ARTICLE
This week we passed our one-month mark of Shelter in Place as we focus on being Calm, Staying Home and whenever possible Buying Local. Over the past four weeks, it appears that we have moved the needle by staying at home and practicing safe social distancing when you have to go out for essential services — like food and essential supplies — yes, I haven’t seen one store in the last month that has a shelf of toilet paper, hand sanitizers or Clorox wipes. Amazing how human behavior can create a herd mentality that enlists Fear. But for all those folks who don’t adhere to simple yet necessary orders to protect our health and well-being, there are our heros doing their essential jobs — we know who they are and we praise their leadership — the nurse, the doctor, medical assistants, first responders, the bankers, grocery store clerks, the gas station attendants and all the public service providers required to work be as we move through the pandemic storm. Just this past week, as I read thousands of pages of e-mails, FB posts, videos, news articles about COVID — 19, I ask myself what can I do to help? The voice in my head leads with one answer: Collaborate with your business associates and community partners, chamber members, our public sector leaders, your neighbors, family and friends that are sheltered in place all over the world. I am proud to see that here in Santa Cruz County, we are taking those collaborative steps wherever and whenever possible. Over the Easter Weekend, Zach Davis and I (joined by the Executive Directors of the Downtown Association and Visit Santa Cruz) reached out to our city and county leaders to point out an opportunity to make a minor correction that would help small restaurants who have changed their business plan from “come in and dine with us” to “take out or delivery services.” What prompted our action was based on San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s idea to cap the amount app-based delivery companies can charge restaurants for service at 15% in San Francisco. These fees (or "commissions" as they are often referred to) are typically 28-30%. With 90% of the revenue that restaurants generate getting paid out directly to employees, suppliers, and for rent (source) this fee structure, when up to 100% of revenue is coming from delivery, is unsustainable no matter the scale. With the National Restaurant Association reporting that 3% of restaurants nationwide have already permanently closed and suggesting that number could rise above 10% (source). https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Mayor-Orders-Cap-To-Third-Party-Delivery-Fees-To-15193692.php Within a few exchanges of e-mails to our city and county leaders, they reacted and answered the call. Over the weekend the City Attorney and County Council drafted an emergency ordinance effective immediately. They answered our request. You can read the declared emergency ordinances in this eNews. Collaboration works — and this is one of many examples around our county where action speaks louder than words. This action leads me to pose the question to each and every one of us. Who do you want to be during this crisis? The infographic below illustrates three distinctive Zones that people fall into. The Fear Zone, the Learning Zone and the Growth Zone. This week and the weeks to follow, it is critically important that we all seek to move from fear to learning to growth. A couple years back, I wrote one of our weekly eNews articles about the freedom to lead. It was during our Leadership in A Changing World Series in 2017-18 where each quarter we’d assembled a group of leaders in their respective sectors to share their stories about how they lead and how they succeed. It was a wonderful display of collaboration. In one of those articles, I mentioned a photo I had on the wall of my office years ago. It was a beautiful photo of an Eagle soaring high above the mountain ridge below. The caption in the photo says it all — “When a storm is coming, all other birds seek shelter. The Eagle alone avoids the storm by flying above it. In the Storm of Life, May your heart soar like an Eagle.” Think about how important each and every one of us it to our family, our friends and our community. We all have a role to play — be fearless, be bold, be a leader. Through collaboration and with a positive attitude, we will get through this together.
This week we passed our one-month mark of Shelter in Place as we focus on being Calm, Staying Home and whenever possible Buying Local. Over the past four weeks, it appears that we have moved the needle by staying at home and practicing safe social distancing when you have to go out for essential services — like food and essential supplies — yes, I haven’t seen one store in the last month that has a shelf of toilet paper, hand sanitizers or Clorox wipes. Amazing how human behavior can create a herd mentality that enlists Fear. But for all those folks who don’t adhere to simple yet necessary orders to protect our health and well-being, there are our heros doing their essential jobs — we know who they are and we praise their leadership — the nurse, the doctor, medical assistants, first responders, the bankers, grocery store clerks, the gas station attendants and all the public service providers required to work be as we move through the pandemic storm.
Just this past week, as I read thousands of pages of e-mails, FB posts, videos, news articles about COVID — 19, I ask myself what can I do to help? The voice in my head leads with one answer: Collaborate with your business associates and community partners, chamber members, our public sector leaders, your neighbors, family and friends that are sheltered in place all over the world.
I am proud to see that here in Santa Cruz County, we are taking those collaborative steps wherever and whenever possible. Over the Easter Weekend, Zach Davis and I (joined by the Executive Directors of the Downtown Association and Visit Santa Cruz) reached out to our city and county leaders to point out an opportunity to make a minor correction that would help small restaurants who have changed their business plan from “come in and dine with us” to “take out or delivery services.” What prompted our action was based on San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s idea to cap the amount app-based delivery companies can charge restaurants for service at 15% in San Francisco. These fees (or "commissions" as they are often referred to) are typically 28-30%. With 90% of the revenue that restaurants generate getting paid out directly to employees, suppliers, and for rent (source) this fee structure, when up to 100% of revenue is coming from delivery, is unsustainable no matter the scale. With the National Restaurant Association reporting that 3% of restaurants nationwide have already permanently closed and suggesting that number could rise above 10% (source).
https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Mayor-Orders-Cap-To-Third-Party-Delivery-Fees-To-15193692.php Within a few exchanges of e-mails to our city and county leaders, they reacted and answered the call. Over the weekend the City Attorney and County Council drafted an emergency ordinance effective immediately. They answered our request. You can read the declared emergency ordinances in this eNews. Collaboration works — and this is one of many examples around our county where action speaks louder than words.
This action leads me to pose the question to each and every one of us. Who do you want to be during this crisis? The infographic below illustrates three distinctive Zones that people fall into. The Fear Zone, the Learning Zone and the Growth Zone. This week and the weeks to follow, it is critically important that we all seek to move from fear to learning to growth.
A couple years back, I wrote one of our weekly eNews articles about the freedom to lead. It was during our Leadership in A Changing World Series in 2017-18 where each quarter we’d assembled a group of leaders in their respective sectors to share their stories about how they lead and how they succeed. It was a wonderful display of collaboration. In one of those articles, I mentioned a photo I had on the wall of my office years ago. It was a beautiful photo of an Eagle soaring high above the mountain ridge below. The caption in the photo says it all — “When a storm is coming, all other birds seek shelter. The Eagle alone avoids the storm by flying above it. In the Storm of Life, May your heart soar like an Eagle.” Think about how important each and every one of us it to our family, our friends and our community. We all have a role to play — be fearless, be bold, be a leader. Through collaboration and with a positive attitude, we will get through this together.