Musings on a Monday Morning from Mike Mullin…
The weekly Newsletter of Without A Vision Consultancy LLC
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March 17, 2020 – Eve of the Feast of Saint Patrick
Good morning!
Our faithful and beloved hundt of 12 1/2 years died suddenly this past Saturday at 8:26 AM — shortly after completing his morning chores, including fetching the paper — which he had done faithfully 365 mornings each year, with great joy. My guess is a massive heart attack because I’m not sure what else would have resulted in death so fast. Funny thing, the thermostat has to be set two or three degrees higher to make-up for the warmth he brought to the house. Rest in peace, Stump old friend (Fat Head/ Cooper); it’s eerily quiet here without you.
- The dog dying solved the dilemma of whether I should lead with the Covid – #19. Sadness is always what’s closest to home.
- On this Eve of the Feast of Saint Patrick, enjoy your corned beef… or if you prefer, just the cabbage… or the cribbage.
- Saw the first robin of the season last Thursday on the hike… and their collective songs in spring are filled with joy, exuberance, optimism, and flirtatious abandon.
- Disasters and tragedies tend to have winners and losers.
- Somewhere down the road history will be written by the survivors; who will be the winner(s) of this Covid-#19?
- Peggy Noonan is a respected and somewhat middle-of-the road journalist; her column in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal is required reading if you haven’t settled on something better.
- “We’re not ready for the next epidemic.” (Bill Gates, TED Talk in 2014) “…not missiles, but microbes…”
- So, here they are, a few of my untested — and hopefully wrong — thoughts, as of right now… they could change in the next hour:
- This is not a drill.
- It’s likely to get (much) worse before it gets better.
- We need clarity, confidence and a bunch more stuff.
- Do you remember that old elementary school challenge? Would you like $1 right now, or wait for thirty days and I’ll give you $1 doubled each day from now ’til then?
- That’s the exponential power of this disease — we’re told by the experts (Fauci, Etc., et al.) — and we haven’t even begun to experience its compounding effects.
- By the way, the answer is, “Wait 30 days…”. (Do the math again, just for fun, it only takes two minutes with paper and a pencil, it will viscerally impact you.)
- Spoiler alert: By the 30th day the amount is more than $536,870,912 per day — $1/2 Billion… by the tenth day it still hasn’t reached $1,000.
- Are we overreacting? Let’s hope so.
- We will need to summon the better angels of our nature (A. Lincoln) and be very careful not to judge; we’re not good at not judging.
- Millions of people in the U.S. are in poverty — or nearly so — Covid-#19, exacerbated by the challenges of poverty, is ominously on the horizon.
- I don’t know if there are analogies, they’re so helpful but elusive at this point.
- A Category #6 hurricane? Probably not because even the most massive hurricane still only affects a small area of the world — and it has a beginning and an end.
- Raise your hand if you weren’t yet believing in the interconnectedness of our world; how about now?
- We weren’t — and aren’t — ready. Can we do it? Yes we can, but it will take all of us.
- Dr. Fauci says from what we know the Covid – #19 is at least ten times more lethal than the regular influenza.
- The U.S. (most of my readers) is not a totalitarian society; we are not accustomed to doing what we’re told — and each of us always knows better than the next person.
- “In uncertain times, look for the helpers.” (Mr. Fred Rogers)
- Go outside, the sunshine helps lots… go to your own yard or to a sparsely populated common area.. we need exercise and fresh air to get through this.
- Eat as well as you can afford — and get at least eight (8) hours of sleep, more if you require it.
- Ask for help; be kind to each other.
- “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t.” (Tom Edison)
- I enjoy going to the bank, in-person, if only to cash-in a few pennies.
- On a visit last week the teller counted out a few Federal Reserve Notes for me and as he counted I observed some of the George Washington heads facing in the wrong direction.
- I quipped to the teller, “You know some of those heads were facing the wrong way.”
- “Oh, we don’t do that any more,” he said, “we’ve given up on that.” Imagine.
- And, on a lighter note, or at least a different note, from my book, How Do You Know?
- A chapter on Be Ready!
