In the Times of Coronavirus, A Collection of Responses and Questions

Global stimulus and action plans in review

Global Impact

How could one not address this? I’m not the only one considering the effects of coronavirus. From the immediate to the long term (think 1 year out), here is an (evolving) list of all the global stimulus plans that are being worked on in order to address the fallout of this crisis.

Stimulus Plans, by Segment / Geography

Hospitality

Travel / Aerospace

Federal

US - State(s)

International Agencies

International (EU / Asia)

Op-Ed Pieces

Observations from a global view

The overall response has been highly scattered. Aside from those countries which do not have sufficient healthcare infrastructure already in place (primarily African and Latin / South American countries), each country is starting its own response from the ground up. Pressure exerted on each country appears to manifest in a couple ways:

  • Lack of capacity at hospitals
  • Lack of necessary medical supplies in order to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus from sick to still-healthy citizens
  • Lack of effective social distancing practices
  • Differences in governance structures (attributed to the setup of each individual country), resulting in what seems to be 3 distinct approaches:
    1. Total government mandates quarantine
    2. Self-administered quarantine and isolation
    3. Negligence OR the choice to build a herd immunity
  • A tremendous impact to the stock market. Never mind being down -31% since February 19th, 2020 - there have been 4 circuit breakers triggered within the last 3 weeks.
  • 1 in 5 Americans have lost their job or had hours reduced because of the significant impact to retail. This is expected to get worse through May.

Immediate, Short, and Long Term Problems

What makes all of this so challenging to address is that we have never experienced a pandemic of this scale before. Charts from the IMF links show that by far the COVID-19 outbreak has greatly outpaced all other comparable events… and will continue to do so. Our ability to forecast when we will be able to recover and how society at large should structure a response against the impact of coronavirus is further convoluted.

Starting with the US, the attention has been on the immediate term - trying to answer the questions:

  • “How can we prevent the spread of further infection?”
  • “What policy will most impact (financially) the market in order to sustain the flow of business (and prevent a systemic collapse)?”

As a knowledge worker… where I live vs. where I work has not affected my ability to execute. It is those service workers from all the aforementioned verticals who now have no source of income.

Conclusion with a Question: Where are the competencies? What are the new values?

This is without a doubt a prominent event in our species’ history. It will stand as a marker in time that will be responsible for the structuring of how prioritize the advancement of healthcare services, industrial capacity, and a very long term discussion with regard to the kinds of growth that society should seek out. Being mindful of the way that we allow business to shape our markets, laws, and communities will be reevaluated as the result of this experience.

As a spectator, my first reaction is to discover what models, services, and governmental functions allow for society to thrive despite a pandemic.

How can we look to existing leaders in the business world that can help to reestablish new ways of working, community design, and a health-based culture?

With my limited work experience and knowledge, here are some companies / communities that I know have develop strong competencies that can be shared:

  • Remote Working
  • Health Focused Culture
  • A culture of sustainable growth

Please write me - I am curious to hear your thoughts.

Written on March 19, 2020