In this month’s episode, Jill taps into the wisdom of her longtime friend Steve Baird, president and CEO of Baird & Warner, the oldest residential real estate brokerage in the United States.

In this first in an ongoing series, Jill connects with her friend McKeel Hagerty, a fellow CEO and former YPO International Chairman, for a discussion on lessons learned during COVID-19, maintaining work-life balance, reasons for optimism in 2021 and beyond, and much more.

We’ve learned a lot of lessons in 2020. The best leaders tell us that focusing on Organizational Health of the company is more important than ever. Organizational Health gives you the competitive edge you need and will help you weather whatever turmoil lies ahead.

What is Organizational Health? It’s the way a company aligns around a common vision and strategy, executes with excellence, and engages with its employees. According to a recent McKinsey study, healthy organizations are outperforming their competition at every level and delivering 3x total return to their shareholders.

As we head into the last month of Q3, many economists and business forecasters remain optimistic about the recovery post COVID-19. Most expect a slow uptick in Q3 and Q4 with a more visible rebound in 2021.

Yet every note of optimism comes with a flashing red-light disclaimer: No one really knows how long the world will be wrestling with the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. For business leaders, this uncertainty creates a conundrum: How do we strike the right balance between optimism and reality? How do we avoid over- or under-reacting?