| 4 min Read

Lessons Learned During the Pandemic

Here are some of the things we learned along Pandemic Way. In business. In family (because nothing is more important). In Music (cause we love music!). In community (we love that too).

BUSINESS

  • Necessity is the mother of invention. New business models sprouting up like online tutoring and new job titles like “Virtual Events Manager” and “Head of Remote” fascinate us and present opportunity.
  • Being in business during a pandemic has been like stumbling down the stairs and landing on your feet. And then repeating that over and over again.
  • Leaders don’t have to be perfect, but they do need to be honest. 
  • Beware of LinkedIn requests from life insurance salespeople, financial advisors and business consultants making grand shaman-like promises.
  • Fist bumps will do, but will handshakes become passé?
  • When travel bounces back, we might travel with black lights. 
  • Remote work raises big questions:
    • What effect does it have on employee loyalty?
    • Do organization cultures/values and remote work mix? 
  • According to Gallup 60% of workers want to remain remote. We get it. No commuting or traffic. You don’t have to listen to the boss’s weekend stories. PJs are comfier. Independence rules.  On the flip, you’ve got massive amounts of distraction (hello barking and fridge), no human interaction and you will find yourself working at 11:13PM. We need to find balance. The call to action for employers and employees starts with TRUST.

FAMILY

  • You better have a sense of humor.
  • Be honest with your family about job loss, isolation, death, mental and physical health and your refrigerator. And talk through the upsides.
  • Upsides: more family meals, games and projects together, deeper connections, not having to cart kids to their vibraslap lessons or mountain unicycling competitions.
  • Rules and routines are imperative.
  • Consider taking phones from your kids at a reasonable hour.
  • Teenagers should be called “Screenagers.”
  • Remote learning has been a travesty. Let’s vote to support our teachers better so we retain a key channel for our children’s development.
  • Grace is the gift that keeps on giving.
  •  “Do all things with love.” Even in frustration, there can be love.

MUSIC

  • On Spotify, KidzBop and Bob Marley listens were up. The Chain Smokers and 50 Cent listens were down. Most Spotify listens in 2020? Dua Lipa, The Weekend, Drake and Bad Bunny.
  • Live music was reimagined as curbside and drive-in concerts as well as intimate livestreams in our favorite musician’s living rooms. Many bands survived because fans bought their tshirts. Go Promo! Many bands and venues continue to struggle. Support them any way you can!
  • People paid real money to go to virtual nightclubs and listen to DJs via Zoom.
  • There were music festivals with sick stage-dives in Minecraft and other gaming platforms.
  • Musicians treated fans as long-lost friends, sharing their bedrooms, mistakes and meaningful stories.

COMMUNITY

  • Equal rights for everyone does not mean fewer rights for you. It’s not cake.
  • The planet doesn’t need us. We need it. Let’s minimize pollution and respect nature. Strive for better.
  • Nonprofits are resilient.
  • There’s a lot on social media that is fakery or taken out of context. Our wish is to find truth through our own honesty. Even when something is at stake. Social media is best when we are helping each other.
  • We witnessed the rise of the in-vogue mask. Unfortunately, a lot was lost behind it.
  • When the pandemic is over, we will seek community connection and partying in the streets (with live music) together.

A paradox exists that we all must be feeling. Physical connection has been throttled and yet, through digital access and effort, there seems to be more connection. We are making it work. Moving ahead, we hope we learn to better balance the digital and the physical. We hope that the “common enemy” we have faced will make us less polarized and more connected. We pray we are better prepared to manage the next crisis without boundaries and with love. To do all things with love.