As we woke up on New Year’s Day (or even March 1st for that matter) in my craziest of imaginations, I could have never envisioned how the next four months would take shape. And I am sure that holds the same with you. Without a doubt, 2020 is one for the history books!
Like everyone else, I spent the first few weeks of the Pandemic washing my hands forty times a day, changing my consumption of everyday household paper products, working by myself, and eating all my meals at home (with family).
Then my thinking shifted from “when this all will just go away like a bad dream” (which it is), to how best to move on with my life – both personally and professionally.
On the professional front, I needed to look at how we would not only survive as a business but how we could continue to grow. I went to an old standby approach for me – which is looking back historically for similar challenges and examining the success and failures those situations taught. I’ve shared this with you before in a post – There is a Silver Lining in Everything – Success Stories from the Depression. It is based on my goal of educating myself on previous successful journeys through difficult times.
The key is then to not just stop with the “history lesson” but to put that new knowledge and understanding into action. One approach is to take those lessons and then re-think your “go-to-market” strategy based on the new realities of today, and the future may hold. Once you begin this process, you will be amazed at how fast it accelerates and what it can produce.
Converting all that education and planning into an updated approach begins to let you see your future and define a path to get started. We talked about a few of those challenges in Viewing Steps Forward with a New Perspective, where you need to continually measure and adapt you discover new information along the journey. From this perspective, “Change” becomes both a motivator and a competitive value.
I’m looking at 2020 as a year to learn, leverage, and grow. I wonder what I would have told myself 18 weeks ago – based on what I know today – and how I would have used it.
While 2020 has several numbing stories, it is also producing some amazing changes in our lives that will benefit us for years to come. It is our challenge to use this information and the remaining time in 2020 to better ourselves – personally and professionally. It really is a year of new opportunities!
