Looking Back to Move Forward
How Past Crises Can Give Us a Blueprint for the Future BY JILL CARLEN
Longtime spa professional Jill Carlen shares a message that is equal parts love letter to the power of spa and advice for leaders navigating financial uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the industry .
IN SEPTEMBER OF 2001 ,
I was living in upper Manhattan while working downtown , near the World Trade Center . The heartbreak and anguish in New York was palpable in the weeks and months following the attacks on September 11th , but in the midst of all that , there were also powerful examples of the importance of human connection . I witnessed one such moment on the subway a few months after the attacks , when two strangers — an older woman and a young mother — embraced in a show of comfort and support during a difficult moment .
Witnessing that gesture had a profound effect on me . I vowed to openly give and ask for comfort when I needed it from that point on , and when the Great Recession struck in 2008 , I applied that vow to my professional life . During that time , I was working as spa director of a fabulous and successful ( as in multimillion dollar revenues ) New York City spa , and things were going great until , quite suddenly , they weren ’ t . In the span of several weeks , the steady flow of guests stopped and our once-busy staff was worrying about paying their bills .
As a young leader , I was terrified . I agonized over every cut hour , every layoff and every scrubbed expense . So , I gave comfort where I could and asked for comfort when I needed it . I knew I couldn ’ t pay anyone ’ s rent or mortgage , but I believed that being genuine and proactive might allow me to be useful and make a difference for our business and the people in our industry . I reached out to colleagues , offered gift cards to some of our regular guests and connected with
60 PULSE ■ MARCH 2021