Whatever the news media source and language, wherever we are in the world, no doubt we’ve heard the word “unprecedented” an unprecedented number of times recently. The word grabs your attention, makes you pause, and wonder: Are these unprecedented–in short, never done or known before?

My own reflections in the early days of the global pandemic, with shuttered business and services, and rocked financial markets, have prompted personal and professional recollections. I’ve thought about experiences, days and times of shock, impact and inspiration. I’ve caught myself thinking back to what happened, where I was, and, in broad strokes, the human and economic toll of each development.

Take “Black Monday,” Oct. 19, 1987. I was a very young business writer, reporting from Geneva, Switzerland, as that week began. I was cranking out story after story on technology showcased at the world’s largest telecom event. The “sudden, severe and unexpected” one-day drop in the New York-based stock indices seemed very far away. Yet, the ripples and ramifications in financial markets around the globe were strong, but not recessionary. And, my newly married, without kids or mortgage, promising-career state didn’t take much of a hit.

My remembrances surface 9/11. The September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. soil. The crumbling of solid steel structure buildings and airplanes. The thousands who lost their lives. The world watched, stunned. It seemed as if everything stopped, if only for a while. There were ramifications to economies, industries, emotional and financial effects that hit families and friends. On that day, then a weekly newspaper editor, I wrote a perspective piece. I recalled how I’d worked in New York City and attended many events at Windows on the World atop the World Trade Center. The article eventually won an award, yet I wasn’t thinking that as I hugged my kids that night, was comforted by my husband in our home, and went to work again the next day, and the day after that…

We experienced what was called the Great Recession in 2008. By that time, I was on the senior leader team of a large professional association. Together with my peers and our board leadership, we had tough talks. We made difficult budget, business priority and, eventually, people decisions. There were near-and-dear human and business health consequences. What we communicated to our members, customers, and our staff, and how we did so—clearly, consistently, truthfully, urgently and over time—was critical to our business and to our global community. We got through it, in the office as a team, around the world through technology, and at home as a family.

And here we are now. Crises, seemingly on so many fronts. Human and health. Economic and industry. Information, truth, fiction and fact. In starting LaurelComms just a few short weeks ago, I embraced, really emphasized the importance of Communications and Content in making important and lasting Connections for individuals and organizations. And I come back to that theme now, in this, our latest unprecedented time. And, it could help us all if we added this to our everyday thoughts, words and deeds: Compassion.

Stay safe Be well. Let me know how I can help you through unprecedented times.