Scott Monty | Timeless and Timely

Monuments to Ourselves

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Homer_(Ingres)#/media/File:Jean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres,_Apotheosis_of_Homer,_1827.jpg" target="_blank">Apotheosis of Homer</a></i> by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1827 (public domain - Wikipedia)</span></td></tr>
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<em><strong>"I would much rather have men ask why I have no monument than why I have one."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Cato the Elder, c. 184 BC</em></div>
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In the 1986 comedy <em>Back To School</em>, the oldest freshman, played by Rodney Dangerfield sat in English class, confident of his ability to pass the course because of his budding relationship with his professor. <br />
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The professor, Dr. Diane Turner, still expected mastery of the material when she called on him:<br />
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"Mr. Melon," she began. "How would you characterize <em>The Great Gatsby</em>?"</blockquote>
Clearly out of his element and caught unprepared, he replied: <br />
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"The Great Gatsby? He was…uh…great!"</blockquote>
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This scene stays with me not only because I was an impressionable teen when I first saw it (and repeated it to myself not long thereafter when I read <em>The Great Gatsby</em> for the first time), but because it raises a number of questions: What is greatness? What is fame? How do they differ? And how does reputation factor into this?<br />
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<em><strong>"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— William Shakespeare, 1601</em></div>
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Who personifies greatness to you?<br />
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You may have a personal hero—someone close to you whom you admire who has achieved something or influenced you in some intimate way.<br />
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But most of us conjure up images of distant heroes from chapters of the past when we consider greatness. Leaders like Lincoln, Washington, Martin Luther King. Jr. Artisans such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael. Industrialists like Rockefeller, Edison, Ford.<br />
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If we go back a couple of millennia, we find leaders who were able to achieve greatness, slowly and gradually over time (greatness is not for those who crave instant gratification), and who had the means to leave monuments to themselves. Triumphal arches in Rome to various Caesars; the terracotta army buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China; pyramids in Egypt left as burial chambers for the pharaohs. <br />
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If a leader was respected and revered enough, he might even be deified. Some attempted to deify themselves in the process (in ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was considered part god), while others were treated as such after their passing. Consider the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial as examples approaching this.<br />
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And yet, aren't these temporary? They wear away with the sands of time. Nature takes a toll and topples them, like the Colossus at Rhodes (felled by an earthquake in 226 BC), or thieves raid the tombs of ancient kings.<br />
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Shelley wrote of this notion of fleeting greatness and the arrogance of leaders in his classic poem "Ozymandias" in 1818:<br />
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<em>I met a traveller from an antique land,<br />Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone<br />Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,<br />Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,<br />And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,<br />Tell that its sculptor well those passions read<br />Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,<br />The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;<br />And on the pedestal, these words appear:<br />My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;<br />Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!<br />Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br />Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare<br />The lone and level sands stretch far away.”</em></blockquote>
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But today? Today we don't have time for greatness. We need everything <em>now</em>.<br />
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<em><strong>"Two centuries ago when a great man appeared, people looked for God's purpose in him; today we look for his press agent."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>—</em><em> Daniel Boorstin, 1961</em></div>
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Boorstin wrote of the "Graphic Revolution" — newspapers, radio, television, and all associated media — that gave us the ability to manufacture fame. Mass media gave us the ability to share the same message, the same voice, and the same face across vast amounts of the population.<br />
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What does that get us, though? Not greatness, but fame.<br />
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He was clear that fame was different from greatness: "We can fabricate fame, we can at will (though usually at considerable expense) make a man or woman well-known; but we cannot make him great.<br />
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We can make a celebrity, but we can never make a hero." <br />
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Another 50 years beyond Boorstin's writing drops us square into the Digital Revolution (same concept, new technology). Now our monuments are likes, clicks, views, and follows as we build monuments to ourselves under the auspices of our "personal brand."<br />
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It's a race to online celebrity (perhaps weblebrity? or cewebrity?) as we take a shot at digital immortality. And yet, the meme mausoleum is littered with viral stars that have since gone supernova and have burned out.<br />
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Being an executive at Ford leading digital communications and social media during its rise to popularity thrust me into the spotlight. It was a byproduct of the work I did, not the goal. But I used my position to share what I learned working within a Fortune 10 company, building my expertise along the way.<br />
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And yet, I saw (and still see) the self-styled "gurus" online who are hustling their hearts out, attempting to convince you that they know how to run a global enterprise because they can push buttons, buy fans, or make bots in their attempt to achieve fame and build their personal brands.<br />
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And who can blame them? Shortcuts to fame would seem to be preferable to actually doing the work. Lewis H. Lapham wrote, "Celebrity is about being, not becoming," and that sums it up the skewed priorities that the world seems to reward.<br />
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<em><strong>"Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Albert Einstein, 1931</em></div>
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Social media gives us our fair share of Hollywood celebrities, and their legions of fans. But it has also birthed thousands more YouTubers, Instagrammers, TikTokkers and the like, who dazzle us with their creativity nonstop.<br />
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The unending parade of content is an assault on our senses that doesn't allow us to recover. The infinite scroll keeps our thumbs moving while our brains are at rest, passively consuming whatever is presented to them. Lapham observed: "Perceptions of the world furnished by the camera substitute montage for narrative…<a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/celebrity/dancing-stars">the camera doesn't think</a>."  <br />
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It's what allows us to have celebrities who are famous for being famous. Zsa Zsa Gabor was probably the first of this kind who eventually gave way to the likes of the Kardashians and Paris Hilton. [Incidentally, Zsa Zsa was Conrad Hilton's second wife (he was the second of her nine husbands); Paris Hilton was Conrad's great-granddaughter. The circle is complete.]<br />
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<em><strong>"Men are more generally pleased with a widespread than a great reputation."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Pliny the Younger, c. 110</em></div>
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So we have online personalities (I refuse to call them "influencers") who see the fame, think it's easy to achieve, and chase after it with willful disregard for how they're perceived by those who are paying attention. Or at least by those who are paying attention and can understand the difference between aspiration and raw, greedy ambition.<br />
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In pursuing their unbridled passion for digital dominance (followers, likes, views), they may be sacrificing their reputation along the way. Or perhaps they'll simply further demonstrate who they are — they'll have a reputation, alright.<br />
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With so much content out there and limited space on the platforms, it's harder to get noticed. In an age of content deluge, <a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/say-goodbye-to-the-information-age-its-all-about-reputation-now">it's all about reputation</a>. Rather than pursuing fame, perhaps we should pursue excellence. Or competence. Or helpfulness.<br />
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The best leaders know how to focus on today versus constantly worrying about their legacy. The Stoics knew that <a href="https://dailystoic.com/in-the-end-its-nothing/">in the end, all of the fame, money and trappings means nothing</a>.<br />
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What you have to live with every day, and the legacy you leave to those who care most about you is your integrity, your character, and your reputation.<br />
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Put your efforts into leading with integrity and character, and greatness will follow.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the May 20 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. What are you missing? To see this issue in its entirety, with entertaining and thoughtful links, recommendations, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/monuments-to-ourselves" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
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Monuments to Ourselves

Apotheosis of Homer by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1827 (public domain - Wikipedia) "I would much rather have men ask wh...

