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Tag: COVID19

Workplace wellness put to the test

Selfhelp
Illustrations by Adam Vicarel

Josh Wolkon’s bags were packed for Hawaii. But instead of boarding a plane on March 16 last year, he drove to Ace Eat Serve in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood, where he told 30 restaurant managers he was “shutting everything down.”

“I broke down,” says Wolkon, the founder of Secret Sauce F&B, the independent restaurant group behind Steuben’s Uptown, Steuben’s Arvada and Ace Eat Serve. “Over the next 24 hours – it all happened so fast – my COO and I told 180 people they no longer had jobs. It’s hard enough letting one person go …” Wolkon’s voice trails off. “Everyone was shell-shocked.”

When Denver Mayor Michael Hancock issued a citywide Stay at Home Order, “Employees in every industry were disrupted,” says Dr. Carl Clark, president and CEO of Mental Health Center of Denver. “The pandemic has impacted everybody’s well-being.”

A record 20.5 million Americans lost jobs in April 2020, when Colorado’s unemployment rate reached 12.2%, the highest it had been since the state started tracking unemployment levels in 1976.

While frontline and essential workers worried about their physical health, isolation and loneliness affected nine-to-fivers during a historic rise in remote working. Employees in every sector dealt with financial insecurity due to widespread layoffs and pay cuts. “You’re not in control in a pandemic, and that’s a very uncomfortable feeling,” Wolkon says.

 

Doctor

Mental health issues skyrocketed in 2020

Surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June 2020 showed that the number of Americans suffering from an anxiety disorder had tripled since 2019, and the number of those with depression jumped fourfold. Compared to data from 2018, twice as many respondents reported seriously considering suicide in 2020.

One in 10 adults surveyed said they’d started or increased their use of alcohol or drugs, and about 41% reported an adverse behavioral health condition.

While there’s currently no data to support this phenomenon at the state level, anecdotal accounts indicate that national trends can be generalized to Colorado.

“The demand for our services is way up,” Clark reports. “We get 100% more calls on our crisis line than we did a year ago, and we’re doing about 4,000 telehealth sessions a week, using 3 million minutes of audio and video a day.”

Dr. Sammie Moss, a Kaiser Permanente psychiatrist, has also seen a stark rise in demand for mental and behavioral health care from people who didn’t previously pursue care, plus increased symptoms in long-term patients.

Lowfunds

Behind the Scene

Colorado employees might be experiencing two mental health conditions at once: grief and stress.

“Any time change is forced, you can experience grief,” Clark says, noting that we all lost our “old ways of life” in 2020. Clark sees every phase of grief everywhere he looks. “Denial, anger, bargaining, depression. Eventually,” he says, “There’s acceptance, and people can feel hopeful again.”

Many workers are also experiencing stress, which is our body’s way of indicating that “something important has arrived,” Clark continues. Stress causes “an actual, physical reaction,” he says, when it triggers the flight or fight response, prompting spikes in blood pressure and heart rate. One of the “elements” of stress, Clark says, is a feeling of helplessness.

“This has been the most challenging stint in leadership in my 30-year restaurant career,” Wolkon says, adding, “Having to show up to work every day and be a positive leader in the midst of all this, that’s incredibly challenging.”

Wolkon focuses on what he can control, a smart tactic any employer can implement in 2021.

Give employees time to be stressed

“When employees are stressed, the first thing to do is acknowledge it,” Clark says. “An amazing thing happens when we acknowledge stress. We move it from the reactive amygdalae to our frontal lobe, which is the place where problem-solving happens.”

Some problems can’t be solved right now. For these “uncontrollables,” Clark recommends, “Pick a time of day to be stressed.” That sounds bizarre, we know, but it works. At, say, 2 p.m. every day, let employees schedule in 15 minutes to sit down and think about everything that’s stressing them out. This way they aren’t stressing 24/7.

Communicate clearly and often

Now’s the time to improve in-house communication with clear, concise companywide emails.

“You can’t say things enough right now,” Clark says, adding, “People can only hear so much information at a time when they’re feeling stressed.”

