“Does anyone know anything about this virus? Is there new information?” asked Layla.
“My understanding is that it’s very contagious, so it’s important to keep washing your hands and not to touch your face. There’s some conflicting information about wearing a mask, but the state is going to require social distancing. That means staying six feet apart at all times,” said Mr. Lamb.
“Is anyone in the office out sick?” asked Peter, who sounded a little panicky.
“No one that I’m aware of,” said Sam, trying to remember. “Frank is out, but I think that has more to do with his daughter’s wedding.”
“You don’t want to go jumping to conclusions,” Mr. Lamb said. “My understanding is that the virus has a two-week incubation period, and that during that time, most people don’t even realize that they’re sick. Not to freak you out, but if you had it, you probably wouldn’t even know until you started showing symptoms. By then, you would have spent two weeks spreading it.”
“The news is saying that the elderly are most vulnerable to it,” Nathan from accounting added. “You might want to isolate yourselves from any older relatives you have for a while.”
“Oh, my God, my grandfather,” said Layla. “I visit him every Sunday! How am I going to explain this to him?”
“For now, tell him it’s for his own safety,” Mr. Lamb said.
It was amazing, the way he handled a roomful of people. He didn’t just bark orders; he listened. This was what real leadership and real management skills were all about.
Mr. Lamb was so dreamy in that moment that I had to check myself. I was the only one in the conference room smiling; everyone else had a serious, worried look on their face.
“It’s important we’re all on the same page on this,” Mr. Lamb said. “You know, our clients are going to be worried, too. This is going to impact the market, but — and I don’t want this to sound ghoulish, but it’s true — if everyone’s home for the next few weeks, this could be a big opportunity for us.”
“It’s true,” Layla said. “Everyone is going to be on the Internet or watching TV. What else are they going to do?”
“The exposure we could give our clients might be staggering,” Sam said. “And it could be important too. I see an economic downturn if this thing continues past a month.”
“That long, you think?” asked Mr. Lamb.
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “I don’t remember anything like this ever happening before.”
“There was the Spanish Flu,” Nathan said. “Over 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu hit, and deaths were… Well, let’s just say that they were high.”
“But that was so long ago,” Layla said dismissively. “Scientific discovery is way more advanced now.”
“That’s probably what the people back then thought,” Nathan said. “I mean, your present time is the most advanced time, right? The early 1900s had seen the Industrial Revolution just a few decades prior. I’ll bet that’s exactly what those people said when it started.”
“Well, we’re not scientists. We’re an advertising firm. All we can do is just do what we do best,” Mr. Lamb said. “These bigger considerations… There’s nothing we can do about them. If the world is going to end, it’s going to end. It might as well end while we’re doing something satisfying. And when the world doesn’t end, the firm will live on, so we’ll all have jobs, right?”
People seemed to calm down and nod in agreement. I marveled at the way Mr. Lamb could just summarize the bigger picture so clearly. Maybe he could be president, or at least a senator. I could see him give that reasoned, yet impassioned, speech to keep the public calm.
“I want to get a face mask,” Nathan said, determined. “Does anyone know who sells them?”
“I guess the drugstore?” suggested Layla. “I mean, it’s a medical supply.”
“Yeah, but the nurses need them,” said Priscilla, one of the other workers. “My sister’s a nurse at the state hospital and she says there’s already a shortage of masks. You probably shouldn’t buy any.”
“It’s not like the hospital goes to the local drugstore for their supplies!” said Marty, laughing. “They probably go through so many of those things on a given day, the supply in the drugstore wouldn’t last an hour!”
“They already stopped all elective surgery,” Priscilla said. “They’ve been getting ready for an influx of patients for days. They have a whole wing of the hospital just for virus patients.”
“That quick?” asked Marty, worried. “Oh, boy. That’s not a good sign.”
“Marty, you gotta try not to be so negative,” Mr. Lamb said. “Yes, this virus is bad, but it’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, right?”
“That’s true,” said Marty.
“So, since I won’t be seeing you all face-to-face for a while: get home safe, drive carefully, and again, don’t panic. No rush to get out of here. Take the rest of the day to quiet yourself, check on your families. Things may change, but human beings are an adaptive bunch. We’ll get through this,” Mr. Lamb said confidently. “I hope that by the time the Christmas party rolls around, we can sit back and laugh about today.”