On the wall in our kitchen hangs a framed card with a picture of a nervous looking spaniel balancing precariously on a small inner tube as it floats in the middle of a lake. The card says, “Drifting even further from the familiar, Skippy’s initial misgivings are replaced by an almost giddy sense of possibility.”

The card was given to me by a friend after I was fired from a job I had fought hard to keep, and under circumstances that I thought were unfair. I didn’t appreciate the message at first, but I kept the card around and over time, as the shock and first rush of anger subsided, I did get an almost giddy sense of possibility. Untethered from old assumptions and habits, I was able to fill in the blank canvas in front of me with new points of view, on work and on many other corners of my life.

I’m feeling rather untethered again these days, and I know I’m not alone. COVID-19 is literally a dystopian sci-fi nightmare come to life. I feel helpless as activist organizations use the virus to forward an unrelated anti-meat agenda, and I watch the message spread, get amplified, and accepted wholesale by so many consumers.

Layered on top of COVID-19 is the constant stream of images that come at me from every screen I see of a society that seems to have come unhinged. And the recession that is no longer around the corner — it started in February, as it turns out — keeps me awake at night, as well.

But underneath it all, this feels familiar, and not just because I remember the late ‘60s. Underneath the scary dislocation is a giddy sense of possibility. It hasn’t surfaced yet, at least not for me, but I’m confident of its power. Upheaval invites change, and that could be change for the better.

What lessons has the virus taught us about office and work design that can be used strategically? Employees with mobile jobs probably would appreciate more generous work-from-home options. Line workers don’t have that option, but efforts to manage congestion on the floor could be catalyst for long-term changes that make those jobs less uncomfortable and safer. Yes, a lot of those solutions would add costs, but consumers are far more aware now than they were just six months ago as to how meat gets processed. They are looking for examples of how the company is changing its culture to value employees above efficiency, and with that, would be primed to pay more.

What have the millions of protesters worldwide taught us about society? That discontent simmers even when — or most especially when — we aren’t paying attention. And as the economy soldiered on, turning in record results quarter after quarter, it was easy to think that anybody who was missing the party must have decided not to come.

Now seems like a prime opportunity to look more closely at those biases — we all have them — to ferret out what the boss likes to call “opportunities for improvement.” Lots of people who don’t normally have time for such self-reflection are making it a priority, so we’ll be in good company.

What lessons are there in economic shut-downs, school closings, mass unemployment, looting, and violent conflict between citizens and law enforcement? That many of the systems we’ve come to rely on in our economy and society are overdue for an overhaul. We have asked schools to assume many roles for which they are not designed: social workers, law enforcement, baby-sitters, addiction counselors, parents. Oh, and those students better hit those testing milestones, too.

In many ways we’ve come to rely on law enforcement, as well, to address social problems as well as protect us from crime. For an institution built and armed on a military model, that’s a disconnect. Mistakes will, and have, been made.

Meat companies can’t “fix” those issues. But here’s where that giddy sense of possibility comes in: In many cases, your plant is a major, if not the biggest, private employer in town. Your company has relationships that reach across the country, into cities and along vast swaths of rural America. You are in a powerful position to do more.

What benefits can you offer your employees and others that would address the community’s challenges? Think broadly: One need that is common in rural America these days is opioid addiction treatment centers; can your company fund, or lead a campaign to fund, such a service? What about an after-school program at or near local schools where students, many of whose parents no doubt work at your company, can get help with schoolwork and spend the time between the end of the school day and the end of the workday?

What additional programs can you support in your own company to identify, train and promote team members of color? Whatever programs you have in place, you can do more.

Tyson Foods this week took a big step to address the issue of racial inequality head-on, promising 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence to honor George Floyd’s unnecessary death on Tuesday, and upping its donations specifically to organizations dedicated to tackling racism. I hope it’s the first steps of many in that direction.

Now is the time to re-evaluate and give your team permission to think radically. Now is the time, when so much seems broken, to imagine a better future in your community and start laying the groundwork to make it happen. Now is the time.

A giddy sense of possibility

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