Clark, for example, has told his staff at the Mental Health Center of Denver that the organization is not laying anyone off — in fact, it’s hiring. “I must have communicated this for four months before people could actually hear it because everything in the news is layoffs, layoffs,” Clark says.

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Foster community from afar

Research shows that social support protects employees against a variety of mental health issues, including stress and grief.

“People in their jobs are looking for three main things,” Clark says. “They want to be competent, they want to have autonomy, and they want relationships.” For those who were used to working on-site, there’s been a big “gap in relationships,” Clark says.

“Many people counted on being able to interact with others at work as part of their self-care,” says Moss, the Kaiser Permanente psychiatrist. “Employees are really missing those water-cooler moments.”

Employers can facilitate casual interactions by setting up virtual coffee hours and/or opt-in meetings with no agenda. Launch a virtual charity event, or use this time to establish employee-led committees that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

And don’t forget to celebrate milestones and special events with team video calls and handwritten thank-you notes.

Be patient with parents, and demand that all workers take breaks

Many Colorado employees are parents who had to learn to work from home while teaching their children. “Now they’re trying to work in a house full of people all day long,” Clark says.

Employees are working longer hours than before because, Clark continues, “Their work is always right there in front of them.” Put a cap on remote hours to prevent burnout.

“If you’re at home,” Moss says, “don’t let work invade home life.”

Designate a specific space or zone within your house for office work. Then, when your workday is over, do something “highly engaging for at least 30 minutes,” Clark says. A brisk walk, cooking dinner — many actions can replace the pre-pandemic commute that allowed many workers to unwind.

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“If we really want the economy to rebound, the mental health of employees has to be addressed.” – Dr. Carl Clark, Mental Health Center of Denver

Encourage healthful coping skills

“People try to self-soothe in different ways,” Moss says. Some stressed-out employees might be tempted to drink more and/or abuse substances.

And it’s not like employees have had much incentive to engage in healthful self-soothing this year. Physical exercise is one of the best methods for healthy self-soothing, Clark says, yet during the height of the pandemic local gyms were forced to close, before re-opening with gradually increasing capacity limits.

In public parks, nets on tennis courts and basketball rims were removed, at a time when recreation was sorely needed from a mental-health standpoint, but containing the virus called for social isolation.

Liquor stores and dispensaries, meanwhile, remained open, and their business really boomed.

According to market research from Nielsen, national alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants surged nearly 24% during the pandemic. “Colorado liquor stores had a significant increase in sales in 2020,” says Kachina Weaver, executive director with the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, which represents around 1,600 liquor stores around the state.

But there’s a caveat: Two years ago, when full-strength beer came to grocery stores, liquor stores experienced a severe decline in revenues. “This last year, what they’ve achieved,” Weaver explains, “is returning to where they were in 2018.”

And Covid-19 made 2020 a record year for cannabis sales. According to figures from the state Department of Revenue, marijuana sales in Colorado were up about $2 billion from 2019 figures — $9.8 billion in 2020, compared with $7.8 billion the previous year.

Wolkon has encouraged positive coping skills for more than a decade, through Healthy Living Week, a popular workplace wellness program. This year, Healthy Living Week went virtual, and 50 employees participated in October. Wolkon even hired a licensed therapist to address the topic of “breaking bad habits,” he says.

Offer mental health services as insurance benefits

In addition to health insurance, Wolkon’s employees have access to assessments, short-term counseling, and follow-up mental health services through an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP.

In 2020, in an effort to tackle a growing need for mental health services, many providers pivoted to virtual platforms, giving employers and employees more options for care.

Mental Health Center of Denver, for example, created a website, You at Your Best, with self-assessments and curated content for people who are dealing with anxiety and depression.

Kaiser ramped up its telehealth services, Moss says, noting that he’s had the ability to add new patients during the pandemic. “Virtual care provides me with the ability to see somebody in the metro area who wouldn’t have previously had the time in their day to drive across town,” he points out.

