2020 is finally, mercifully coming to a close. This is a good time to reflect o the lessons we’ve learned this year that will help us in the future. After all, we tend to learn more from our struggles and failures than from our victories.
I have to say that the phrase “because we’ve always done it this way” is one of my least favorite phrases. I have always valued improvement and innovation. It seems to imply that rocking the boat is not pleasant, even when issues are dealt with in the old way or innovative new ideas are presented.
The fact is that sooner or later, all boats get rocked whether the issue arises from within or if it is forced by outside circumstances and catches us all off guard.
These challenges have forced people and businesses to discover if they have staying power when faced with inevitable change.
Even if you are running the world’s best repair shop, you may not have a viable business today. We have had to reluctantly face the reality that one of the few constants in life is change and it requires us to become adaptable.
2020 forced countless individuals and businesses to revise their entire lives and business models, making what would have taken years’ worth of change in a few short months in response to an existential threat.
Most restaurants reinvented themselves by offering upscale takeout and delivery and expanding to outdoor seating.
Qantas, the Australian airline, designed a “Seven-Hour Flight to Nowhere” and it sold out in 10 minutes!
The global scientific community leveraged new technology to bring multiple vaccines to the market at a record timeline.
Doctors, who have been historically frustrated at not being compensated for consults with patients outside their office, began video consulting and getting reimbursed. This is a change that kept people safe and saved unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office. This method will most likely expand after the pandemic for many. I think it has been long overdue.
Nonprofits switched from in-person charity events to virtual fundraisers and this provided the opportunity to expand beyond their geographic market. These events netted more money by saving the huge costs of holding fundraisers in person.
Business leaders who had previously stated that remote work could not work for their businesses ended up running 100 percent remote businesses that functioned well and, in some cases, improved. The future of remote work has finally arrived!
As 2020 comes to a close, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that many people and business were devastatingly impacted by COVID-19. The point is that, despite this, I have seen that the people and business that are surviving, and even thriving, are the ones who accepted the new reality and saw it as an opportunity to innovate and make overdue changes. I feel that, after 2020, we will have a new appreciation for things we took for granted.
Those who cling to the past way it had always been done may be the ones that will struggle the most.
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