As I write this, it feels like the sky is falling. The  Johns Hopkins’s real-time COVID-19 map shows more than 113,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 world-wide and we are closing in on 4,000 deaths. The stock market dropped another 7% today in the first few minutes of trading, shutting down operations for a cooling off period before resuming operations.
Even at church yesterday, my pastor talked about Purell from the pulpit. Ushers did not awkwardly attempt to shake parishioner’s hands and we skipped the part where they ask you to greet others around you (an introvert’s nightmare). The Coronavirus seems to dominate our thoughts.
To look forward, let’s first look back. I recently finished reading American Plague,(#ad) about yellow fever in the 19th Century. Yellow fever or yellow jack, as it was known at the time, devastated the city of Memphis in 1878. But one positive side effect of this unfortunate plague was that city leaders began to lay separate lines for water and sanitation as it was not yet understood that mosquitos spread yellow fever. The upside was better sanitation and prevention of the spread of further diseases (e.g., cholera).
Initially, people thought that yellow fever was an airborne disease or that you could catch it by touching infected clothing. Germ theory was a fairly new concept. It was a great leap forward in our understanding of other infectious diseases, but it was wrong-headed in the case of yellow fever. It was not until an army doctor proved that the disease was transferred by mosquitoes that we fully understood and began to defend ourselves against yellow fever.
Whether we are talking about COVID-19 or yellow fever, it sounds callous to look for the upside of tragedy, but leaders see opportunity in every change. There’s an upside in the midst of every crisis.
Right now, we are preparing alternative plans to carry on remotely if the schools shut down. We hope never to exercise these plans, but the planning process makes us stronger.
If the situation deteriorates, the coronavirus may do more for telecommuting than any planned strategic change that executives have ever imagined. Business models will change. Innovation will occur. If necessity is the mother of invention, infection (at least in the present circumstance) is the mother of necessity.
And this brings me back to my point. Earlier I mentioned that an army major definitively proved that yellow fever was mosquito-borne. Against the prevailing medical wisdom of the day, Major Reed definitively proved that mosquitos transmitted the virus. He did it by experimenting on human subjects, but the human subjects were all volunteers, they were fully informed, and Reed introduced the consent form which has become a standard in scientific research to this day.
Major Reed not only established the cause of yellow fever, blunting a disease that took thousands of lives, but he contributed to research ethics with the consent form. For his efforts he and his fellow researchers were awarded the Congressional Gold medal. You know about Major Reed, even if you never heard this story. His first name is Walter. You have heard of Walter Reed Hospital (and later the national Military Medical Center) which was named in his honor. It is where presidents, congressmen, and members of the Supreme Court receive medical treatment today.
It would be hard to believe that with all the resources now devoted to the coronavirus—time, treasure, and the attention of brilliant medical researchers—that we will not realize some significant, lasting gains. Innovation will continue. Solutions will be found, and a new generation of Walter Reeds will emerge.
___________
Dr. Darin Gerdes is a tenured Professor of Management in the College of Business at Charleston Southern University.
All ideas expressed on www.daringerdes.com are his own.
FTC Disclosure: When I refer to a book, I often add a link to Amazon (#ad) so you can purchase it easily. I may earn a few cents if you buy it, but I never recommend any books unless they are worth reading.
___________
