Greetings! Thankfully, the restrictions that have come with the COVID-19 challenge are beginning to thaw, at least here in Iowa. And…thanks to an exceptional team and great clients the steady drumbeat of projects continues here at DIS. Given where we are, I’d like to highlight a few things we’ve learned in these nearly three months: 

  1. Despite disruptions in our daily work routines, technology has greatly enabled us to continue to diligently propose, win, work on, collaborate and successfully deliver our work. 
  2. There are A LOT of options for video chats, conference calls and screen shares. Who would have thought there could be so many? Gratefully, many have similar functionality and are quite easy to use. 
  3. We’re not nearly as shy about “sharing our cam” with those on video calls as we once were. Let’s face it, if we were in a live meeting people would be looking at us anyhow. Our team has nearly, almost, fully embraced this aspect of meeting in the COVID-19 era. 
  4. Everyone has a varying comfort level with social interaction, even with six feet of distance. We are of the opinion that if someone can work more efficiently at home where they can “control their environment”, it’s in our best interest to allow that.  
  5. We’ve found that we may not need as much office space as we’ve historically had. Time will tell the size and characteristics of our “future office”. 

While the things above are what we’ve learned, we’ve also had our deep-seated appreciation for our clients and their associated industries reaffirmed. This company we call DIS would neither be in existence nor where we are today were it not for valued relationships with honest people with strong integrity.  

As a sign of the times, we have been, and continue to be, approached by several clients regarding analysis of COVID-19 impacts on their industry whether it be members, growers, processors, or consumers.  The “real time” analyses have been able to not only provide quantification of what has happened so far, but also shed insight into what may happen in the months to come. We realize that there may be others who need more insights into the impacts of COVID-19 and how it is affecting your business, your members or your customers and certainly look forward to a discussion as to how we may be of service. 

Happy summer, everyone!