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_IkJa04hZBQ/XrusQmFD-fI/AAAAAAABM6Y/hu4AY8emUSIGEROZ-aTPXIJg8BeVMyIXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Rembrandt%2B-%2BThe%2BConspiracy%2Bof%2BClaudius%2BCivilis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_IkJa04hZBQ/XrusQmFD-fI/AAAAAAABM6Y/hu4AY8emUSIGEROZ-aTPXIJg8BeVMyIXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Rembrandt%2B-%2BThe%2BConspiracy%2Bof%2BClaudius%2BCivilis.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conspiracy_of_Claudius_Civilis" target="_blank">The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis</a></i> by Rembrandt, 1661 (public domain - Wikipedia)</td></tr>
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<b><i>"In most cases, men willingly believe what they wish." </i></b></div>
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<i>— Julius Caesar, 52 B.C.</i></div>
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"It's just the wind."<br />
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You've probably thought that to yourself (or even said it out loud) when you were alone at home at night and heard an unexpected noise.<br />
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"It's just the wind," you say, as you to convince yourself that there's nothing to worry about.<br />
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Then, thinking that the wind couldn't make that kind of a sound, you pivot: "Or maybe it's a squirrel in the attic."<br />
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You desperately want to try to outsmart the fear center in your brain. Maybe you succeed. Maybe you don't. It depends on the kind of story you tell yourself.<br />
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Aside from things that go bump in the night, the world can be a scary place.<br />
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Even now, amid advanced technology that connects us to each other's homes around the world, we don't know what the future will look like.<br />
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Imagine what it must have been like thousands of years ago, before calendars were in use, when weather forecasts were unheard of, and when we had no idea where we came from.<br />
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It's human nature to want to simplify the complex, shape the world into a more orderly place, and make sense of things we don't understand.<br />
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So what do we do? We tell ourselves stories to explain away the inexplicable.<br />
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It's been happening since we were first able to communicate. Humans developed myths, traditions, and stories that made sense out of a big and sometimes terrifying world.<br />
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<i><b>"Myth has two main functions. The first is to answer the sort of awkward questions that children ask, such as ‘Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go after death?’…The second function of myth is to justify an existing social system and account for traditional rites and customs."</b> </i></div>
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<i>— Robert Graves, 1955</i></div>
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One of my favorite scenes from Disney's 1940 classic <i>Fantasia</i> is the mythology sequence (quite possibly because of my background as a classics major and a devotee of Beethoven). It's set to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral," and in it, we experience an idyllic scene of centaurs, winged horses (recall there was only one original Pegasus), and Dionysus, the god of wine, all enjoying themselves.<br />
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Then the sky darkened, the dark clouds parted, revealing an amused Zeus, who called to Hephaestus to supply him with lightning bolts. The creatures scatter in fear, desperately seeking cover. Eventually, Zeus tires of this exercise and the storm recedes.<br />
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It's a creative and illuminating mise-en-scène that literally illustrates how the ancients created stories to explain the unexpected or confusing things in the world around them.<br />
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It shouldn't be much of a surprise then, when surrounded by advanced technology that can be incomprehensible to some and grappling with unprecedented circumstances, that modern-day myths arise in the form of conspiracy theories.<br />
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From the moon landing to chemtrails, Freemasonry to the Illuminati, vaccinations to the fluoride, you can find people who are willing to believe fanciful stories that seemingly explain everything to them.<br />
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Most recently, the coronavirus pandemic has launched people into a tizzy, trying to make sense as to why, in the 21st century, we're dealing with a worldwide plague. <a href="https://smonty.co/35UgTnn" target="_blank">Bill Gates has become a target</a>; the president <a href="https://smonty.co/2yUVA9d" target="_blank">suggested disinfectant</a> to combat COVID-19; and <a href="https://smonty.co/3csmVOH" target="_blank">a video claiming the virus was engineered to drive vaccines</a> has been removed from YouTube and Facebook.<br />
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Incidentally, if anyone tries to convince you with the "Plandemic" video, <a href="https://smonty.co/2WrC39h" target="_blank">here's why it's important to push back and how to do it</a>.<br />
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It's astounding to see the degree to which people will go to contort facts and logical thinking into crazy theories to fit their worldview.<br />
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It may be rooted in a lack of understanding of scientific principles. In her book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LlgbGn" target="_blank">Democracy and Truth</a></i>, Sophia Rosenfeld finds that conspiracy theories flourish in societies where there's a gap between the governing and the governed classes. When populism takes hold, the public "tend to reject science and its methods as a source of directives."<br />
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Advances in modern science and technology call even more attention to the disparity between experts and non-experts, leading to the doubting of basic truths.<br />
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This isn't necessarily a new phenomenon, though: in 1623, Galileo wrote about the same phenomenon in <i>The Assayer</i>, noting that his observations of the heavenly bodies were based on math:<br />
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"…what I had set forth was supported and proved by geometrical demonstrations; and such is the strength of men's passion that they failed to notice how the contradiction of geometry is a bald denial of truth."</blockquote>
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What Galileo battled as he tried to convince people that the Earth revolves around the Sun was powerful emotions and biases that stopped them from seeing the truth. When we let our emotions overpower facts, we miss the opportunity to be enlightened.<br />
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When trying to persuade others, this is why it's so important to focus on <i>emotions</i>, to make them <i>feel </i>a certain way, to create the <i>desire </i>to change. Backed up with facts, it's even more powerful.<br />
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This is what the best stories do. They're vessels for information that create an emotional connection.<br />
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Incidentally, I've found a helpful site in working through some of these challenges is <a href="https://smonty.co/2Ll63gR" target="_blank">Your Bias Is</a>. It's worth a bookmark.<br />
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One final anecdote about human nature and how our perceptions can be molded during a pandemic.<br />
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Alessandro Manzoni’s <i>The Betrothed</i>, set in Milan in 1630, <a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/simulated-plague?utm_source=timeless_timely&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=myths" target="_blank">dealt with the reactions to an outbreak of the plague</a>. It's remarkable in how it parallels what we see today.<br />
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<b>People became less skeptical as leaders became infected:</b><br />
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"Gradually even the obstinacy with which the populace had denied the existence of a plague abated and disappeared as the disease went on spreading—always by means of contact and association. The disillusionment became more pronounced when the evil, after having been confined for a time to the poorer classes, began to attack persons of greater prominence."</blockquote>
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<b>They chose to ignore the rationale of natural infection, and instead sought other explanations:</b><br />
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"Those who had so long and so doggedly pooh-poohed the idea that disease in embryo lurked nearby and might be transmitted by natural instrumentalities and work havoc, being now unable to dispute the fact of such transmission any longer and unwilling to attribute it to these obvious instrumentalities (which would have been the confession at once of great fallibility and of great blameworthiness), were all the more inclined to discover some other instrumentality at work and to accept the first theory offered."</blockquote>
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<b>Finally settling on conspiracy theories:</b><br />
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"Unfortunately one was furnished ready-made by the commonly received ideas and traditions, then prevalent not only in Italy but throughout Europe, of the arts of black magic and of conspiracies to disseminate plague by means of infectious poisons and sorcery."</blockquote>
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The world is complex. And we have experts who make it their business to try to understand it. We ought to put our trust and faith in them. There's no need to make up stories about things in order to assuage our fears.<br />
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The best anecdote to fear is dealing with reality. Stories can come later.<br />
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<i><b>"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." </b></i></div>
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<i>― Mark Twain, 1894</i></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the May 13 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. What are you missing? To see this issue in its entirety, with entertaining and thoughtful links, recommendations, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/the-stories-we-tell-ourselves" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. </span><br />
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The Stories We Tell Ourselves

The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis by Rembrandt, 1661 (public domain - Wikipedia) "In most cases, men willingly believe what t...