If you like the care-from-home model, Clark recommends enrolling in Yale University’s most popular course, The Science of Well-Being, currently free to the public online. The 10-week class is rooted in positive psychology. “It’s informative, and also really fun,” Clark says.

“If nothing else, as business owners and decision makers, make sure your health insurance offers a component for behavioral health,” Clark continues. “If we really want the economy to rebound, the mental health of employees has to be addressed.”

Amid COVID, craft brewers see the can half-full

In 2011, there were 126 breweries in Colorado. That number swelled to 425 in 2019. Then the industry hit its first rough patch in a decade.

In the era of COVID-19, the taproom-centric model favored by startup breweries suddenly looked impractical. “There’s a lot of breweries out there that never imagined they would put their beer into cans and are now resorting to doing so,” says Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild.

Many brewers were left scrambling for packaging options, leading to a domino effect. Mobile canning services were overwhelmed, then orders for canning equipment increased, and then cans—stretched thin by a global move to cans for many more beverages—became hard to find.

As for the breweries, it was all about building a model resilient enough to survive a slow winter. While closures were up by more than 50% in 2020, Adelson says the number of new breweries opening in Colorado in 2020 was “relatively flat.”

In Arvada, LUKI Brewery was an exception to the rule. After a career in engineering and contract manufacturing, Jeff Smith founded the circus-themed brewery where he now serves as ringmaster. He planned to open LUKI in May 2020, but the arrival of COVID-19 pushed it to July.

Smith didn’t veer from his original taproom model. “Even with the pandemic raging, we don’t want to be on tap at bars, we don’t want to be on shelves at King Soopers,” he says.

He decided not to hire a head brewer right away and started brewing himself. He installed firepits and outdoor seating instead of buying barstools. “We put so much money into it, we had to keep pushing forward,” he says. “We said, ‘Let’s try to get this open and just do it ourselves.’”

The strategy worked. LUKI operated in the black for its first six months, which Smith sees as a good omen for the post-pandemic era. “We have no idea what it could really look like,” he says. “That’s what’s exciting for us.”

Dave Thibodeau, president and co-founder of Durango-based Ska Brewing, says the stay-at-home order closed the company’s new Ska Street Brewstillery in Boulder on its opening night. “We were open for one hour and 11 minutes,” he laughs.

At Ska’s home base, it’s been busier and easier to manage. “It’s really different in the mountain towns,” Thibodeau says. “Nobody in Boulder’s going anywhere, but in Durango we have tourists, and it’s ski season.”

Not that the pandemic didn’t have an impact on the 25-year-old brewery in 2020, he adds. “Everybody took a huge hit in April, including us.”

But Ska kept brewing and found a market thirsty for canned beer, which made up about half of all sales before the pandemic. “We started making those gains, and then there was a shortage of can manufacturing,” Thibodeau says. “That was a punch in the gut.”

The brewery rolled with it by repurposing old cans with new labels. “It’s been really difficult logistically, but we’re burning through a lot of stuff that was destined to be recycled and now it’s being used,” Thibodeau says, noting that Ska ended 2020 “about even” with initial projections.

Thibodeau says closures could well increase in 2021, led by bigger names. “We’re going to see a few established breweries that have been around the block or two closing in the next wave,” he predicts.

Four ways COVID-19 is changing health care–now and in the future

As Colorado and the nation continue to navigate the deep impacts of COVID-19, one thing seems certain—the pandemic has changed the way many of us have traditionally viewed and engaged with the health care system.

Many times, crises create an urgency to speed up innovations to meet consumers’ demands and provide convenience. COVID-19 has led to a few emerging trends that may usher in permanent changes to the ways we access health care.

1. Telehealth is here to stay.

Telehealth wasn’t new prior to COVID-19, but fewer people were using it before the pandemic. Now many health insurance plans have encouraged the use of virtual visits as an alternative to visiting health care facilities in person, and we’re seeing adoption accelerate.

Even specialty care is leveraging telehealth through prenatal visits, and more recently UnitedHealthcare has made physical, occupational and speech therapies available.

The push toward contactless care is likely to continue through virtual appointments in primary care, urgent care, disease management and behavioral health.

