Trying to deliver

We’ve all survived our first week of working from home. I have headed back to the allotment, as it offers both a break from each other and a chance to dig in a way that we really haven’t done since getting the plot. Very carefully, and picking out all the weeds while leaving the soil. After years of semi-neglect, the earth is stuffed full of worms, which is a delight. And, we still have some vegetables to harvest, although right now it’s the aptly named hungry gap. See the Romanesco cauliflower, above.

So, rather than risk the queues at the grocery stores, we are getting more deliveries. We have added a bread delivery from a local bakery (paulrhodesbakery.co.uk). A selection of gorgeous breads was dropped on our doorstep, plus cinnamon buns. We are discovering that supporting local businesses is definitely the more delicious option. Not cheaper, but we are eating so well. Must double up on the Zoom exercise sessions…

I did read a rather interesting article in the Times the other day, in the Saturday magazine. It was about a Syrian banker, Louai Al Roumani. He has first-hand experience of what has basically been a grim testing area for what happens in a crisis, like the one we’re all in now.

He now lives in London, and was amused by people hoarding toilet rolls in response to the coronavirus, as in Syria they went to the banks. There were lessons to be learned about resilience. Lessons such as not overplanning, being magnanimous and helping others, and not becoming too much of a jobsworth. Also, not using the crisis as an excuse to give up on even trying. The object of a business is not just survival, as that’s not a state to aspire to.

“Be kind to everyone you deal with – you never know when you might need them in a crisis. Think long term: there’s no point fretting about when things might improve, because no one knows. Don’t follow the news too closely – it will sap your energy. And, more than anything else, don’t lose sight of opportunities,” he notes, in the interview with Sathnam Sanghera. These are all such very valid points.

I thought it was also interesting how his bank not only drove their employees to work, but also competitors’ employees, and this magnified the bank’s reputation as a good employer. “The way companies behave during a crisis defines their reputation more than any number of branding exercises. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate what you believe. People will remember.” Indeed they will.

Lessons from a Warzone will be published this week by Portfolio Penguin.