“What do we do now?” That’s the cry we hear all around us. “They’ve just extended the call for physical distancing until July! What do we do now?” Well, the first thing we do now is to answer that question with a resounding – “We do what we can do to get ready for what happens next, in business and in our lives.”
If you are waiting for a return to normal… don’t! The reality is we need to create a new normal and it will be as wonderful and productive as we choose to make it.
My observation of what happens when there is any sort of economic upheaval, as in what happened during the SARS event, is that people simply – stop. They wait it out and worry, or distract themselves. This is a terrible waste of an opportunity! Instead of stopping, why not do what people say they have had a hard time finding time to do, namely train and retool. This is a prime time to work on those skills and knowledge bases that are so often neglected due to time pressure.
Notice I called it “physical distancing” and not “social distancing”. While we can’t gather and train due to quarantine, self-inflicted or otherwise, we can take advantage of the interactive technologies like Zoom and Skype and Webex, to name but a few. Social media has never been more valuable – if we just use it wisely.
I realized early on that all of the workshops and keynotes I have developed are totally translatable to this type of intensive on-line technology. In fact, I am of the opinion that this sort of training, when engaged in one-on-one, can be even more intense and immensely more beneficial as the intimacy allows for more truth and real soul searching. There is also a great opportunity to develop new material in each area and combine my workshops depending on the needs for training in your particular area.
I mention my own material but look around, there are people all over the world who can teach and train and motivate you, and they are only the click of a mouse away.
Zoom also allows for very in-depth small group work and all safely from the privacy of your own home or personal office. I find that working with small groups and then augmenting with one-on-one on-line work is a wonderfully effective way to train.
Another idea that you should be entertaining is setting up a virtual workshop with your own people and invite some of your clients into the mix. This will add to your understanding of their needs and experiences and will also build your relationship with them. Think of every session as a mini-conference. The relationships you nurture now is this universal struggle will be relationships that you will have as the new normal takes hold. This is a hard time but it can also be a productive and building time.
Retool, retrain and re-dream, build on existing relationships, develop new relationships, and create the new normal together with your team and your clients.
Stay safe, stay well!
Bill Carr