Some Good News From This Past Week (May 11, 2020)

I hope that each of you had a restful weekend.  And, other than the unseasonable burst of snow flurries early Saturday morning, we couldn’t have asked for better weather!

 This week marks the beginning of the 8th week of Governor Baker’s shut-down of all non-essential services in the Commonwealth (restaurants shut down a week earlier and are now entering their 9th week!).  Baker has not yet signaled his current intentions regarding the scheduled reopening next Monday, but I took as a good sign his decision last week to open up golf courses throughout the state.  (Even if we’re poor players, at least we can get some exercise!).  Let’s hope for the best!

 While the shutdown has had severe consequences for many businesses in the Commonwealth, we are fortunate that all of the companies run by our group members have been able to continue at least some aspects of their business operations.  In fact, many of you have actually realized an increase in business activity because of your role as partners in essential supply chains.  Staying open during this time has not been without challenges, as each of you has been forced to take action to monitor and protect the health of your employees.  But the degree of risk seems to have been more than compensated by your ability to keep your employees on the payroll and to remain a vital part of the economy.

 My one-to-one conversations with many of you over the past few weeks have also revealed an unprecedented amount of “outside-the-box” thinking about your companies and your businesses.  These include experimenting with new ways to stay in front of current and prospective clients and customers, developing variations on existing products and services and identifying opportunities for new product and service offerings, and reexamining the performance of your current associates with an eye toward better leveraging their strengths to your mutual advantage.

 These are all innovations that have come about in large part because of the unprecedented environment in which we’re currently operating.  And each in their own way has the power to transform our companies in ways that will make us stronger and more resilient in the months and years ahead!

 Now is the time to reexamine our businesses through a different lens, and to proactively move forward with exploring new and different ideas that can support our companies through good times and bad.  So I hope you make the best of this unprecedented opportunity. And let me know how I can help!