The Grey Zone

I am one of the lucky ones. I am healthy. Familywise, I have no elderly relatives to worry about nor any children; just my much loved friends, cats and dogs. I have worked remotely for much of my recent career, so I am set up comfortably at home and have an established routine that I work with very easily. The companies I work with are struggling and their struggles are mine but even then, when compared to what the majority of the world is going through, I am blessed. People describe me as someone who views the world in black and white. My gut guides me to right or wrong, good or bad almost immediately. Colleagues, clients, and friends come to me for the ‘black and white’ solutions to their problems. In most cases, it ends there. What I like to see most though is when we sit down and discuss the ‘other’ solution, the one where we marry the black and white to the grey. I love being challenged and hearing the softer side of the solution. It has taken years for me to look to the grey zone for added value to solutions to problems, but it has made me a better decision-maker, colleague and friend. I’ve realized that now more than ever solutions to our current problems must come from both the black and white and the grey zones. Without a doubt, there is extraordinary value is looking at problems through a black and white lens but it’s not just about right and wrong or black and white, there are nuances that live in the grey zone. I firmly believe that it is in the corners of the grey zone that we will find our strength in this crisis. With the uncertainty that we are all facing on the financial, health and job fronts we must band together and find our strength in our communities at work and at home. If we are struggling to find our balance or our foothold in any corner or our lives, we must reach out to our family, friends and colleagues for help and, in turn, open our arms and hearts to their struggles and needs. Black and white solutions will strengthen and stabilize our foundations quickly. The grey zone is where we will find hope, courage, compassion and our humanity.