Exposing Our Imperfections

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AIOA7f3ur_o/XrLjqZmXusI/AAAAAAABM0Q/t6N-iKvlnFU3m6QnZyKCJwIhbgXzAuDZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BEcho%2Band%2BNarcissus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1600" height="364" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AIOA7f3ur_o/XrLjqZmXusI/AAAAAAABM0Q/t6N-iKvlnFU3m6QnZyKCJwIhbgXzAuDZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BEcho%2Band%2BNarcissus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_and_Narcissus_(Waterhouse_painting)"><i>Echo and Narcissus</i></a></strong><span style="text-align: start;"> by John William Waterhouse, 1903 (Wikipedia - public domain)</span></span></td></tr>
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<em><strong>"Nobody ever discovered ugliness through photographs."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Susan Sontag, 1973</em></div>
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In the age of the ubiquitous selfie, we fix our gazes on tiny screens filled our own images. But how many of us are reflecting on <em>ourselves</em> rather than solely on our reflections?<br />
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Like water skiers, we skim along the surface, staying afloat for as long as we keep moving swiftly.   With enough practice, we can weave in and out of the wake, launch ourselves off of ramps, and even learn to slalom or barefoot ski.<br />
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But the moment the boat slows and the line slackens, we find ourselves sinking into the water.<br />
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As we flit from site to site and find ourselves mesmerized by the infinite scroll, digital life has given us the ability to avoid confronting the realities of our lives: we fail to address our inadequacies. We ignore our deepest fears.<br />
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This is simply human nature. <br />
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<em><strong>"Life is the art of being well deceived."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— William Hazlitt, 1817</em></div>
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We often don't know we're being deceived though. When the veil is lifted, we're forced to face reality, in all of its ugliness.<br />
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Recently, I had a friend (one who works in a hospital setting) disclose that he was suffering from COVID-like symptoms. He went in for testing and they discovered a previously unknown heart condition that required urgent treatment.<br />
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In an update after one of his medical appointments, he said his doctors told him the coronavirus, while not always presenting with the same symptoms, has been making underlying conditions more prevalent. In other words, if you suffer from some other unrelated health malady, COVID-19 can cause the other afflictions to suddenly flare up.<br />
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This is analogous to the economic impacts we're currently observing here in America: the coronavirus didn't break us; <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261/">it revealed what was already broken</a>.<br />
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In other moments of national crisis, we had opportunities to unite behind a common cause. September 11 was a sudden and acute crisis that drew us closer together for a relatively short span of time; World War II lasted four years and required much greater sacrifice over that period.<br />
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Today, with an invisible enemy on slow roll through our country, it's difficult for people to see the same kind of urgency—especially when their economic future (and present) is at stake. Many citizens are concerned with their physical health, but their economic health concerns are rearing up.<br />
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Coupled with the rise of fierce individualism we've seen in the past decade or so, it has exposed a pathological lack of empathy in those who refuse to wear masks in public places—an act that not only protects them, but more importantly, protects others.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Related: <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2020/03/pulling-together-separately.html" target="_blank">Pulling Together —  Separately</a></span></i></b></div>
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Our economy was supposed to be strong, yet on average, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/11/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-savings-accounts-at-every-age.html">Americans have about $8,800 stashed away in savings</a> (it varies by age). Without jobs, and a rising unemployment rate, we can see how vulnerable we've become.<br />
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And it's not just individuals that are teetering on the brink. If we look across industries—even industries that were seemingly booming previously—there are now major concerns.<br />
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In its latest earnings call, Disney announced <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/disney-profit-plunges-by-more-than-half-after-theme-parks-close">it lost $1.4 billion in Q1</a>; 70 percent of the impact was from its theme park division, which has been shuttered because of the pandemic. Parks represented a profit center for the company, allowing it to run thinner margins in other areas. But Disney also has retail stores, cruises, stage shows, and studios, all of which have closed.<br />
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While we're on the subject of the entertainment industry, the future of movie theaters is in question. With so much streaming happening at home, including releases of new movies, who's going to want to endure <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2020/05/texas-movie-theaters-reopening-1202228918/">a TSA-style check-in at a movie theater</a> versus the comfort of their own couch? With more Americans concerned about finances, a $10 ticket plus a $15 popcorn and soda combo, together with the hassle of getting to the theater and potentially exposing yourself to other Covid-carrying theater-goers, seems like a non-starter.<br />
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Cruise lines, which were at the center of the outbreak, are on the ropes as well. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/norwegian-cruise-line-stock-price-after-going-concern-doubt-investors-2020-5-1029166621">Norwegian Cruise Lines warned</a> that it might not withstand the shutdown (but has since raised $2 billion to tide itself over for a year). That assumes people will want to return to "normal." In an informal Twitter survey, it's not clear that such is the case:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gojg9KvgRHY/XrLpgFc9EVI/AAAAAAABM0c/V78-_VRvEiwhdMzqwHZFDWF7YBbMKaxwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cruisin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="889" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gojg9KvgRHY/XrLpgFc9EVI/AAAAAAABM0c/V78-_VRvEiwhdMzqwHZFDWF7YBbMKaxwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/cruisin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Retail, another sector that struggled with meeting consumer expectations in recent years, is also in for a world of hurt. J. Crew filed for bankruptcy this week; Nieman Marcus and Lord & Taylor are also on the watch list. With so much real estate under them and tens of thousands of smaller retailers poised for a similar fate, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/23/coronavirus-will-speed-up-store-closures-what-landlords-need-to-watch-next.html">mall owners are bracing for the worst</a>.<br />
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The gig economy delivered fast, convenient and relatively inexpensive services to us in the last half decade. Upstarts negatively impacted the taxi, hotel, and restaurant industries. Now along with those industries, the gig companies—unicorns, grown by intense venture capital, insane valuations, and a structure that conveniently absolved them of offering benefits to workers (don't say employees, please)—are on the defensive.<br />
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Airbnb is <a href="https://news.airbnb.com/a-message-from-co-founder-and-ceo-brian-chesky/">cutting 25 percent of its global workforce</a> (in a thoughtful and heartfelt message from CEO Brian Chesky). Uber is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/uber-to-lay-off-3700-employees-about-14percent-of-workforce.html">laying off 3,700 employees</a>, or 14 percent of its workforce. Not to mention the <a href="https://gen.medium.com/the-harsh-future-of-american-cities-7263da52fd1f">harsh impact on American cities</a> as a whole.<br />
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Air travel, higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, conferences—I could go on. There's hardly a corner of the economy that isn't affected and exposed for what it is during this crisis.<br />
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<em><strong>"Vanity is the natural weakness of an ambitious man, which exposes him to the secret scorn and derision of those he converses with and ruins the character he is so industrious to advance by it."</strong></em></div>
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<em>— Joseph Addison, 1711</em></div>
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One of the most well-known vanity projects of the 20th century was the building and sailing of the <em>Titanic</em>. The ship's owners famously boasted that the ship was practiclly unsinkble: Captain Edward Smith remarked, "Even God himself could not sink this ship."<br />
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As we know, God had other plans. Reality struck the <em>Titanic</em> in the form of an iceberg at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, and within two and a half hours, the ship and some 1,500 souls were gone.<br />
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All it took was a single iceberg to expose the imperfections of the ship: too few lifeboats and bulkheads that didn't extend up far enough to enclose the watertight compartments. As a result, new regulations required ships to carry enough lifeboats for passengers and engineers redesigned the watertight compartments of the <em>Titanic</em>'s sister ship.<br />
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To all who marveled at the Titanic during her building and launch, it seemed as if man triumphed over nature. The Turkish baths, wood paneling, lavish dining rooms and other features of luxury glossed over the dangers that lurked below.<br />
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We like to think all is well based on the outward appearance we project. But without the necessary introspection and hard questions we need to ask ourselves, it's just that: an appearance.<br />
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True leaders can help us aim for substance.<br />
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<em><strong>"A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— David Foster Wallace, 2000</em></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the May 6 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. What are you missing? To see this issue in its entirety, with entertaining and thoughtful links, recommendations, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/exposing-our-imperfections" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. </span><br />
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Exposing Our Imperfections

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903 (Wikipedia - public domain) "Nobody ever discovered ugliness through...