2. More people will receive care at home.

Similar to how telehealth enables efficient and accessible care at home, the response to the pandemic has created momentum around the concept of a patient’s home as a site for medical services. This idea relies heavily on the adoption of technology and advanced digital tools. Some areas where home-health is advancing are chronic disease management and infusion services.

For example, diabetes and congestive heart failure are two chronic conditions that can currently be monitored with the help of digital remote-monitoring tools like continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and activity trackers. Members can sync their devices to track progress, check their health data in real time, send and receive messages from a nurse care coach and share progress with their doctor. This helps address long periods of ongoing care.

And for patients who need certain medications, home infusion services may be a dependable way to reduce public exposure risk, especially during COVID-19. Typically, a nurse will come to the home and train the patient or caregiver on how to administer the drug. When infusion services are performed in the home, it may help patients receive the critical therapies they need without having to manage the travel and logistical concerns associated with leaving home to visit a clinic or hospital.

Moving the site of care to the home may also be an opportunity to save money by avoiding the overhead costs of an in-patient hospital setting. By improving continuity of care, patients may be able to avoid adverse events that may lead to readmissions to the hospital. We could also see more oncology care being moved to the comfort of the home. This would be especially important for patients who are immunocompromised and still need treatment.

3. The role of a pharmacist is changing.

Pharmacists play an important role beyond medication management in a care team. When doctor’s offices were closed or not available, some pharmacists could fill a gap in care.

Even before the crisis, some states had expanded the scope of practice for pharmacists. A few states have given pharmacists limited prescribing authority, and more than 800 pharmacists in the United States are board-certified in infectious diseases.

Pharmacists are also integrating more with behavioral health. We’re starting to look at a few things, including how we can help individuals with medication adherence and screening for depression through some of our pharmacies. But similar to the momentum around telehealth and home-based care, there’s an evolving definition of what being a pharmacist can mean.

4. Americans may live healthier lifestyles.

COVID-19 represents a convergence of current and long-term threats to the health of individuals and their families. Several chronic conditions — many of which are preventable and can be treated — are risk factors for falling severely ill to COVID-19. In addition, maintaining a strong immune system is seemingly more important than ever to avoid contracting or overcoming the coronavirus.

In addition, there’s a heightened awareness that cleanliness and hygiene practices can keep people healthier and avoid the spread of disease — expanding the notion of good health to include cleanliness of the things people interact with each day.

If the momentum continues to shift toward greater health ownership, the pandemic has brought forth advances that could support this renewed focus on health and well-being.

Looking ahead

COVID-19 has changed several aspects of health care, some for the better. These trends can help increase flexibility, convenience and access and may help more people get the care they need to live healthier lives.

Dr. David Severance is the Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado and Wyoming.

How the pandemic will impact litigation beyond 2021

We will remember Friday, March 13, 2020 as the day the COVID-19 pandemic struck Colorado. Colorado attorneys left their offices that evening oblivious to the pending threat the pandemic posed to litigation as we knew it. Since then, the pandemic has forced attorneys to navigate unprecedented territory not only within their businesses but also for their clients.

In a swift action, COVID-19 forced courtrooms into near stasis, shutting down litigation for more than 10 months and freezing ongoing cases in their tracks. In response to the recent spike in reported COVID-19 cases, most Colorado state and federal courts issued orders vacating all jury trials through early January. These orders will likely extend further into 2021 as cases may continue to rise after the winter holidays. As a result, the pandemic and corresponding court orders have inundated courts with case backlogs and pushed the rescheduled trials into 2022. When courts recommence jury trials, criminal cases will have priority over civil matters. Thus, civil litigants currently have no guarantee of keeping their scheduled trial dates even for trials scheduled as late as 2022.

While the pandemic halted trials and courtroom proceedings, it also pushed Colorado to pass emergency protections against certain debt collection activities and evictions. If the legislature does not extend these federal and state protections into 2021, Coloradans will see a rise in debt collection filings and eviction cases throughout the state. Additionally, once these protections expire, individuals may be responsible for payment of missed rent or otherwise face eviction.

