At the end of March, I was about to publish another article here, but it was really impossible. The subject at that moment stopped me. I haven't been sick until now, but like many, I was trying to support my kids in sudden online school, reading as much as I could about the virus, illness, curves and strategies, trying to understand the big picture, and getting involved with people and companies who were doing something to help.
Whenever I ran my eyes through LinkedIn, I felt a strangeness. Content that didn't address the pandemic seemed inappropriate. On the other hand, so many people already knowing so much about the pandemic and its impacts… So many tips on home office, so many instantly reinvented businesses. Some thinking that humanity would now find a way and others fearing our end.
For many days I thought "am I overreacting? Has nothing changed? Or has everything changed and everyone has adapted except me?"
During the last two months I have maintained activities in my work, as well as my activities as an angel investor and also mentoring. But a lot was different.
I talked much more with colleagues, customers and friends. People in different places in the world and therefore, living the pandemic in different ways and at different stages. Mentoring was dominated by issues like uncertainty, future, digital transformation, motivation, productivity, time management. And from these conversations, I gathered some thoughts that I shared with my mentees and friends. Many are concerned about the impact on business, their productivity, reaction time, career adjustments, and all of us immersed in a scenario of many doubts about the future.
Some of these people suggested that I publish this material and that's what I do here, with little changes. Hopefully it can help others.
How to live a change into the unknown?
If you have ever had any contact with the themes of change management, you should recognize the phases of denial, resistance, acceptance, engagement… Currently, there are many models that intend to describe how change occurs, both in organizations and in individuals.
Typically, they are models that describe changes with known, or at least drawn, end-stage. "We will integrate the processes of a recently acquired company", "we will exchange tool A for B", "I need to move to a new city if I take this job" or "I will bring my parents to live with me". These are situations in which the current state is known and a final state is foreseen.
But what about when the final state is not defined? When all we have is a set of hypotheses, some people shouting truths and others calmly saying it is impossible to predict anything?
The thing is, during all this uncertainty, life doesn't stop. Babies are born, couples decide to divorce, people take jobs in another country and need to move with their families before borders are closed. I have a friend who went through this and had five days between the yes and the flight. Five days to plan and execute an international move with the family.
And how to end a partnership by Zoom? What about new business, ready to launch? Investments in the signature phase, contracts... Cancel? Suspend? For how long?
I've compiled here a list (not exhaustive, obviously) of six pitfalls I've observed in my numerous conversations over the past two months. I consider pitfalls because they either keep us in a state of paralysis or they throw us into unbridled continuous action, without much direction and therefore with high energy expenditure and little result. Which could paralyze us again. These are behaviors that alternate and, by my observation, are not necessarily linear.
PITFALLS IN PERCEPTION
1 – To think that nothing will really change, that in a little while everything will come back
Denial behavior is common in change processes. One of the problems with denial is that the longer it takes to recognize change, the longer it takes to act on it. And this way, we get run over. Instead of protagonists, we're supporting actors or sometimes not even that.
Yes, some people are looking at quarantine as vacations. It may happen that your routine, your day-to-day activities, will be similar to it was before. But only in the short term. If you do not understand how the world is changing, as how in some sectors the changes already initiated will be accelerated and, in others, many changes will be interrupted, so your medium term and your long term will be seriously compromised.
We are facing a scenario never experienced in our life story. It is expected a certain delay in recognizing the impact of this on each of the dimensions of our lives. But it is essential to be aware that the world is no longer, and for some time it will not be, as it was until February 2020. Without panicking. Just some awareness to begin with.
2 – To look for everything on it
For two weeks, I only consumed news, scientific articles and messages about COVID-19. Then I've been making a selection of what to read, choosing sources etc. and I'm very grateful to have smart and tuned friends who sent me very serious and quality content. Pandemic content is important, of course. Mainly to protect yourself and your loved ones and also to have the minimum foundation to read and question (so important to question) the news. For those who like to study it is a temptation to stay there informing themselves indefinitely, but since I do not work with it, I had to delimit how far my study would go, so I could come back to life.
3 – To form a premature opinion
We are seeing many gurus, some prophets of chaos and others who write articles just to say they have a different point of view. Run away from them, they have nothing to do with your life and they won't be there for you when their theories are proved – and even less if they aren't.
Early on, I noticed very optimistic people, and others overly pessimistic. I got the impression that there would be much to reflect on and that we still needed time, data and information that we did not have.
As we have access to this new data and facts, we change our minds, create new layers of knowledge and incorporate their consequences into our lives. Normal and expected. And this is good.
With our possibility of expression in social networks, it seems that we need to have an opinion about everything. We don't have to. Sometimes you can say “I don't know, I don't have an opinion”.
PITFALLS IN REACTION
4 - One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing, so ...
The more I consumed content about the pandemic, the more I realized that a lot could change. Somethings, radically, some others, not much. Some temporarily, some may not. And that even the experts could not make projections. I've reviewed all the major decisions made in the last six months. Decisions regarding career, work, investments, personal finance, family. And I was happy with some decisions and terrified with others.
Do all these decisions still make sense in this new time? Or would they still do in a next phase? What next phase?
