As an IT company that has been serving the community for over 32 years, we have had our share of crises and have dealt with their aftermaths. Here is a brief chronicle of what we have experienced and the outcome of it:
In late 1988, when we started CEO Computers, California was going through a real-estate down turn and all of the Defense Contractors (especially the ones with local factories such as Lockheed, TRW and Martin Marietta) were going through a major downsizing and layoffs. Fortunately, the demand for computers and Information Technology (now known as IT) was growing at fast rate. As well, computers were getting smaller, faster and cheaper. The famous Moore’s Law (Gordon Moore Chairman of Intel Corporation) suggests that the number of transistors in the CPU or brain of the computer doubles about every two years. Which in layman’s term means that computer gets twice as fast every two years.
In May 4th, 1992 when CEO Computers was participating in a Business Expo in Los Angeles, the LA riots started. We had to leave the exhibit immediately as the curfew was starting. It affected the local economy adversely for a while. It was a sad time, but fortunately the city and economy were able to recover quickly and the race relationship got better and there was more cooperation amongst the people, police and the local government.
In January 17th, 1994 the Northridge Earthquake happened. It was a devastating Earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7, which brought months of misery and economic downturn for the local economy. Fortunately, there was a tremendous amount of camaraderie between the people and businesses. Everyone was helpful and understanding and made a lot of sacrifices. We were all happy to lend a hand.
Towards the end of the 1990’s, the tech bubble stalled, and to make matters worse we were faced with Y2K bug (though its impact was unknown). We were not sure how bad it was going to be. Again when the year 2000 came, it was not as bad as we thought it would be. All the preparations, upgrades and updates paid off, making Y2K a minor problem vs. a major problem. But the Dot.com bubble lasted for a while and many high tech companies crashed and disappeared and many people lost a lot of money because of it.
In September 11th 2001 the terrorist’s attacks happened and killed close to 3000 people and injured thousands more. Right after that, the war with Afghanistan started, followed up by the Iraq war in 2003. The lasting economic downturn took years to overcome and again people and businesses showed resilience to survive and thrive.
In September 29th, 2008 the US Stock Market crashed and massive record breaking drops on all the major industries, affecting all businesses big and small for years to come. The downfall caused business shutdowns, declarations of bankruptcies and home foreclosures, as well as misery for years to come.
1st and 2nd quarter of 2020, we are experiencing the worst pandemic the world has ever seen within the last 100 years (not counting the Spanish Flu). This virus has the fastest rate of infection and has caused over 175000 deaths so far. Because of it, we are going through an economic shutdown and closure of businesses, schools and other institutions. This awful disease has become one of the most challenging crisis that the world has been dealing with. No one is certain about the long lasting effects of it, as it is something that remains to be seen.
We have seen all the above mentioned crisis and have been able to survive and tell about it. What has been amazing is that during a time of need you see the great side of human beings, that people are willing to lend a hand at any time and help neighbors or a strangers. Front line workers (the police, firefighters, medical professionals and others) have been making tremendous sacrifices to help each other. Coworkers, bosses and business leaders have gone the extra mile and all of us are willing to do whatever it takes to make life better for everyone and rise above the crisis.
This a great city and community and country that we are proud to be living in. Let us know if we can be of any assistance to you.
As the great Persian Poet Rumi said: “This too shall pass”.
