Small businesses are in the middle of a difficult dilemma. They are trying to take care of their employees and still find a way to provide services and resources for their customers. In this quarantine culture, this is an incredibly difficult, if not impossible, feat.

Nick is a hero. He is a doctor who continues to open his practice to those who need him. He is awake in the wee hours of the morning preparing for what the day ahead will bring.

It is an understatement to say that we are in unchartered waters as a nation. Our team at Eagle is focused on how to create a “new normal” in the way we serve and walk with our clients.

There is one thing that is certain…nothing is certain. Who could have predicted that we would find ourselves in the middle of a coronavirus scare that has caused the markets to dive, travel to be halted and countries to put up quarantine borders?

It took a lot of courage. He stood in front of his team and…listened. He had asked each one what he or she needed from him. They took his question seriously and provided thoughtful and meaningful responses.

I’ve been learning a lot lately. That is not necessarily a good or pleasant thing. It seems that many times learning comes from hard times. The past several weeks have not been fun, enjoyable or pleasant. The weeks have brought difficulty and pain on multiple levels.

They simply dropped the ball. After the surgery, the medical team had a breakdown in communication. Better said, there was no communication to the family about the surgery, the outcome or next steps. She stepped into the midst of the confusion and frustration.

I am a coffee person. I have my regular Starbucks order locked and loaded (venti skinny French vanilla latte), and sometimes when I’m traveling, getting my caffeine fix becomes a real priority in my day.

We all have been through them. Those times when things seem to pile up.  One thing after another, until the path forward seems incredibly hard and overwhelming. This family is in one of those difficult seasons of life. 

You might never know. She certainly would not call attention to herself. However, if you were to assess the VIP roles within our organization, she would land near the top. She works behind the scenes to support, organize, lead and execute too many tasks to mention here.

A CEO of a large international company shared with me his adopted philosophy on leadership and life. He is someone who I have known for many years, and who has consistently demonstrated strong leadership.

Some would say that it is a rare thing to find one who stays true to his or her word. With the fast-paced competitive environment that we live in, it appears that keeping your word may be becoming less important to those who lead.

In 2020, I am focusing on the word FOCUS. I want to be more intentional about life and the choices I make. One of the things that I am going to focus on is gratitude.