How Home Depot’s comms director is building for the unknown

Among the items not on Yanique Woodall’s agenda way back in February, before the coronavirus crisis:

(Watercolor by Woodall)

Finding the silver linings in this current crisis is something Woodall, the senior director for corporate communications and external affairs and head of brand communications at The Home Depot, has built into her mindset.

“The pandemic has overturned our daily lives and urged all of us to reimagine what our day looks like,” says Woodall, speaking to us from her home outside Atlanta. “I set priorities for each day and move fast. There are no rules now.”

Woodall’s been fortunate to be working for a company that was among the essential businesses during the pandemic. And Home Depot has been grounded for decades in principles that are helping her and the 400,000 other “orange-blooded family members” stay strong, she says.

As with all communicators, flexibility is not only helpful, but essential to leading through a crisis. Who really knows what next month will bring for you and your team? Woodall describes her current strategy as “building a plan for the unknown.”