Homesick

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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8aT_5wCQVE0/XqlK_JNXgZI/AAAAAAABMs8/qUfLouZmnNgdfiRh5aClcBXJI9YMDgUYACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Edward%2BHopper%2B-%2BHouse%2Bby%2Bthe%2BRailroad%2B1925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="850" height="538" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8aT_5wCQVE0/XqlK_JNXgZI/AAAAAAABMs8/qUfLouZmnNgdfiRh5aClcBXJI9YMDgUYACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Edward%2BHopper%2B-%2BHouse%2Bby%2Bthe%2BRailroad%2B1925.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House-by-the-railroad-edward-hopper-1925.jpg" target="_blank">House by the Railroad</a></i> by Edward Hopper, 1925 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr>
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<em><strong>"I miss the thrill of grammar school romances</strong></em></div>
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<em><em><strong>I miss the junior prom and graduation dances</strong></em></em></div>
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<em><strong><em><strong>The gossip in assembly hall</strong></em></strong></em></div>
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<em><strong><em><strong>I'm homesick, that's all."</strong> </em></strong></em></div>
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<em>— Gordon Jenkins, 1945</em></div>
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I'll bet you haven't been homesick in a while. <br />
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Although, if you'll allow me, I'd like to stretch that meaning beyond the traditional sense of ennui of missing where we're from. <br />
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Lately, we could take it to mean exasperation with our surroundings, or even the notion that something is horribly wrong in a domestic setting.<br />
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Being at home these last six weeks has given me a chance to be more reflective and observant than I've been in a while.<br />
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Whether it's the quiet solitude, the lack of visual and audio distraction while driving to various appointments, or the rushed feeling of air travel, it's all given me more time with myself. And with my immediate family.<br />
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We talk about what's happening and try to get our kids to process what's going on and how it's affecting them. The abrupt end of hockey seasons. An 8th grade graduation that will never happen. No playdates. It might be more depressing for my wife and me than it is for them.<br />
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With two teenagers (13 and 16 year-old boys) and a six year-old girl, trying to get them to express themselves cogently can be as disjointed as the president's daily briefing. But on occasion we do manage to engage in some helpful conversation and hopes for the future.<br />
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One recent morning, our older son settled himself down for breakfast, and as I was leaving the kitchen for my 50-foot commute to my office, he uttered something I found both hilarious and surprisingly self-aware:<br />
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<i>"Dad, after the quarantine is over, the first thing I’m gonna do is take stuff for granted again."</i><br />
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At once, he's showing a remarkable sense of a personal flaw and expressing how he's grown during this moment of crisis.<br />
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How many of us can say the same?<br />
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<em><strong>"Hospitality consists in a little fire, a little food, and an immense quiet."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1856</em></div>
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The always-on digital environment, coupled with business travel, meetings, daily commutes, family commitments, overscheduled children, and all the bells and whistles that accompanied our daily lives until weeks ago — all of this scarcely gave us time to be alone with ourselves.<br />
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For some, that's the preferred way of living: constantly staying one step ahead of their thoughts, never having to deal with what's troubling them more deeply. Are we truly living if we're allowing distractions to keep us from reflecting and improving? <br />
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The stay-at-home orders have given us a chance to do just that. We're able to live our lives in a way that's nearly devoid of external requirements.<br />
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<strong>G.K. Chesterton</strong> wrote about this in <em><a href="https://smonty.co/2W7Exs1">What's Wrong With the World</a></em> in 1910:<br />
<blockquote>
<em>"For the truth is that to the moderately poor the home is the only place of liberty. Nay, it is the only place of anarchy. It is the only spot on the earth where a man can alter arrangements suddenly, make an experiment or indulge in a whim. Everywhere else he goes he must accept the strict rules of the shop, inn, club, or museum that he happens to enter."</em></blockquote>
And yet, as I noted in <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2020/04/the-revolution-will-be-televised.html">last week's essay</a>, there are people who are protesting the steps the government is taking to protect public health. People who are tired of being cooped up. And now, in some states governors have realized this and are rushing the opening of restaurants, beaches and more. <br />
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The beaches reminded me of one of the iconic stories of isolation: <strong>Daniel Defoe</strong>'s <em>Robinson Crusoe</em>, a novel that was published 301 years ago on April 25. Defoe based his story in part on the real-life experience of <a href="https://smonty.co/3f0MSX9">Alexander Selkirk</a>, who spent four years and four months marooned on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific, before he was rescued by <strong>Woodes Rogers</strong>.<br />
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Crusoe spent 28 years as a castaway, on a remote location he initially named the Island of Despair. Yet, he assessed his situation and began to take steps to create a new life for himself there. He began reading the Bible and through daily reflections, found himself becoming more religious.<br />
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<em><strong>"One may see that solitude and retirement from the world is not such an insufferable state of life as most men imagine, especially when people are fairly called or thrown into it unavoidably, as this man was."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Woodes Rogers, 1712</em></div>
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If we're able to meet the essentials mentioned by Emerson above, our time at home can be cathartic.<br />
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But there are those who might not be quite so fortunate as we are. They might be your neighbors. Or your employees. Maybe even friends or relatives.<br />
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People who don't have provisions of comfort — perhaps their children relied on schools for their meals each day. <br />
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<em><strong>"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are an not be questioned."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Maya Angelou, 1986</em></div>
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The home is not a safe place for everyone. Some people escaped the confines of home each day in a bid for the safety of the workplace and of trusted outsiders in whom they could confide.<br />
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Now we're seeing one of the unfortunate side effects of requiring people to stay at home is <a href="https://smonty.co/3bNnRwD">a rise in domestic violence</a>. Putting victims in proximity to their abusers for extended periods of time may be causing more frequent and dangerous interactions.<br />
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The idea that isolation leads to an increase in violent behavior is not a new one. In "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," written by <strong>Arthur Conan Doyle</strong> in 1892, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on a train heading through the countryside. <br />
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Watson observes the little farmhouses and finds them more idyllic than Holmes:<br />
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“Are they not fresh and beautiful?” I cried with all the enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.<br />
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But Holmes shook his head gravely.<br />
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“Do you know, Watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”<br />
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“Good heavens!” I cried. “Who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads?”<br />
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“They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”<br />
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“You horrify me!”<br />
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“But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser.”</blockquote>
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Yes, proximity matters. This came up last week in a live streamed event I emceed, when the head of marketing for Nextdoor discussed how neighbors are reacting.<br />
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As a social network, Nextdoor is different because you don't get to choose who's in your network. There's no filter there. You're automatically thrown in with people around you.<br />
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<em><strong>"For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?"</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Jane Austen, 1813</em></div>
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In the past, such an arrangement tended to feed human nature, which as Jane Austen could have predicted, resulted in a parody account like <a href="https://twitter.com/bestofnextdoor">@bestofnextdoor</a>, which lampoons the ridiculousness occasionally found among neighborly types.<br />
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But lately, there hasn’t been quite as much to harp at. In the crisis, Nextdoor found that there are more gestures of kindness and generosity happening. People volunteering to pick up groceries for each other, or offering resources like toilet paper or paper towels.<br />
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In other words, the homebound scenario has allowed proximity to fuel community.<br />
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Homesickness. It relates to something we're missing. <br />
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When we're away, we miss the creature comforts that our home affords us.<br />
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Under lockdowns, we miss the external stimuli and are literally sick of being at home.<br />
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And for the less fortunate, the lifeline to the outside means they're languishing under a sickness that is inflicted on them.<br />
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We've all got different scenarios at home. Asking for more productivity while a parent is grappling with the challenges of remote schooling, or an adult child is trying to manage elder care from hundreds of miles away, might be a little much.<br />
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Talking with each other, asking questions, and just checking on general welfare and mental health can be helpful. We may need to reassess our expectations.<br />
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In sum, consider how those around you might be dealing with home life right now. And how you might help them cope during these challenging times.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If you  can think of someone who might benefit from this newsletter, please send it to them.</i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the April 29 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. To see this issue in its entirety, including links, recommended books, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/homesick" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. <i>And more Timeless inspiration <a href="https://www.amazon.com/shop/fullmontyshow" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.</i></span><br />
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Homesick

House by the Railroad by Edward Hopper, 1925 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) "I miss the thrill of grammar school ro...

