A better normal
I remember watching CNN live the first time they called COVID-19 ‘a pandemic’, ahead of the World Health Organisation. It was controversial in the moment and they claimed it because they had a sense of where we were headed. Now, the term is a part of our daily lexicon.
Another addition to our lockdown vocabulary is the premise of a ‘new normal’. Everyone is referring to what life will be like beyond this crisis as the ‘new normal’ - an inherited state of existence. It seems lost on us that while we will be impacted by macro factors, and yes, there will be suffering, we will be the shapers of the new normal. Inherent in this is the power of choice. Let us make use of that power to make it a ‘better normal’ than the old normal.
The lessons we are learning
We are surely at the start of a long journey and I believe we are yet to face the worst of the medical and economic impacts to result from the crisis. Yet, in our own resilient and human way, we are making sense of the situation, whilst learning in myriad ways.
We are learning about the rekindled love of family and appreciating the time we spend together. We are learning to cook with heart and to share mealtimes once more. We are learning to appreciate small changes around us, from changes in daily weather to the change of season. We are embracing a new level of compassion for total strangers, whether affected or not. We are learning kindness. We are missing loved ones far away, our sociability and connecting with friends. And we are learning to bridge those gaps with technology.
Business in community
With planes on the ground, the global business village is somehow more connected than ever before. The doors to game-changing content, speakers, university courses and coaches in various fields are wide open, and entrance is most often, free.
We have, within a few short weeks, developed community around common interests and passions that may otherwise have taken years or even decades to build.
Sharing is commonplace. Whether by generous gesture, value exchange, or deferred payment, there is a willingness to give of oneself at a level I cannot recall in my lifetime. In many respects, we are going back to a village economy – where participants give what they will and pay what they can.
The change we shape
Whether we have asked for it or not, we have been placed squarely back in our familiar spaces, but in a way that has forced us to reshape how we interact with them. We have had to reassess our spending, our possessions, and in many cases, our careers - or at least how we navigate what is to come.
In all of this, as the panic subsides and the dust settles, an appreciation for simplicity has emerged. We had all too often forgone many of life’s simple pleasures; of achieving balance, fostering an appreciation of nature, moving our bodies, connecting, cooking, eating and yes, sleeping. All of this is giving us the stimulus to shape sustained change in our lives.
For business, this can be a moment of sublime transition, should we choose to embrace it. To serve in the context of community, to be guided by revived principles and to reinforce the ‘lived’ demonstration of our stated values, so that we can sow the seeds of a more fitting economic legacy.
Far from hibernating in this lockdown, in many ways, we have been reawakened.
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First published on Marklives