TL;DR
Longer version:
There's a new big change on the horizon. But it not at all like what happened before.
Let me elaborate:
We changed our way of living, connecting, and working in March 2020, reacting to an invisible virus. In March 2022, we're making new changes as the "old" ways of living, connecting, and working become available again.
But now, we control the timeline, and we define the objective. We can now act rather than react.
Never let a good crisis go to waste. Covid was a global health crisis that gave some of us a tremendous boost to lifestyle, communication, and workplace innovation, but it was reactive. We had to change because we were faced with a threat and bestowed with limited information.
Today we can change with much loftier objectives.
Here are some pointers and prompts for action:
- Revise production value chains with a renewed focus on climate and a lesser focus on convenience;
- Introduce more fresh air into our buildings to fend off future airborne viruses;
- Take advantage of in-person meetings to do stuff that doesn't zoom well;
- Keep what good came from remote work and criticize openly and frankly what didn't work;
- Reassess how we work as teams and hierarchies;
- Ask our leaders to put more effort into leading and less into controlling;
- Ask our organizations to become better citizens rather than simple shareholder profit maximizers;
- Push our peers to communicate with more honesty, emotion, openness, clarity, and concision;
- Use the insights collected during lockdown to inform our upcoming life choices.
- I've listened like never before;
- I've stopped introducing myself with a bio and started to do it by showing attention to my counterpart;
- I've started creating a faster, clearer new website for my customers;
- I invested in learning and gotten two certifications in Agile coaching and facilitation;
- I've refined my message in ways I didn't know possible (proof? this email!);
- I've invested more money than I ever thought I could in a digital marketing campaign;
- I've served more customers than ever before;
- I've served customers I never thought I could serve.
Thanks for your attention. I am honored you would read my words today.