The Revolution Will Be Televised

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FDSIrJF-CkY/XqCNwleuyNI/AAAAAAABMm4/MRVT6F2un1EuPIGjUlqY_ZerCFdyHB2MACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Domenico%2BGargiulo%2B-%2BPiazza%2Bdel%2BMercato%2Bduring%2Bthe%2BRevolt%2Bof%2BMasaniello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1280" height="446" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FDSIrJF-CkY/XqCNwleuyNI/AAAAAAABMm4/MRVT6F2un1EuPIGjUlqY_ZerCFdyHB2MACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Domenico%2BGargiulo%2B-%2BPiazza%2Bdel%2BMercato%2Bduring%2Bthe%2BRevolt%2Bof%2BMasaniello.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_Gargiulo_-_Piazza_del_Mercato_during_the_Revolt_of_Masaniello.jpg" target="_blank">Piazza del Mercato During the Revolt of Masaniello</a></i> by Domenico Gargiulo, 1647 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr>
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<em><strong>"Give me liberty or give me death!"</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Patrick Henry, 1775</em></div>
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Rebellion is a strange thing. It conjures up the image of an underdog fighting an unjust power. And yet, the word implies a considerable resistance that is often unsuccessful.<br />
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A teen going head to head with a parent (a battle of wills). The Confederacy seceding from the Union (we know how that turned out). The Rebel Alliance standing up to the Galactic Empire (they never seem to completely outdo them).<br />
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Now consider revolution.<br />
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There seems to be a bit more majesty about the word. It implies a larger movement than a rebellion. Actions may be <em>rebellious</em>, but ideas can be <em>revolutionary</em>.<br />
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That concept is rooted in the very origins of the word. Taken from the Latin <em>revolvere</em>, meaning "to revolve, to roll back," the word revolution was initially associated with astronomy and celestial bodies. Copernicus made the connection in <em>On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres</em> (1543).<br />
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Stars and planets make recurring cyclical movements, or revolutions, around a particular point. This is what allowed astronomers to make observations and predictions, that were bolstered by or helped to improve mathematics.<br />
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In <em>On Revolution</em> in 1963, Hannah Arendt likened it to "the ups and downs of human destiny, which have been likened to the rising and setting of sun, moon, and stars since times immemorial."<br />
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In other words, humans are predictable; <a href="https://smonty.co/2VqZAGW">what's past is prologue</a>.<br />
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<br />
Heather Cox Richardson, a history professor and author, perfectly laid out the cycles of unrest and inequality we've endured in the last 170 years or so in her <a href="https://smonty.co/3bvvOXa">March 7, 2020 update</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
"<em>When our lack of government oversight of the economy leads to the rise of extremely wealthy people who take over our political system and use it to promote their own interests, a crisis lays bare the misuse of the government for the rich. Americans then rise up and insist on an active government that protects the equality of opportunity on which our democracy depends. Three times before now, we have played out this pattern.</em>"</blockquote>
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At the moment, we're seeing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/opinion/coronavirus-trump-protests.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email">protests on statehouse steps around the country</a>, where people are objecting to stay-at-home orders and social distancing. On the one hand, it's easy to understand frustration with being homebound and having to abide by restrictive guidelines when 'Muricans are so individualistic.<br />
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At the same time, it seems that these individuals are protesting for…their right to catch the virus? <br />
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It's almost as if they've assumed some twisted embodiment of Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty <em><strong>AND</strong></em> give me death!"<br />
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This completely turns on its head what we discussed last month ("<a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/p/pulling-together-separately">Pulling Together—Separately</a>") regarding a person's ability to put aside his own interests, and instead show concern for the fortune of others.<br />
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<em><strong>"In revolutions everything is forgotten. The benefits you confer today are forgotten tomorrow. The side once changed, gratitude, friendship, parentage, every tie vanishes, and all that is sought for is self-interest."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Napoleon Bonaparte, 1816</em></div>
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What we've seen in recent days is the perfect expression of what Lewis Lapham called "the policy of enlightened selfishness and the signature bourgeois passion for more plums in the pudding." ("<a href="https://smonty.co/3cFelvq">Crowd Control</a>") To watch it play out on television, you would think that the tide is rising and the masses are leading a great revolution.<br />
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In fact, <a href="https://smonty.co/2XWkEqw">a recent survey from Navigator Research</a> showed that only <em><strong>9 percent</strong></em> of respondents think that social distancing measures need to be relaxed, while 52 percent consider that we're doing the right thing, and 35 percent think we need even more aggressive measures.<br />
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It really makes you wonder what those protesters think will happen if they get what they want.<br />
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<em><strong>"When the people contend for their liberty, they seldom get anything by their victory but new masters."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— George Savile, marquess of Halifax, 1750</em></div>
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They'll be able to go fishing and seed their lawns, go to the movies and restaurants (which should be great, since the CDC found evidence of COVID-19 <a href="https://smonty.co/2XWpxQ9">spreading in restaurants via air conditioning</a>), and get back to bowling. Not to mention that the director of the CDC yesterday said we should prepare for a winter spike of the virus.<br />
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And then what? We'll be back to another cycle of staying at home. As George III taunted in <em>Hamilton</em> ("What Comes Next?"), <i>"What comes next? / You’ve been freed. / Do you know how hard it is to lead?"</i><br />
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The remarkable thing about the situation we're in right now is the sudden ability of companies to support remote working and alternative business models. It makes you wonder what they've been resisting all along.<br />
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In my experience, the push for digital transformation has usually come from small pockets within a company: an innovation team, a digital marketing lead, or perhaps the CEO. But large organizations are filled with middle managers who are comfortable doing business they way they've always done and won't deign to disrupt the system. There's always more resistance to change than the perceived need for change.<br />
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<em><strong>"Revolutions cannot, or rather can no longer, be accomplished by a minority. A revolutionary minority, no matter how intelligent and energetic, is not enough, in modern societies at least, to bring about a revolution. The cooperation and adhesion of a majority, and an immense majority, is needed."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— Jean Jaurès, 1901</em></div>
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However, when your entire workforce is working from home and your customers can't physically come to your locations, that's a momentum borne of an immense majority. It cannot be ignored.<br />
If we were to survey employees and ask who led digital transformation at their company, would they say it was the CEO? Or maybe the CTO?<br />
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More likely than not, they'd say the digital transformation revolution was led by COVID-19.<br />
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That doesn’t make it any less real; in fact, it's probably more so, as it's everyone's reality for the foreseeable future. And once we've experienced some of these conveniences, we're less likely to want to completely return to our previous habits.<br />
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Now, whether at home or within our organizations, we have a different set of complexities to deal with. Just like advances humans have made in agriculture, industry, entertainment, medicine, transportation and more, we have more options rather than fewer.<br />
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The burden we have to bear is the choices we make as leaders, family members and friends amid these options.<br />
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<em><strong>"Revolutions have never lightened the burden of tyranny, they have only shifted it to another shoulder."</strong> </em></div>
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<em>— George Bernard Shaw, 1903</em></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If you  can think of someone who might benefit from this newsletter, please send it to them.</i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the April 22 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. To see this issue in its entirety, including links, recommended books, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/the-revolution-will-be-televised" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. <i>And more Timeless inspiration <a href="https://www.amazon.com/shop/fullmontyshow" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.</i></span><br />
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The Revolution Will Be Televised

Piazza del Mercato During the Revolt of Masaniello by Domenico Gargiulo, 1647 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) "Give m...

