What Happens Next?
2022 is shaping up to be part 3 of the “Pandemic Chronicles”. So, what happens next, and how should you prepare?
It was once so trendy to talk about a ‘VUCA world’ and ‘The Future of Work’, but this is now just business as usual. The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed almost everything and there’s no turning back. Here are 6 ways to steer yourself through the next 12 months or so:
Focus
It’s easy to get fuzzy headed through successive lockdowns and the persistent threat of illness. And it takes real effort to comprehend the polarizing views of your sister’s cousin’s uncle who heard from a friend how to stop them from microchipping your brain and how to reclaim your personal liberty! The torrent of information and misinformation can cause mental indigestion. Better to decide on your own course of action and stick to it. Make a deliberate statement of purpose for you and your business and focus your attention only on those things which will contribute to that purpose.
Life Experience
We get caught up in the intensity of the news cycle. Rumours of war and conspiracy tend to convince us that we are at a unique moment in history. We are heading to hell in a handbasket unless we stand up and fight! But history has a habit of repeating itself over generations and over hundreds of years. If you step back, you can see the long undulating narrative of the human story. There is an advantage in drawing on your own life experience and the collective wisdom of others’ life experience to see the present times in a more meaningful context. “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times” to quote Charles Dickens.
Decisiveness
Nobody really knows what to do next. It might be nice to usher everyone back into the office again, but that horse has bolted. What does hybrid work even mean? Some business models have evolved incredibly fast to take advantage of market changes, and some business models have already gone the way of the dinosaurs. The only way forward is to do what entrepreneurs do: “fail fast, frequently, and frugally”. Set up prototypes. Run experiments. See what works and what doesn’t. But above all, act decisively. Don’t wait for change. Be an early adopter. The more things you prove that don’t work, the more likely you’ll find the thing that does.
Emotional Regulation
You might experience bouts of despair, surges of anxiety, and deep waves of depression. Sometimes there seems no way out. All is lost. Just as you might find yourself caught in a rip at the beach and swept out to sea, the advice is not to panic, or attempt to swim against the current. Rather, go with the current, swimming diagonally with the shoreline. Eventually the rip will lose momentum and you will have reserve energy to make it to shore. Don’t let your emotions sweep you out to sea. Acknowledge what you’re feeling but maintain a steady control on the volatility of your emotions.
Compassion
During these times the most important person who deserves your compassion is you! Start with self-compassion and you’re likely to look kindlier on those around you. Otherwise, you may find yourself becoming increasingly judgemental. If there was ever a single motive force needed in the world today, it’s compassion. Compassion in community, compassion in health care, compassion in government agencies, compassion in business, and compassion in politics. Might we be able to create more compassionate societies through our responses in this time of need? It all starts with you.
Tolerance for Diversity of Values
All too often we see the same pale, male and stale faces making pronouncements on behalf of the rest of us. We ignore the rich tapestry of our lived experiences at out peril. Diversity of thought, gender, and ethnicity has proven to contribute to better decision making and better business and social outcomes. Look around you. How can you be more inclusive of the different voices in the room? Step outside of your learned frameworks and open yourself up to different perceptions. Learn about the values and beliefs of others without losing sight of your own.
What to know more? Get the book here
Or book a FREE discovery session here