People ask me, fairly regularly, about the mood at our office right now. My most common answer is, “weird.”

We are, indeed, working in an unprecedented environment. Just over a week from now will the last day of work for about 500 of my co-workers, those who chose to opt into Best Buy’s voluntary severance package. Soon thereafter, we will learn how involuntary layoffs will impact our workforce.

So, in every hallway conversation, every meeting, every casual greeting, we hear a common refrain: Are you staying? And an even more common response, I hope so!

At the same time, we are beginning the last month of our fiscal year. Crunching data for year’s end.  Finishing projects. Prioritizing new work. Buttoning up plans for a new fiscal year that will undoubtedly be like no other in our history.

And of course, the day-to-day business rolls on. Weekly ads. New initiatives. Product lines. System upgrades. Contracts. All the things that need to happen every day to run a $40 billion retailer.

This leaves just about everyone feeling rather, well, weird.  We are all trying to get work done, trying to make a difference, plan for the future. At the same time, we wonder what the future here will look like. How we’ll accomplish all our goals. And to whom we’ll say farewell along the way.

Through all this angst, I hold onto two truths. First, that our company values have - and will continue to – guide us through this time. And second, that we work in an environment where we can talk, openly and honestly, about this time and how we’re dealing with it.

Because it is weird.  We’re transforming ourselves into a startup company with 40 years of history. If it weren’t weird, we’d probably be on the wrong track.