So, faced with so much ignorance and inability to define actions, let's relax. Distract. After all, there are so many "lives" and courses, and series and books to catch up on. But if they are just distractions, if they don't bring a slight reflection or provocation, you're still there, trapped in Neverland.
If you are now in Neverland, you can find a list of ideas to help you come back. Maybe it is useful.
5 - Immediate reinvention
I was really impressed by the amount of people who reinvented their business or their professional activity in a week. I think it is very, very positive the energy and the willingness to react to such profound changes. But some information and reflection are needed in this redirection. Professionals and business going to digital. Great, I really believe in tremendous digital acceleration. But does it make sense to do this right away in your business? Is this a temporary matter? Or definite?
Is it worth investing time and money to do something more definitive, professional, or is it about taking advantage of a short-term opportunity? Do you have the necessary skills in house? Do you need to develop new skills in your team? Are you going to hire new services or look for partnerships?
6 – Expecting high levels of reaction and productivity
Some people can digest a lot of information or even high-impact information faster than others. Others can understand quickly, but take longer to react. Respect your times. Although I was able to consume information and understand the situation relatively quickly, in this particular case, it took me longer to react. I couldn't focus on forming opinions, reading deeper content, or devoting time to reflection. Between wanting to write this text and getting it, it took me more than four weeks. This really isn't me. I've been very operational during this time. I didn't get depressed, I didn't stop life, but I was able only to complete tasks. The only moments I was able to stop to reflect were mentoring sessions and conversations with friends and family. Listening to someone else, their points of view, concerns, and trying to bring up questions, information and tools to help them, was the only activity I could perform with focus and depth.
So, don't you expect higher productivity than usual. In fact, it's quite normal that your productivity will drop. Depending on your home, the people who live in it, there's a lot of adjustments to be made. Children in online class, household tasks, working in home office, more time with family. All this will have good and bad implications. And after the adaptation, there will be tiredness. So, watch out for the extremes. It won't all be fantastic, and it won't all be a disaster either.
But under such uncertainty, how to react? Where to start?
Start with the certainties that exist among so many uncertainties. Because they do exist. Who you are, the good relationships you've built, your mental strength, your life experiences and learnings, it is all there. No viruses, pandemics, or lockdown take that away from you. That's you. What you're going to do with it from now on is very important, but be aware of it all before you go out taking action. If you need to, make a list of everything that doesn't change with or without viruses.
Then think about your business or career. You may be experiencing a severe impact on your company's revenue and, of course, should be concerned. So, get informed, talk to partners, customers, competitors even. On these occasions, competitors may even become partners. Read what experts say about the industry. Always being careful, right? A real estate agency will say that real estate is the refuge of investments, never that sales have dropped… What analyses are being made about your industry? Do they make sense? More people say the same? It's going to change a lot, little, nothing? For how long? Not all of the start-ups I invest in have been impacted. Some are even selling more than before. Over time uncertainties will diminish and if you are aware of the reality of your business, you can adapt plans or promote change.
And do all this by taking care of who's around or who needs more. Taking care of others is a way of taking care of yourself.
And when it gets back to normal?
In my opinion, we will hardly have a life close to what we had until February 2020. Not for the next few months. We have to prepare for a new normal. Relationships, consumption, the role of business, government… It will take time. So, let's not expect that in a few weeks or months we will live as before. Even if governments start loosening containment measures, people will be afraid. Some will be frightened by crowds; others will have changed consumption habits during quarantine. The ones having taken advantage of the quarantine to develop awareness, reflection and planning, will undoubtedly return better to the so called "new normal".
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Ideas to come back from Neverland
1. Study: that course you've always wanted to take, remember? Lots of online options and some for free.
2. New leisure or old ones: there are people (finally) learning to cook. Others, playing again that old guitar, leaned back for years.
3. Enjoy the best living with your confinement partners – if you have children and thought "wow, I wish I had more time with my kids." Well, here is your gift!
4. Enjoy virtual coexistence: I live away from many dear friends and you know that we have never spoken so much by WhatsApp or Zoom? Because now I'm not the only one who is far. Because now we're all physically distant.
5. Develop new habits: want a better time than this to create new habits? Or say goodbye to bad habits? There's no more excuse about traffic, no rush. At least you won the time of commuting. Aside from the time to get dressed and ready. You know when you feel a son doesn't help with housework? Great opportunity. Does the other kid have trouble relaxing before bedtime? Take the opportunity to create a ritual. Of course, one habit at a time. If you promise that in the same week you will learn meditation, drink more water, read two hours a day and use cream on your face before bed, your brain will get confused and think that it is a different person.
6. Reflect: time to think. We complain so much about the lack of time to think. There's a lot to think about!
- About your business or your career: I'm not saying to reinvent yourself or your business in one weekend and announce how much you've figured out everything, organized the ideas and are already working in new direction! I don't believe it. But I believe in a process of reflection, design of scenarios and prioritizing actions.
- About the changes you are experiencing: in your daily life, in your relationships and in what you are observing in the world.
- About the impact on the people you lead and influence, in your community, family and friends. A calm, focused and attentive person, brings security and calms down teams, family and friends.
7. Help: Help those in need. If you can donate money to a serious and important cause, do it. If you can't donate money, help sharing the message. If you can listen to a friend and help him think. Sometimes we don't realize how much one simple conversation can positively impact a person.