A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

Dear Colleagues, Clients and Friends – 

As I write to you, we find ourselves tumbling through a dizzying cascade of global events. COVID-19 has not released its grasp on humanity  ̶  in fact, the worldwide pandemic seems to be deepening its hold. 

While the virus is receding in some countries hit hardest earlier this year, there are now over 100,000 new cases every single day. In the U.S., the situation appears to be spinning out of control, with infection rates surging in over 39 states and the death toll over 130,000. 

As economic damage ripples across America, we’re living in a whiplash world. States such as California, Texas and Arizona that opened up weeks ago, are shutting parts of their states back down, imperiling businesses and adding new challenges for school districts and universities, some of which have already announced they are not re-opening this year. 

Rising up amongst this uncertainty is one of the most important social justice movements of our time, Black Lives Matter, driving protestors into the streets to express their anger and address the ongoing disenfranchisement of minorities and people of color.  

With these many narratives surging, you can be forgiven if you’ve forgotten which way is up. 

We’re not living in the ‘old normal’, and we’re clearly not in the ‘new normal’. We’re living in the ‘now normal’. 

The Now Normal is a state of constant change. It is a place where leaders have no firm foundations to stand upon, nor handrails, nor guideposts of any kind. In the Now Normal, adaptation is the theme as we all learn how to discover a middle path between being open for business or in quarantine.  

And, to top all of this off, the U.S. election is set to take place in November, and the uncertainty created by the result will defer political solutions off until next year at the earliest.  

Across all our offices around the world, our clients are asking for our best counsel on surviving, and even thriving, in the Now Normal. And to this end, I wanted to share some of my top insights on the road ahead: 

• First, stop waiting for the chaos to settle down and embrace your new reality – because it’s going to stay like this for quite some time. And in fact, it’s likely to get worse in the months ahead as school districts attempt to send students into live classrooms and economic damage to businesses proliferates. So, stop putting off those product launches, or milestone announcements.  

• Focus on the now. There’s absolutely no way to predict what will happen in the coming months, so stay focused on today. What do your stakeholders need to hear from you, right now? What is the top concern of the day, or the week? 

• Be honest. Don’t tell your people everything is OK if it’s not. If your sales are tumbling and you’re losing market share, be transparent about that to the best extent possible. Failure to do so will erode trust with the people you need the most – your internal stakeholders. 

• Be calm amidst the storm. If you’re worried, your people will worry, which breeds paralysis across the enterprise and makes it impossible to make any real progress. Do what you need to do to keep level-headed in this time, whether its meditation, yoga, reading a good book or taking some time off work. 

• Rally the troops. This is a time when leaders must gather their people around them to find the way through the darkness. Link arms with your employees and all of your stakeholders … you’re all in this together. 

• Stay focused on people. Damage to business notwithstanding, this year has been about human suffering. In everything you do, work to ease the burden on colleagues, on families, on customers, and on everyone you deal with each day.  

I speak for all of the Global Partners when I say that, despite the uncertainties all around us, we’ve never been more proud to lead this great agency, to work with each of you, and to be of service to some of the best brands in the world. In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll be rolling up our sleeves, again, to help our clients find success in the Now Normal. 

If there is anything I can do to address any of your concerns, please email me directly at scott@allisonpr.com. You can also  sign up   to receive our weekly newsletter, “Emerging Stronger” to learn how we can help you during this time.  

Meanwhile, please stay safe and well. 

Sincerely, 

Scott Allison