- During the late summer of 1980 my then-boss informed me a movie star had moved into the neighborhood and that I should be sure to meet him. My job at the time was marketing/ promotion/ fund raising/ recruitment for a local school — along with still teaching half-time. My boss was worldly and sharp as a tack but had spent most of her life in the convent and apparently didn’t know the difference between a movie star and a rock ‘n’ roll teen idol. I phoned this person shortly after her tip and we agreed to meet for coffee in a few days. Only later did I connect all of the amazing dots, but I was ready, recognized an opportunity, and knew what do do when this world famous Dad of one of my students sat and visited with me over a cup of coffee. Admittedly I was somewhat selfish as I thought, if we respectfully nurture a friendship with the famous Bobby Vee we can raise more money with one event than for all events combined in the entire history of the school. Thus was born, Bouncin’ Back with Bobby Vee which occurred at the Sunwood Inn to a sold-out packed audience on March 14, 1981. A few months later we expanded the concept, opened it to thousands of people, and renamed it Rockin’ ‘Round the Clock which over a number of years generated more than $1 million. Meeting, getting to know, and working with Bobby Vee coincided with a year of being newly-engaged to my future wife. Looking back it was a time of tremendous blessings — because I was ready when relationships with both my fiancé and Bobby Vee appeared in front of me.
- Be ready — or you’ll miss the boat, or the train.
- During the late summer of 1980 my then-boss informed me a movie star had moved into the neighborhood and that I should be sure to meet him. My job at the time was marketing/ promotion/ fund raising/ recruitment for a local school — along with still teaching half-time. My boss was worldly and sharp as a tack but had spent most of her life in the convent and apparently didn’t know the difference between a movie star and a rock ‘n’ roll teen idol. I phoned this person shortly after her tip and we agreed to meet for coffee in a few days. Only later did I connect all of the amazing dots, but I was ready, recognized an opportunity, and knew what do do when this world famous Dad of one of my students sat and visited with me over a cup of coffee. Admittedly I was somewhat selfish as I thought, if we respectfully nurture a friendship with the famous Bobby Vee we can raise more money with one event than for all events combined in the entire history of the school. Thus was born, Bouncin’ Back with Bobby Vee which occurred at the Sunwood Inn to a sold-out packed audience on March 14, 1981. A few months later we expanded the concept, opened it to thousands of people, and renamed it Rockin’ ‘Round the Clock which over a number of years generated more than $1 million. Meeting, getting to know, and working with Bobby Vee coincided with a year of being newly-engaged to my future wife. Looking back it was a time of tremendous blessings — because I was ready when relationships with both my fiancé and Bobby Vee appeared in front of me.
- A chapter on Be Ready!
- What are you reading? Awakening Compassion at Work, Dutton.
- “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.” (Warren Buffet)
Bus Stop
By Michael A. Mullin
Common destination,
complete disconnection.
Social, emotional distance;
it’s safer, if awkward.
Physical separation,
eyes down.
It’s cold; no hat, no coat, no mittens.
Parents in pajamas holding coffee mugs
and smoking cigarettes;
when did they join this queue — and why?
Little kids hit each other with lunch boxes,
Shortest to tallest,
the teenager disgustedly above it all at a distance.
The bus of no reveal
is a shared vision.
©2017 Michael A. Mullin
And, here it is in case you missed it:
- Was your hands often;
- Sneeze, Cough, Hack into something other than the air;
- Keep away from other people as much as reasonably possible — but still wave and say hello;
- Write ink-on-paper letters (then stamp and mail — you can print your own stamps from home now) to fifty people you’ve been meaning to tell, “You are important to me.”
- If you’re feeling ill, STAY HOME;
- Stay positive — or, if you’re not a positive person, sulk in private.
Please remember to tell others about me; I sure appreciate it.I work with individuals, governance structures (Boards), non-profits, and businesses wanting to be bigger, better, stronger, healthier, happier… yes, all five are possible and best done in concert, but it typically requires a coach (consultant) or a companion to help illuminate the path.At Without a Vision Consultancy LLC — www.withoutavision.org — we LISTEN, we LEARN, we LISTEN some more, and only then do we suggest strategic directions unique to your situation. We do not bring a one-size-fits-all template, nor the latest flash-in-the-pan solutions, to working with you.As we work with you we deliver and provide an increase in your CONFIDENCE, and CLARITY while providing coaching and companionship for your journey.We bring more than fifty years of experience from all sides of the Board table in thirteen different leadership roles — 26 of those years as a CEO.
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