The number of positive coronavirus cases in the United States crossed the 800,000 mark this week, and it comes as no surprise that the state of New York leads the way with more than a quarter-million cases. New York City remains the center of attention, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has become a national celebrity of sorts with his daily televised updates and guidance.
With the Big Apple serving as the unwitting epicenter of COVID-19, we wanted to get the views of an office technology dealership experiencing the daily grind of living and working amid the tensions and unease. Adam Weiss, the vice president of sales and general manager of Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office was kind enough to share his thoughts in the latest segment of Two-Minute Drill.
What is it like living and working in the eye of the coronavirus storm? Please share with us the daily experience, including mundane tasks such as shopping for groceries.
Weiss: It is very crazy and the sound of the ambulances is unfortunately too frequent. I had to stop watching the news because there is nothing positive. The good news is that you don’t have to go out into Manhattan, because you can get everything delivered, but you have to make sure you are signing up for delivery dates days or weeks in advance. My wife is pregnant, so it makes the situation a little bit more sensitive. Even with the deliveries, we have a three-point disinfection process before anything enters the apartment.
Provide a little insight into how you are able to do business. What do customers need the most in these times?
Weiss: We are fortunate to have a lot of business in the health care world and many of our other clients are essential as well, so we still have some clients that need our services. Unfortunately, the majority of our clients have been affected and are not in their offices, which means nothing is clicking. Our IT business has been busier than ever as they had to support our clients’ transition to a remote workforce. That is the thing that clients need the most help with today. There is the technology infrastructure component as well as the technology they can use to automate business processes, which we can help with. Of course, every business needs to watch cash flow, so the 90-day deferred program the leasing companies are offering is a very good talking point now.
With everyone sheltered in place, how difficult is communicating with your people? Can you talk a little bit about the system you’ve worked out?
Weiss: I might even argue that the communication process is even better today. Every team has a daily call and most do it twice a day. We share highlights with the team daily so that everyone can see what is working out there and we show them that people are still doing business. It has slowed down, but it hasn’t stopped.
In challenging times like these, leadership is often the pivotal factor that holds a company together. With all eyes turning to the corner office, from clients to customers and vendors, what has been the messaging you’ve offered to help provide stability and reassurance?
Weiss: We know we will get through this and we know we will be defined by how we treat our clients and our employees during this time. It is very challenging because nobody knows how long it will last and tough decisions need to be made. The key components are: communicate frequently, be transparent, and be brutally honest, but provide direction for the future.
I have two quotes to represent the messaging we are using:
“Tough times never last but tough people do!”
– Robert Schuller
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”
– Napoleon Hill
