By Daniel Jones
If I was on a boat during a terrible storm, I would look to the experienced sailors, the ones with eye-patches, gnarly beards, and skin so thick sunburns bounce off. When they freak out, I’ll start freaking out. In the case of COVID-19, I looked to my grandmother. Ruth Norton lived on a farm during the Great Depression, lost family members to the Great War, and has survived numerous calamities during her 91 years of life. She is entering her tenth decade. When we last spoke before the Great Pandemic, she said, “Everybody needs to just calm down. It will be over before you know it.”
It is hard to look at it that way while the storm is still raging, but many who have lived with danger have a unique perspective of the world. Think of someone you know who has been through a lot. A person like that can be a reliable anchor in a storm, someone we can tether to for safety. Your anchor doesn’t have to be a person, it could be a system you have faith in, a building built really well, or just having 100% battery on your cell phone. Who or what is your tether in our current crisis? I encourage you to find one and hold on tight!
Ruth has been a part of our family business for much of the last 50 years. She offers wonderful perspective on how to handle all kinds of situations, ranging from personnel questions to strategy and technology. She always manages to simplify things and make the answer seem obvious. I’m not saying she is always right, but I appreciate her perspective. It takes a long-term perspective and ongoing commitment to plan for something like a pandemic.
Fortunes will be won and lost in the next several months, made on the high-seas of economic turmoil. Luckily, many businesses in our area are run by experienced sailors who have been through a storm or two. This storm will be a hurricane unlike any other, but here are some thoughts from a business who has been through more than 20 hurricanes:
• Don’t give up, we will recover and bounce back.
• The best way to recover is to support each other and work together.
• There will be things that don’t go according to plan.
• Build it stronger the second time.
• Start early, think ahead, and don’t look back.
• Set your compass to “Don’t Panic” and move forward.
Daniel Jones is Commercial Lines Account Manager, Surety Bonds, with Norton Insurance. You can reach them by phone (850) 244-1574, email (daniel@norton-insurance.com) or visit the website at www.norton-insurance.com.
