The New Nimble

INTRODUCTION: THE NEW NIMBLE – LEADING IN THE AGE OF CHANGE

We're all a little bit Martha.

For more than 15 years, my wife, Mary, and I have hosted a neighborhood open-house holiday party. We missed 2019 because a family member was sick, and then 2020 because the entire world was sick. By the fall of 2021, with the hint of the world returning to normal, we decided it was time to try again.

We set the date for December 19, rented two tall space heaters for the patio so people could stay outdoors if that made them feel safer, suggested people should only come if they were vaccinated, and started making Mary's signature fudge. About a week after we mailed the invitations, Omicron reared its ugly head. As the date of the party drew closer and the news of another Covid spike grew more worrisome, a few regrets trickled in. Mary thought we should cancel the party. I wanted to move forward.

On December 16, still not sure what to do, we got a call from Martha, a sweet, elderly neighbor up the street. Martha is a wise and sound voice of reason who ran the annual science fair at the high school here in Pleasantville, New York. She and her husband, Chuck, had always attended our party and enjoyed the chance to catch up with so many people at once.

After a simple, “Hi, Mary. It's Martha.” She got to the point. “I got your invitation. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS!” She launched into a polite but firm tirade about the dangers of the disease, the threat to everyone right before the holidays, ...