Order Out of Chaos

by David L. Sharkis, 33°, Director of Operations Children’s Dyslexia Centers, Inc.

When looking for a word to describe the year 2020, “chaos” immediately comes to mind. For most of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely uprooted our lives. It has changed the way we work, educate, socialize, worship, and even how we gather with family. Yet even in the darkest of times, our greatest challenges can also usher in great progress. The ritual of the 33rd degree introduces this idea as “Ordo ab Chao”—“Order out of Chaos.”

As our Dyslexia Centers began to close last March with COVID-19 numbers rising around the country, we found ourselves in chaos, but with the benefit of hindsight, chaos was exactly what we needed. This virus pushed our team to a fork in the road, and the path we chose—the path of accountability—led us to adapt and thrive as an organization.

The book The Power of Personal Accountability introduces us to the Victim/Accountability Loop models of engaging challenging situations.

The Victim Loop

• Ignoring the problem

• Denying a problem exists

• Blaming others

• Hiding from the problem altogether

The Accountability Loop

• Focusing on desired outcomes

• Forgiving those who may have contributed to the situation

• Determining your role in the solution

• Taking action—any action that leads you to your goal

As the Director of the Children’s Dyslexia Centers, I can attest that we were guilty of playing victim for a few days before we took accountability and began to act. Our goal: to continue serving children despite ever-changing restrictions. Since then, our Dyslexia Centers have conducted over 30,000 Zoom lessons serving over 1,000 children. We are currently training over 250 educators virtually.

In a recent survey of our parents, 73% rated the quality of our program very high, and 26% rated it high for a 99% favorable approval rating. The remaining 1% rated it neutral. We did not receive a single negative response! We needed to take some risks and be creative which led us to develop new processes that will serve us long after this pandemic has subsided.

Our monthly Zoom calls with Center Directors and Board chairs are unifying a formerly decentralized team. Our ever-expanding virtual tutoring expertise will enable us to continue to serve children during times when illness or other factors prevent them from coming to the Center. We have developed advanced training courses which provide consistent, high-quality online education taught by our own experts that may lead to future revenue streams.

We will emerge from the pandemic a strong, dynamic, and unified organization. We will not only survive when others fail, but we will become stronger. The lesson here is a simple one though it requires courage and commitment. In the future, when confronted with a situation that is not entirely of your own making, avoid being a victim. Be accountable. Take ownership and control of your situation, and create order out of chaos.