has attention turned to longer-term planning yet? How?

I hope everyone found some upside this weekend. After sleeping in way too long, playing Words with Friends, looking for more data trackers to help me understand WTF is going on, and watching my cat cough up a rubber band, I managed to get out for a long hike. We discovered a hidden trail; four deer scampered by, and long hanging vines made for perfect rope swings. Later we played the BEST game for two people EVER (Gobblet)!!! I dog-eared cookbooks, and we pulled off restaurant-quality sautéed scallops. We also binge-watched Schitt’s Creek on Netflix (HIL-arious! And uncannily relevant).

What’s going on in your world? (You can reply… I am genuinely curious!)

Jackie