Letters, We Get Letters

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Rw2U3wLX58/Xpc5ivnOjPI/AAAAAAABMho/0Ky8v3CxW7MpIbmB0BSdFz6Npl-dEVgXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/John%2BFrederick%2BHerring%2BSr%2B-%2BThe%2BEdinburgh%2Band%2BLondon%2BRoyal%2BMail%2B1838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Rw2U3wLX58/Xpc5ivnOjPI/AAAAAAABMho/0Ky8v3CxW7MpIbmB0BSdFz6Npl-dEVgXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/John%2BFrederick%2BHerring%2BSr%2B-%2BThe%2BEdinburgh%2Band%2BLondon%2BRoyal%2BMail%2B1838.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Edinburgh_and_London_Royal_Mail_by_John_Frederick_Herring,_Sr.jpg" target="_blank">The Edinburgh and London Royal Mail</a></i> by John Frederick Herring, Sr., 1838 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr>
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<i><b>"Let me hear from thee by letters."</b> </i></div>
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<i>— William Shakespeare, c. 1590</i></div>
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<i><br />
</i> One small thing that brings me a great deal of joy is receiving a letter in the mail. And I'd wager that I'm not alone in that.<br />
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Amid all of the junk mail, bills, and remnants of our paper-bound society, it's remarkable how an envelope, some ink, and a specialty sticker can affect us so deeply.<br />
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Do you remember ever having a pen pal? It's a dated concept now, but as a child of a certain era, I recall having a regular correspondence with some faceless kid from another state, wondering when his half of our exchange would arrive and what he'd share of his life with me.<br />
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I also remember receiving letters from my grandparents, great-grandparents, and when I was away, my own parents.<br />
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Unlike phone calls, which were filled with distractions on both ends of the line, a letter was a concentrated bit of love and attention — a powerful pouring out of the writer's thoughts and feelings, a narrative of their choosing that gave the recipient a view into their world.<br />
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I've had opportunities to handle old and rare letters from authors, historic figures, and celebrities. One day, in the Ford Motor Company archives, Dean Weber, the former corporate archivist, showed me three resignation letters side-by-side: Henry Ford's in 1945, as he ceded control of the company to his grandson; Robert McNamara's in 1960, as he left the presidency of Ford to become Secretary of Defense under President Kennedy; and Richard Nixon's terse note upon leaving office in 1974.<br />
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While the cynical might few these simply as three pieces of paper with typing on them, what they represent is so much more powerful and personal. First and foremost, each precipitated actions that changed the course of history.<br />
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But deeper than that, each is a connection to a particular mindset at the time.<br />
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Henry Ford was inextricably part of the company he founded four decades before and he oversaw it sometimes in excruciating micromanagement. Despite his advanced age, it must have been heart-wrenching to have to leave it, even to his grandson.<br />
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Robert McNamara was one of the original Whiz Kids at Ford Motor Company, arriving after World War II and helping to put the company back on track. In November 1960, he was named the first president of the company from outside the Ford family. Just a month later, Kennedy offered him a cabinet position. Two career-topping achievements within a month must have been satisfying while leaving him with an excruciating choice.<br />
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And Richard Nixon held on to the presidency for as long as he could. When he realized that impeachment was inevitable, he chose the more honorable route of resigning rather than putting the country (and himself) through charges and a trial. He agonized over the decision, and in the end his brief note belies none of the emotion of it.<br />
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Touching these documents, knowing that the hands of the authors had once touched them, sent a figurative electric shock through me. For just a moment, I was connected to these giants of industry and politics.<br />
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Can the same be said of texts, tweets or emails?<br />
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We're instantaneously connected around the world, touching people whom we would have never known about, much less met years ago.<br />
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But today, our connections are loose ones. We communicate in bits and bytes, electrons and ephemerons, dependent on energy and ethernets.<br />
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We can respond with a heart, a thumbs-up, or a smiley, but are we that touched by electronic communications, dashed off in an instant? And do those emoji really hold the same depth of emotion that we feel when we read and touch paper correspondence?<br />
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Above all else, great leaders understand the power of personal communication and know how  attention at the individual level creates a sense of connection — and more importantly, a sense of loyalty.<br />
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<i><b>I'll be writing more about three leaders like this in Friday's subscriber-only edition. For another dose of Timeless & Timely, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/subscribe" target="_blank">please be sure to sign up</a>.</b></i><br />
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For the moment, I'd like to reflect on the future of mailed correspondence. Specifically on the fate of the U.S. Postal Service.<br />
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You're probably aware of the unofficial motto of the Postal Service, which is inscribed on the General Post Office building in New York City, as built by McKim, Mead and White:<br />
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<i><b>"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."</b> </i></div>
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<i>— Herodotus, 440 B.C.</i></div>
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This is not an exact quote, but a paraphrasing of an excerpt from <i>The Histories</i>, in which Herodotus described the messenger system that the Persians had perfected:<br />
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"Nothing mortal travels so fast as these Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention…Along the whole line of road there are men stationed with horses, in number equal to the number of days which the journey takes, allowing a man and horse to each day; and these men will not be hindered from accomplishing at their best speed the distance which they have to go, either by snow, or rain, or heat, or by the darkness of night. The first delivers his dispatch to the second, and the second passes it to the third; and so it is borne from hand to hand along the whole line, like the light in the torch-race, which the Greeks celebrate to Vulcan. The Persians give the riding post in this manner, the name of Angarum."</blockquote>
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That sounds remarkably like the Pony Express, the American frontier system of mail, that was used two thousand years later.<br />
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With a more dispersed and settled population, America is covered by the U.S. Postal Service. Enshrined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the Postal Service is the nation’s oldest “essential” service.<br />
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Benjamin Franklin was a postmaster general for the Royal Mail in the pre-Revolutionary War years. And it was through his leadership in the Second Continental Congress that led to the establishment of a postal service for the United States.<br />
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Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the modern-day system is something of a lifeline to citizens stuck at home, while also being a daily risk to its workers who handle multiple pieces of mail. In addition to the health risks faced by its workers, the service expects to lose more mail volume as a result of the pandemic — all while nearing another a fiscal cliff under a hostile administration. The current postmaster general has made the case for stimulus funds.<br />
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Delivering stimulus checks to Americans and handling voting by mail may help, but will these measures be enough to rescue its legacy? Many Americans are doing their part as people rush to buy stamps.<br />
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In my estimation, as front-line personnel, postal workers are heroes just as healthcare workers are. They may not be saving lives literally, but the service they provide improves  daily life, whether it's the receipt of a check, a birthday card, or a heartfelt letter.<br />
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<i><b>"Carrier of news and knowledge</b></i></div>
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<i><i><b>Instrument of trade and industry</b></i></i></div>
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<i><b>Promoter of mutual acquaintance</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Of peace and of goodwill</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Among men and nations</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Messenger of sympathy and love</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Servant of parted friends</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Consoler of the lonely</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Bond of the scattered family</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Enlarger of the common life"</b> </i></div>
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<i>     — Charles W. Eliot, 1911</i></div>
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How might you promote peace and goodwill, or console the lonely, create a bond with scattered family or enlarge common life?<br />
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I'd suggest starting with writing a letter. It could be to colleague, a mentor, a friend or a family member.<br />
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Now that you have more time on your hands, buy some stationery (or just use whatever you have at hand), and savor the art of writing a letter.<br />
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If you're stuck and don't know to whom to send a letter, I'll make it easy. Send one to me (<i>see the address in the newsletter footer — you must be a regular subscriber</i>). If you're within the U.S., I'll write back.<br />
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"Pandemic pen pal" has a ring to it.<br />
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<i>Can you think of someone who might like this newsletter? Why not send it to them?</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the April 15 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. To see this issue in its entirety, including links, recommended books, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/letters-we-get-letters" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. <i>And more Timeless inspiration <a href="https://www.amazon.com/shop/fullmontyshow" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.</i></span><br />
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Letters, We Get Letters

The Edinburgh and London Royal Mail by John Frederick Herring, Sr., 1838 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) "Let me hear from...

