May 7, 2020

Hey Gang,

Like yours, our office continues to discuss timelines, policies and concerns about re-entry. While I appreciate we have more significant challenges, I worry we are missing a very simple one: elevators. Last fall, our office building underwent an elevator upgrade. Here’s the actual sign posted in the lobby… (turns out our elevators were transporting people from 1985!).

At lunch and in the evening, one could wait for 15-20 minutes, only to be greeted by an elevator stuffed to the gills (and those big shoulder pads take up a lot of space). I missed many spin classes cursing these elevator delays! (And OK, fair. I could’ve taken the stairs. 42 stories of stairs probably = 1 spin class, but that’s besides the point.)

When we are ready to ease back in some way, how many hours of productivity will be lost waiting in line for elevators, food trucks, and whatever safety protocols may exist? What will traffic patterns look like when far fewer people can or want to use public transportation? How will essential workers feel about the sudden and massive inconvenience of ‘the rest of us’ clogging things up? It’s hard to imagine a middle ground.

Little did our building know this elevator ‘modernization process’ was the exact opposite of what we needed! We need to send those people right back to 1985 to prevent this whole mess in the first place. Any of you guys have a DeLorean?

News & Resources

• Beware Overblown Claims of Coronavirus Strains – lots of fear-mongering yet little data

• Expertise can help save us from Covid-19 — if we use it right – in this piece, the CEO of GLG (my old stomping grounds, full disclosure) talks about the value of tapping into experts; “people need complex information delivered clearly, transparency about what’s known and unknown, and the best advice based on the most up-to-date information. We don’t need uninformed opinions or wishful thinking…”

• McKinsey: How COVID-19 Is Changing the World of Beauty – if you’re having the same day I am, you’re thinking… it’s not pretty. But that’s not entirely true. The “lipstick index” tells another story.

From the Community

• Blood test for cancer detection company Grail rakes in $390M in latest round – WOW! Josh & Jeff, it was those cookies, wasn’t it?! 😉

• Bay Area's Drive-In Movie Theaters Reopen For Business – I’d drive a long distance for this (even though I could also just walk into my living room)

• Off the Grid Feeds Healthcare Workers at SF General – love these stories of giving back

Food Fight – send me yours!

Today’s winner is Duncan Kimmel, a medical student in NYC who somehow found the time to bake this magazine-image quality pie. Awesome work, Duncan (and keep up those studies… we need you!)

Partner of the chef (and co-founder & CEO of HealthMode) Dan Karlin’s comments: “Duncan, my partner and a med student of some repute, has been getting a kick out of your emails, too. Thought this would make a good submission. It’s delicious. Anybody else who wants to try can find the recipe here.”

A Little Levity

• In yesterday’s Cuteness Contest, I included a photo of this creature in my yard, and a number of you commented on the low-rez/pixelation issues with the image. That made for some funny name suggestions (Thumper, Sasquatch, Ted Kaczynski). I’ll try to get closer to the little guy in the future (no, it wasn’t Big Foot).

Be Well,

Jackie