Leadership

4.13.20 – Weekly Update from Brian Hetherington

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Proverb

During ABD’s 4 Town Hall – the Sports Edition, I touched on making sure we all take time for Play during our Shelter-In-Place/WFH and shared some general guidelines that may also be helpful to you and your business.   During Shelter-In-Place, or Stay Home and Stay Healthy, it’s important to  remember that everyone’s situation is different – some  are dealing with ailing parents, young children, college-aged children, fur babies, studio apartments, and other challenges. I hope you will find some ideas to share with your teams.

What we play is life. Louis Armstrong

Earlier this year, ABD rolled out our new Wellness Platform, Virgin Pulse. It is our team’s well-being solution that helps employees create habits that matter so they can be their best at work and at home. There are many great resources on Pulse. And great opportunities to play. There are challenges for laughing, moving on an hourly basis, morning drink, fitting in strength. It offers a great way to stay connected and have some fun. Our team enjoys these opportunities to make healthy adjustments, encourage new behaviors, engage in healthy competition and have fun with their ABD family as coaches and as friends.

It is a happy talent to know how to play. Ralph Waldo Emerson

WSJ “Your Health” columnist Sumathi Reddy checked in with medical professionals who say it’s important not to rush to buy supplements and vitamins that promise to enhance your immune system. Instead, they say, stick with the more mundane, but proven, approaches:

• Exercise. Low- and moderate-intensity exercise naturally lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol and helps with immune-system function. But don’t go overboard: Over-exercise can weaken the immune system.• **Keep your stress levels down. **The more you stress about the virus, the more likely you are to suffer from it. Try relaxing activities, such as meditation.• Watch your diet. Stick to a healthful, balanced diet filled with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. Foods that can help support the microbiome include plain yogurt, garlic, onion, ginger, sauerkraut and fermented foods. Read more here.

**You can discover more **about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato

With families holed up at home, the WSJ pulled together a list of 100 non-screen activities to keep kids engaged. Most use supplies you might already have at home. Others require not much more than your brain and your feet. Some involve even less. Here’s a small sample:

• **Outdoor games: **Hide and seek, jump rope, hopscotch, capture the flag.• Fun in the living room: Build a fort, play dress up, write a message in a bottle, make a radio play using any of 16,000 sound effects from this free BBC trove.• New hobbies: Fly a kite, build a terrarium, learn how to juggle.• Bedtime: Study the constellations, use a flashlight to make shadow theater, page through old family photo albums. Read more here.

You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play. Warren Beatty

It was inspirational to see over 300 members of The ABD Team on video during ABD’s Town Hall. I thank each and every person on our team for being exceptional. Being strong. Being open. On our Sports Edition themed day – I couldn’t be more proud of being part of the ABD TEAM. A Championship Team.

While each of us have different experiences with this current situation, there are some silver linings in the storm clouds above, and we are all looking forward to the sunshine’s return and the Work, Love and PLAY ahead!

Brian Hetherington
The Author
Brian Hetherington

President

Brian Hetherington is Chairman of Newfront, a specialized insurance brokerage headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. Newfront is home to more than 750 employees who serve clients across the United States and globally. We are focused on M&A Advisory, Employee Benefits, Property & Casualty insurance, and 401k programs.

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