Preserving Culture During Extraordinary Times

Friedman, Greg; Greenfield, Cynthia

During the writing of this book, our industry—and the rest of the world—was greatly impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The market dropped significantly, recovered, and then climbed the “wall of worry” to the confusion of many. Cities across the country went into almost complete lockdown with shelter-in-place restrictions. Travel and tourism stalled and businesses were forced to close its doors. Life as we knew it had suddenly ceased, with no end in sight of this “new normal.” Suddenly our carefully nurtured culture based largely on face-to-face camaraderie and personal service shifted overnight to a completely virtual environment. The world seemingly stopped, and of course for the benefit of our clients we could not. And because of our culture and our people, we didn’t.