March 19, 2020
Dear colleagues, clients, and friends:
You don’t need me to tell you about the challenges we are facing as individuals, as organizations, and as a nation. We are all living it. Every institution we rely on is learning to pivot at an incredible scale and pace to protect human life. It is encouraging to know we live in a world where we can work together toward a common good. As a society, we’ve proven we are smart enough to look ahead and make changes today to mitigate the losses of tomorrow. To achieve this tremendous undertaking will require large, usually cautious institutions to move quickly and be responsive to rapidly changing events and circumstances. It will require difficult decisions that balance risks and benefits for individuals and for our entire communities. Ultimately, this means we must be strong, and smart, and wise. We must find a path forward with grace and with the greater good as our compass.
In short: This is the time for leadership.
This is the time for our leaders to step up and make difficult choices and then re-make those decisions when circumstances change again. Leaders need to support their people. They need to protect resources, invest in the right places, and anticipate the future. They need to prioritize for the short term, without losing the important perspective of the long term. They need to express confidence while confronting and communicating hard truths with compassion. To do all this, leaders will need help. They will need someone they can turn to who can hear their concerns, hear their ideas, and help them shape a direction forward while balancing competing demands. It is a daunting task, but this is not a job leaders can step away from. This is a moment in time when our leaders must face an immense challenge head on. And while some leaders will succeed in guiding us through the moment, others will falter under the strain.
And this is 3D Group’s mission: We help your leaders navigate through the rough waters.
While today’s news is filled with the latest developments, let’s remember that last month, before things changed so radically, thousands of leaders inside organizations were just promoted to their first managerial jobs or into new roles. Countless organizations have leaders who were given stretch assignments just months ago. How many leaders today are managing their own personal stress and distractions well enough to make good decisions for your organization’s health? And what are organizations doing now to back up these leaders who were going to be learning their new jobs and stretching themselves even before this new challenge emerged?
We need leaders to guide our institutions through these difficult times—but we should not ask them to do this alone.
At 3D Group, we are poised to support your organization and your leaders. We’ve been relying on virtual collaboration tools for years, and 95% of the work we do to support leaders is already delivered virtually. We are ready for this. Our operational capacity is unaffected by the current events. All active client work with 3D Group has been and will continue to be delivered on schedule without interruption. Throughout this event and beyond, we will continue to provide your leaders the insight, perspective, and compassion they need to meet this challenge and the challenges of the future.
Please know things will improve. Our people and our institutions are resilient. Eventually, we will emerge from this stronger: As individuals, as organizations, and as a nation. But those who will get through it best are the ones who support their leaders and their employees. We are here to help.
Sincerely,
Dale S. Rose, Ph.D.
President