Despite the disruption in the court system, litigants rapidly began adapting and implementing changes in how they litigate cases and these changes will likely remain in 2021. The pandemic forced courts and parties to become more flexible and embrace alternative litigation solutions that will carry into 2021. Like in 2020, litigants should expect a continued increase in virtual options like Zoom and WebEx, which will be used to conduct depositions, mediations, arbitrations, hearings, and bench trials. These virtual options will continue to reduce litigation costs and allow disputes to resolve at a more efficient pace. Given the relative success and increased confidence in these platforms, virtual opportunities will likely continue to some degree post-pandemic.

While 2021 hopes to see a reopening of the courts, there will still be a lack of certainty in confirming trial dates, particularly in the upcoming year. The considerable delay in the courts will likely encourage parties to seek alternative dispute resolutions such as mediations and arbitrations. Litigants may also forgo their right to a jury trial in hopes of getting a quicker and potentially virtual bench trial. Parties can expect to see a higher rate of settlements given the court backlog but may also see a decrease in settlement values due to the parties’ impaired financial situation and inability to pay. Parties may also find more flexibility in payment terms to resolve disputes efficiently.

As of November 2020, litigants have filed more than 6,000 complaints throughout the U.S., with more than 150 complaints filed in Colorado. As of August 2020, litigants filed more than 4,000 COVID-related complaints in more than a dozen jurisdictions, ranging from business-interruption claims to labor and employment claims, among others. Despite the pandemic, litigation has not decreased, and there is no expectation of a decline in 2021. Not only will there be an increase in debt collections, evictions, and COVID-related cases, but there appears to be an increase in litigation as a whole. However, the pandemic has changed how parties litigate and resolve their disputes. Changes that may be here to stay beyond 2021.

Kelsey R. Bowers 1 Caleena S. Braig 1 Kelsey R. Bowers and Caleena S. Braig are both associate attorneys in Denver-based law firm Moye White LLP’s Litigation Section. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.

Traveling in the age of COVID-19: a checklist for ease

Although not a deluge, many travelers are traveling again.

Travel has changed in some ways and not at all. Even in the safest circumstances travel can be unpredictable. We still need to prepare, create thoughtful plans and figure out basic logistics especially to stay healthy.

Here’s a “Checklist For Ease” with what to do ahead of, during and after travel.

When Planning

  • Work with a travel advisor (such as one from The Travel Society*). We’re “in the know” and take great care to make sure plans fit your needs.
  • Explore non-stop flights. Minimize connecting flights if possible.
  • Be clear on cancellation and refund policies. Although there’s much more flexibility than pre-Covid, it’s good to understand how to protect your travel investment.
  • Understand that you might be required to sign some waivers

Before Departure

  • Research the destination. Knowledge is power.
  • Explore the State’s Health Services website to learn about current restrictions and protocols for travelers. Typically you can dig deeper and uncover current health statistics for the county you’re visiting.
  • You might also find traveler information on the destination’s Office of Tourism website. For example, for my upcoming trip to Tucson, I checked out Arizona’s information on their visitors’ website. It combines data and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of State, the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Office of Arizona Governor.

For International Travel

  • Review the U.S. State Department information for that country.
  • Entry requirements for that country often found on the official tourism website (A negative Covid test as well as travel insurance, for example, might be a requirement).
  • Determine whether there are testing requirements and or mandatory health forms that need to be submitted at time of travel and or for access into the country.
  • Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment program.
  • Become familiar with health and safety practices at your accommodations. Peruse the accommodation’s website for Covid-specific information.
    • Most properties have elevated their cleanliness and precautions so that guests stay healthy and feel safe. For example for an upcoming trip to Miraval Tucson, the resort shares a Safety First, Well-Being Always summary explaining its policies thought the resort. Providing assurance and specific practices has become the norm within the travel industry.
  • Procure a COVID-test ahead of travel. For some destinations this will be a requirement. Although not required at all locations, you might want a test for assurance that you’re not putting fellow travelers, friends and loved ones at risk. You can request a test seventy-two hours prior to departure from your doctor or choose the rapid test right before leaving or upon arrival. Many airports offer these tests as well as Urgent Care centers.
  • Learn about the medical facilities at the destination especially if traveling internationally.
  • Purchase travel insurance is a must if sojourning to a foreign country. You want coverage for medical as well as accommodations for quarantine in case you’re exposed while traveling.
  • Bring extra documentation. Some states and countries require a recent COVID test as well as a copy of your travel insurance with particular coverage specified. Bring a copy of any prescriptions.
  • Chat with your physician to learn of any other suggestions and or concerns.