Renewal

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P0xn6Mfl39Y/Xo1jOBgPFAI/AAAAAAABMa8/jnsn9_50gVkYfU5DrmDQVHlKenR_6vPNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/George%2BInnes%2B-%2BSpring%2BBlossoms%252C%2BMontclair%252C%2BNew%2BJersey%2B%25281891%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P0xn6Mfl39Y/Xo1jOBgPFAI/AAAAAAABMa8/jnsn9_50gVkYfU5DrmDQVHlKenR_6vPNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/George%2BInnes%2B-%2BSpring%2BBlossoms%252C%2BMontclair%252C%2BNew%2BJersey%2B%25281891%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/spring-blossoms-montclair-new-jersey/EAHL0DW19DstgA?hl=en" target="_blank">Spring Blossoms, Montclair, New Jersey</a></i> by George Inness, c. 1891 (public domain - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"The advantage of living is not measured by length, but by use."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Michel de Montaigne, 1573</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
We had massive thunderstorms here last night. Continuous rolling thunder, lightning that lit up the entire sky, warm rains, and even hail.<br />
<br />
It was what all thunderstorms are: an interruptive and cleansing event between two weather fronts.<br />
<br />
This morning, the birds were out and all was quiet as the sun began to peek over the horizon. The grass and streets were still wet and sparkled in a promising and refreshing way.<br />
<br />
It reminded me about a topic that's weighed on my mind recently: death.<br />
<br />
Not in its finality, but in how it transforms those whose life it touches.<br />
<br />
That's probably not the topic you expected to see in a newsletter this week, but it's one that needs addressing—in good way. Stick with me.<br />
<br />
<br />
As I looked back over previous entries, I see that <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2020/02/how-do-you-want-to-be-remembered.html" target="_blank">I wrote about death just eight weeks ago</a>. In one sense, it seems too soon to bring up the topic again, yet in another sense, it seems like it was a lifetime ago.<br />
<br />
That entry reflected on the legacies we leave behind — something every leader should bear in mind.<br />
<br />
<br />
But on February 12, we didn't have the impact of a pandemic weighing on us. With daily reports of infection and death, it's difficult to avoid the topic.<br />
<br />
<br />
As this newsletter drops on April 8, it marks the beginning of Passover and is two days before Good Friday, which leads into Easter.<br />
<br />
These are two occasions that are among the holiest in each respective religion's calendar, and they mark traditions that are millennia old.<br />
<br />
Passover is a Jewish holiday that predates the Bible, originally celebrated as an agricultural holiday associated with the first harvests. Later, it became associated with the Book of Exodus. Even if you're not familiar with the text, you've probably seen it retold in the Cecil B. DeMille version of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3az11Ye" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Ten Commandments</a></i>.<br />
<br />
God helped the Israelites escape slavery in ancient Egypt by inflicting ten plagues on the Egyptians, the last of which was the death of Egyptian first-born. In order to escape this, Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of lambs.<br />
<br />
The lesson on Passover is one of thanks to God for helping his people attain freedom, and that despite the challenges we face, the future can be better than the present.<br />
<br />
<br />
Good Friday marks the day that Jesus Christ was crucified. He is represented as sacrificing himself so that humanity can be saved. Interestingly, in three of the Gospels, we're told of darkening skies upon his death, and one mentions an earthquake.<br />
<br />
The skies clear, and by Sunday, we have the resurrection that marks Easter. In the Christian church, it is the happiest of all of the holidays — even more so than Christmas.<br />
<br />
<br />
It's no coincidence that these holidays take place in the spring.<br />
<br />
Spring is a time of growth and renewal. When the dormant trees and flowers come to life and remind us that nature is once again taking its course.<br />
<br />
Like the legendary phoenix that lived for 500 years and then a new one rose from its ashes, there's a rebirth of sorts with these religious holidays: the people of Israel being delivered to the promised land, and a new religion springing from the teachings of an itinerant preacher.<br />
<br />
Life goes on, even after the most unimaginable of circumstances.<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"We've got to live, no matter how many lives have fallen."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— D.H. Lawrence, 1928</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
There's a golden thread that runs through humanity that connects our past to our future and assures us that even if our present is rife with distress, we care about each other enough to ensure a habitable future.<br />
<br />
Whether it's the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made, or sacrifices our parents made when we grew up, or the life-threatening risks that healthcare workers face in the midst of COVID-19, we know that humanity looks out for itself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
<b>There is hope for mankind in their sacrifice</b></h2>
We remember the Apollo 11 astronauts and mission because of their remarkable success of landing on the Moon and returning safely to Earth in 1969. But to the men and women responsible for this mission, it was anything but certain.<br />
<br />
William Safire, a speechwriter for President Nixon, prepared a memo to be read by the president "<a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/future/plan-b" target="_blank">IN THE EVENT OF MOON DISASTER</a>" and it's one of the most beautifully penned short presidential speeches. It read, in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.<br />
<br />
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.<br />
<br />
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.<br />
<br />
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.<br />
<br />
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.<br />
<br />
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.<br />
<br />
Others will follow and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.<br />
<br />
For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.</blockquote>
<br />
<div data-pm-context="[]">
<b><i>“[T]hey stirred the people to feel as one.”</i></b></div>
<div data-pm-context="[]">
<br /></div>
That was probably the last time we had a chance to feel that way as a global society.<br />
<br />
Before now.<br />
<br />
<br />
There's a great deal of uncertainty in the business world at present, as much of the public is under orders to remain at home. The weakest among already beleaguered industries may be among the first to go.<br />
<br />
Retail (outside of Amazon) was already in a tenuous spot before the pandemic; Macy's may not survive, after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/investing/macys-employees-furlough-coronavirus/index.html" target="_blank">it furloughed all 125,000 employees</a>. Seeing movies in theaters may be a thing of the past, as <a href="https://movieweb.com/amc-theatres-reopening/" target="_blank">AMC struggles with its loans</a>. We see small businesses shuttering in cities around the country.<br />
<br />
Yet at the same time, we see evidence of companies and individuals that are making sacrifices and going beyond the call of duty to provide for those most in need. Examples like:<br />
<ul>
<li>Ford and GE are collaborating to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/ford-ge-plan-to-produce-50000-ventilators-in-100-days.html" target="_blank">produce 50,000 ventilators in 100 days</a></li>
<li>LVMH instructed its perfume manufacturers to begin <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/03/15/lvmh-orders-perfume-factories-start-making-hand-sanitiser/" target="_blank">making hand sanitizer for free</a></li>
<li>Chef José Andrés closed his New York City and Washington, DC restaurants and <a href="https://dc.eater.com/2020/3/15/21180528/jose-andres-coronavirus-closes-restaurants" target="_blank">turned them into community kitchens</a></li>
<li>A college student is <a href="https://www.lex18.com/news/coronavirus/college-student-makes-masks-for-the-deaf-hard-of-hearing" target="_blank">making masks for the deaf and hard of hearing</a>, providing them for free</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
There are many more examples of goodwill and sacrifice in <a href="https://bit.ly/covid-good" target="_blank">a Google Doc</a> that I'm keeping. (It's fully editable, so feel free to add more as you see people and businesses contributing to society's wellbeing.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"Cruel blows of fate call for extreme kindness in the family circle."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Dodie Smith, 1948</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
Such gestures are a reminder that we will keep going and we'll look out for those among us who need the help.<br />
<br />
As we did during World War II, we'll make sacrifices and we may ask everyone to pull together to see us through this once-in-a-lifetime health and economic pandemic event.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2020/04/what-comes-next.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Related: What comes next?</span></a></i></b></div>
<br />
<br />
No one yet knows what it will look like on the other side. It certainly won't look the same. My sense is that it's going to seem like a deflated balloon, misshapen and overstretched, but still able to take in more air when ready. It won't be the same balloon, but it will be buoyant.<br />
<br />
This means your team will be different; they'll know the joys (and challenges) of working from home, and you might need to consider alternative arrangements for your employees.<br />
<br />
Your business model may look different as well. Customers may have gotten used to different methods of getting your product or service, and may expect the same to continue; others may look forward to returning to previous ways of connecting with you.<br />
<br />
As the storm clouds clear and the shining grass emerges, it's a time of renewal. You'll have a unique opportunity to build a culture of flexibility with your stakeholders.<br />
<br />
A one-size-fits-all approach to running a team is a thing of the past. One person's relaxing commute may be another's stressful rush home to have dinner with the kids or see them before bedtime.<br />
<br />
The same applies to your customers: some may want the no-touch experience on their turf, while others may want to see you in person at your location. You're going to need a hybrid approach.<br />
<br />
If you're able to accommodate a variety of working and buying experiences, it's going to be more complex. But allowing employees and customers to choose what works for them will only boost morale, loyalty, and results.<br />
<br />
<br />
Whether it's the Israelites escaping from Egypt, the apostles forging a new church without their leader, San Francisco rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake, or a small town cleaning up after a tornado, we see the irrepressible spirit of mankind, forever pushing forward.<br />
<br />
Our balloons may be deflated after this, but our hearts are not.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"It is life, life that matters, life alone—the continuous and everlasting process of discovering it—and not the discovery itself."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Fyodor Dostoesvky, 1868</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<hr />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the April 8 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. To see this issue in its entirety, including links, recommended books, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/renewal" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. <i>And more Timeless inspiration <a href="https://www.amazon.com/shop/fullmontyshow" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.</i></span><br />
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<br />

Renewal

Spring Blossoms, Montclair, New Jersey by George Inness, c. 1891 (public domain - The Metropolitan Museum of Art) "The advanta...

What Comes Next?

