Bloomberg Businessweek titled last week’s edition as The Great Disconnect, and it was aptly named. This is a time of disconnections.
We’ve been feeling disconnected from friends, from family members, from social gatherings, and even from our regular sense of reality. We’re disconnected.
Businessweek’s attention focused on the disconnect between economic indicators and the performance of the markets. The increases that have been happening in the markets do not reflect, correlate or connect with the underlying economic signals, signposts and indicators that we’ve been witnessing and an industry of experts – ourselves included – are simply amazed at what’s been happening. We’re also collectively wondering when the reckoning will arrive.
As a species, we are wired for certainty, but we’re surrounded by uncertainty and it’s taking a toll. While uncertainty isn’t new, rarely has it seemed so pervasive and so spotlighted. We’re seeing uncertainty politically, socially, in health, economics, family dynamics, foreign and domestic policy, community groups, shopping habits, entertainment and personal mental health. We’ve worked hard to stay connected with our clients, but even with phone calls, videos and emails like this one, it feels different.
In a recent team meeting we talked about how this feels, and we also looked at areas where there was certainty. First, us being here for you is certain. We’re not going anywhere, and we’ll continue to monitor, update, share and stay in touch with you.
Also, your planning is still certain. We mentioned recently to work the plan, not the markets, and we stand by that guidance. There should be no disconnect between your vision for the future, and your plan to move toward that vision. If you have new ideas on what you want to see happen one day, then we should dig into that and explore it further, but if your vision is unchanged, then stick with the plan.
Stay connected to the values that have guided you to this point in your life, and also consider whether or not those have shifted for you in any way based on your experience with social distancing, the impact it has had on your business, your family or yourself.
Ultimately, the thing you can be certain about is your ability to navigate the dramatic uncertainty that’s unfolding today when you have clarity, coaching, and are working a plan that makes sense.
The world is uncertain, but that doesn’t mean you need to be.