The Day Before Departure

  • Enjoy an immunity drip! It’s flu seasonably the way.Take a look again at the destinations website to be sure nothing has changed
  • Don’t make any items on the checklist a big deal. It’s just something you need to take care of.

While Traveling

  • Be extra careful, just like you are at home.
  • Wear a face-mask and socially distance.
  • Be independent by packing what you need. You don’t want to run errands inside a store. Include extra medications, face masks and hand sanitizer.

When You Return Home

  • Continue to be extra careful.
  • Catch up on sleep, eat well and let your body recover from the trip.
  • If possible stay at home for a few days, isolating a little bit just to know that all is well!

Although this list offers many practical suggestions for navigating travel during Covid-19, ease is also a mindset. Enjoy the opportunity to travel, no matter what.

Photo Amy Quinn, Headshot Amy Quinn, founder of Spirit Road Travel, is a travel expert and has been focused these past few months on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people’s ability to travel. Her work has also uncovered an interesting outcome in regards to people’s current perception of travel and a search for more meaningful experiences.

Balanced Mastery: setting yourself up for mastery in the new world

Napoleon Bonaparte, self-proclaimed Emperor of France, won half of his major battles and lost the other half. Some argue that more books have been written about him than any other personage in the history of the world.

Napoleon’s famed 1805 victory at Austerlitz (Moravia/Czech Republic), called the Battle of Three Emperors, showcased strategic cunning and military genius as he outsmarted the much larger armies of Francis II (Austria) and Alexander I (Russia).

Like many of us, he could never let go of an achievement that once brought him praise and glory.

Single-focused virtuosos rarely maintain success

History is being written through the lens of a world-wide pandemic destroying lives and wiping out economic progress. Nations restructure while industries rewrite their futures. Now is a perfect time to for you to assess the core purpose of your life and make changes in line with your natural-born humanity. There is a better way to become Emperor of your own world without ravaging a continent and ruining your life.

‘Balanced Mastery’ is a way to polish your achievement while hardwiring balance into your life.

And yes, you can do both—you must.

The Argument

A balanced life opens the curtain to high achievement. Well-rounded people perform better and longer. Ancient, recent and pandemic history show the resilience and grit of being a person with equilibrium in life. Single focused people burn out, flame out or just check out.

Tenets of Balanced Mastery

1. LIFE OUTRANKS WORK: Plain and simple, your life is more important than your work. Our ‘rugged individualism’ and bloated sense of accomplishment at any cost has short-circuited our wiring for being truly human.

2. HONOR TOP 5 PRIORITIES: The number one action anyone can take to combine balance and achievement in their life is to select and honor one’s top five life priorities. These should be written, diagrammed, scored and posted.

3. MIMIC TOP ACHIEVERS: Not just any achiever—pick the ones who have or had ‘a life’ and sustained their achievement over time. You will find that, like most humans, they struggled with purpose and meaning in their lives. Perhaps unlike you or me, they marched ‘steady on’ towards goals with meaning and actions that eventually produced results. And, believe it or not, most had a status quo shattering fiasco sometime in their lives.

4. HABITS FIRST—RESULTS LATER: Build habits that lead to dreams—not the other way around. Dream big all you want, but your daily-weekly-monthly habits will determine which of those dreams will materialize. The delay in results is a test of your fortitude. This balanced mastery tenet will set you apart from amateurs who never learned the value of working hard, staying balanced and then, patiently waiting.

