Friends and others have been asking us what we’re doing to respond to COVID-19, given that @open_phil has supported work on pandemic preparedness for several years and that this is exactly the kind of threat many of our grantees have been warning about.
Our highest aspiration for our program work is to prevent pandemics like COVID-19 before they start and secondarily to minimize their spread. We're heartbroken to see this one get so far so fast.
Some of our most important efforts to mitigate COVID-19 are grants we made ahead of time. That includes support for @JHSPH_CHS, which runs exercises to prepare public officials for the kinds of scenarios they find themselves in today openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-c…
I recently read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and was surprised at how familiar the topics felt. Many of the other great books I've read in recent years are deep dives on individual habits, as detailed below. Do you have any suggestions of your own?
1: Be Proactive
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl (cited in book)
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer and Diana Chapman (esp. commitment #1: Responsibility)