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0YLnMp6dxGY/XoRRNLjB6KI/AAAAAAABMWM/ZJcFLCeUbzosNVhd6dWjpPny6Fqbia53gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Alphonse%2BOsbert%2B-%2BAncient%2BEvening%2B%25281908%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0YLnMp6dxGY/XoRRNLjB6KI/AAAAAAABMWM/ZJcFLCeUbzosNVhd6dWjpPny6Fqbia53gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Alphonse%2BOsbert%2B-%2BAncient%2BEvening%2B%25281908%2529.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alphonse_Osbert,_Soir_antique_(1908).png">Ancient Evening</a></i> by Alphonse Osbert, 1908 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"Fate leads the willing, and draws along those who hang back."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Cleanthes, c. 250 BC</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
Willing or not, we're all part of a new normal. Entire industries have come to a standstill and the economy is under intense stress.<br />
<br />
As we continue to hunker down, whether we're calling it self-isolation, social distancing, or quarantining, I'm fascinated by the adoption of new habits.<br />
<br />
The question at the back of my mind is whether or not we'll be able to sustain these habits once the intensity of the crisis has passed. After all, it's human nature to return to the familiar and comfortable.<br />
<br />
There's nothing like a crisis to focus our attention and to discern true leaders.<br />
<br />
Seneca, in "On the Shortness of Life," reminded us that "Life is divided into three periods: past, present, and future. Of these, the present is short, the future is doubtful, the past is certain."<br />
<br />
He argued that we should not be preoccupied with the present, "as if harnessed in a yoke" and so unable to "turn round and look behind." He considered it essential to eliminate distractions, spending time in quiet reflections and learning from our past.<br />
<br />
But neither did he think it prudent to daydream about things too far ahead of us. He wondered if anything could "be more idiotic" than people who "direct their purposes with an eye toward the distant future."<br />
<br />
With a doubtful future, perhaps it's silly to think too far in advance, for reality can be altered in an instant.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<hr style="text-align: start;" />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<i><b>"The future comes like an unwelcome guest."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Edmund Gosse, 1873</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
Present circumstances have required us to alter life as we know it and to face some unpopular or even unpleasant truths.<br />
<br />
We don't know how this will end, but a must-read in <i>The Atlantic</i> ("<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/">How Will the Coronavirus End</a>?") lays bare our weakness:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Aspects of America’s identity may need rethinking after COVID-19. Many of the country’s values have seemed to work against it during the pandemic. Its individualism, exceptionalism, and tendency to equate doing whatever you want with an act of resistance meant that when it came time to save lives and stay indoors, some people flocked to bars and clubs. Having internalized years of anti-terrorism messaging following 9/11, Americans resolved to not live in fear. But SARS-CoV-2 has no interest in their terror, only their cells."</blockquote>
<br />
If that refrain sounds familiar, you read something similar here recently ("<a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/p/individualism-has-no-place-in-a-pandemic-915">Individualism Has No Place in a Pandemic</a>").<br />
<br />
Americans have had a romantic notion of manifest destiny since John L. O'Sullivan wrote an editorial in 1839 that predicted "our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity."<br />
<br />
Can we put aside our sense of moral superiority and collectively do the things to minimize the spread of the disease? It's going to require a major shift in behavior.<br />
<br />
Since we have the next 30 days to practice these behaviors, there might be a chance. Popular wisdom says that changing a habit takes <a href="https://darebee.com/challenges.html">30 days of consecutive actions</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<hr style="text-align: start;" />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<b><i>"Ill habits gather by unseen degrees, / </i></b><b><i>As brooks make rivers, rivers make seas."</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>—  John Dryden, 1800 (translation of Ovid's </i>Metamorphoses<i>)</i> </div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
Given that our ancestors fought for years in two world wars, or that Anne Frank and her family spent over 700 days in a 450 square-foot attic, it's not much of a sacrifice for us to sit on the couch for a month. I think we can do it.<br />
<br />
For perspective, here's the rallying cry that Winston Churchill gave the nation in his "<a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/their-finest-hour/">Finest Hour</a>" speech:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”"</blockquote>
<br />
There was no guarantee that they would succeed, nor what England would look like after a protracted war. But that's the kind of leadership that we need right now to impress upon the public our need to be resilient.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Why is this so hard?</span></b><br />
For years, I've seen companies struggle with allowing employees to work remotely. Well-meaning individuals who have successfully navigated working from home in other settings find themselves frustrated and thwarted by traditional-thinking managers at other companies.<br />
<br />
Yet when governors created orders for non-essential workers to stay at home, companies had to adopt nearly overnight to the new conditions.<br />
<br />
And they seem to be doing just fine with it.<br />
<br />
But somewhere along the way, a short-sighted manager didn't want to allow employees to work from home or enjoy the flexibility that a remote location might offer them.<br />
<br />
They couldn't see how such an arrangement would be fair, or they assumed the employee might be goofing off. Never mind that it would cut down on commuting time, which itself involves an additional expense and stress, and cuts into family time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<hr style="text-align: start;" />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<i><b>"Every man takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world."</b> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— Arthur Schopenhauer, 1851</i></div>
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<br />
It's funny how a global pandemic forces change. It doesn't care about biases, ignorance, or inflexibility.<br />
<br />
In the weeks ahead, after the bans are lifted, we won't need to be confined to our homes exclusively. But <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcgMC09YKjg">will we automatically revert to our previous arrangements</a> and habits? I sincerely hope not.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcgMC09YKjg" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Perhaps a hybrid of sorts is what we can hope for.<br />
<br />
Consider some of the industries that have the greatest to gain from these flexible ways of doin business:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Automotive</b>: Dealerships can still sell and service cars, but be more responsive to customer preferences in terms of where and how the transactions are done.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Higher education</b>: Watching your children learning online should make you question the value of the physical overhead that goes into running universities. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-higher-education-ready-to-serve-the-connected-student/">How much of this can be done remotely versus in person?</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Retail</b>: Amazon has been booming amid the shutdowns. Traditional retail needs to get on board with digital and physical shopping alternatives, and have a seamless integration between the two.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Trade shows</b>: Does your company really need to spend millions of dollars on so many shows? Are there ways of bringing people and ideas together online in an engaging way that can complement physical gatherings?</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/arts/music/classical-music-streaming-coronavirus.html">Classical music is seeing a surge of interest in streaming content</a>, now that concerts are cancelled. For outfits like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (disclosure: I'm a trustee) that in 2012 stated its goal of being "the most connected orchestra on the planet," it's business as usual. But for others, they're finding new opportunities and new audiences.<br />
<br />
What about coffee consumption? Home-brewed coffee (or even home-roasted coffee) may replace $5 barista-crafted drinks, after a month of the stuff. It's a significant savings for some.<br />
<br />
There are doubtless others.<br />
<br />
<br />
Do we know what's likely to happen next, what form our behaviors will take, or what iterations will evolve from businesses?<br />
<br />
Absolutely not.<br />
<br />
And like Seneca cautioned, we don’t want to be idiots who spend our time dwelling on the distant future.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, we're sequestered with family — or perhaps we're separated from family by many miles, but connected to them on Zoom or Facetime — thus giving us the gift of time together.<br />
<br />
Before we got to this point, we were zipping about our daily lives with a thousand things to do, meetings to attend, projects, recitals and rehearsals, and the minutiae of a helter-skelter life.<br />
<br />
It makes me wonder if humanity was reaching a breaking point before COVID-19 came along. As Emily Webb lamented in <i>Our Town</i>, "I can't go on. It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another."<br />
<br />
It was only after Emily's death, when she returned to relive one day of her life — her twelfth birthday — that she came to understand what truly mattered in life.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back up the hill to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look.<br />
"Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners . . . Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking. . . and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths . . . and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize."</blockquote>
<br />
Here's hoping that you're appreciating what's wonderful today and planning to retain as much of that for tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This originally appeared in the April 1 issue of the <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Timeless & Timely</a> newsletter. To see the newsletter in its entirety, including links, recommended books, and more, <a href="https://scottmonty.substack.com/what-comes-next" style="color: #280170; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">please click here</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br />
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