5. “APPROACH” MASTERY: The ‘master’ rarely claims mastery while the amateur proclaims it from the rooftops. The attitude that you are always on the path to mastery is protection against prolonged self-doubt and insulation from the critics living under rocks. As Theodore Rosevelt said, at least you are in the “arena” and fighting hard.

6. DEFINE YOUR CURRENCY: Is your primary measure of success the head, the wallet or the heart? The achiever has a currency of the head; the money maker of the wallet; the giver of the heart. When your personal currency matches that of your nation, your industry, your neighborhood, you will be happy and aligned. If your currency is a mismatch for your surroundings it will be a constant struggle for you to align and find happiness in that setting.

You can decide how and where you fit into this new world. Life will not go ‘back to normal.’ It’s your time to celebrate a unique freedom and hit the restart button. Learn new ways to get things done and maybe even leave a legacy of achievement in your own currency.

Be clear that balance is a tool and achievement is the goal. Confusion on this topic is what brought the ‘work-life’ balance movement to its knees in many corporate settings. Going forward, use the triangle of achievement and infuse your major aspirations with consistency, variety and moderation.

Napoleon obsessed about achieving another Austerlitz. It wouldn’t happen. The defeated Russian-Austrian coalition expanded their alliance against him. With Napoleon’s classic defeat near Waterloo, Belgium, his life spiraled downward. He carried diamonds and poison to escape capture. After a second exile, our single-focused, fifty-one year-old Emperor died of stomach cancer on a rock called St. Helena.

Rick Griggs speaks on Balanced Mastery, The Samsara of Life and his Rolestorming creativity tool. He is a former Intel Corporation training manager. He can be reached at [email protected] or 970.690.7327.

Vail Resorts announces plan for the 2020/21 ski season

When the novel coronavirus landed in the United States last spring, it was still ski season in Colorado. On March 14, 2020, as infection rates grew increasingly higher in Colorado’s ski towns, Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order requiring all Colorado ski resorts to close.

The order came just hours after resorts across the state preemptively announced they were shutting down because the new coronavirus.

With the new ski season approaching, one of the nation’s largest operators, Vail Resorts Inc., just released plans for the 2020/21 season with a comprehensive focus on safety.

“We are fortunate that our core experience of skiing and riding takes place outdoors, across huge mountains, offering fresh air and wide-open spaces for our guests,” says Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. “However, to help protect our guests, our employees and our communities amid this pandemic, some changes will be required this season.”

Skiers who want to access any of Vail Resorts’ 34 mountains will need to make a reservation, according to the new plans. Epic Pass holders get exclusive early season access through December 7, plus access all season with week-of reservations and Priority Reservation Days to lock in days for the core season before lift tickets go on sale.

“For the vast majority of days during the season, we believe everyone who wants to get on our mountains will be able to,” says Katz. “However, we are not planning for the majority of days, we are planning for every day of the season. We want to provide assurance to our guests that we will do our very best to minimize crowds at all times–be it a holiday weekend or the unpredictable powder day. We believe this approach will help ensure a safe experience for everyone, while prioritizing access for our pass holders.”

Other key changes outlined in the plan include:

  • Guests will be required to wear face coverings to get on the mountain and in all parts of resort operations, including in lift lines and riding in lifts and gondolas.
  • To maintain physical distancing on our chairlifts and gondolas, we will only be seating related parties (guests skiing or riding together) or: two singles on opposite sides of a four-person lift; two singles or two doubles on opposite sides of a six-person lift; or two singles on opposite sides of our larger gondola cabins.
  • Ski and ride school will be offered and on-mountain dining will be open, but with changes to help keep guests safe.
  • Mountain access will be managed to ensure guests have the space they need. As such, the Company announced a mountain access reservation system and limits on lift tickets to prioritize its pass holders.

To give guests more time to consider the changes, Vail Resort’s Labor Day deadline has been extended to Sept. 17, including the deadline to use pass holder credits from last season.

Weather permitting, Vail Resorts plans to kick off its North American ski and snowboard season with Keystone opening on Nov. 6, 2020. Scheduled opening dates for each of its resorts can be found here.