2020 - The 2 Philosophers & how our values became our vaccine!

New Year is a time for reflection and looking back on the past 12 months to see what we have learned and what what we will do differently in the next 12 months to bring happiness and success. So .......... 2020 .......... where do we start???!!! I think I can summarise the year in the words of two wise philosophers - two very different types of intelligence and experience but none the less when I put together their work I found my path! I doubt they have ever been paired in an article before but I stand to be corrected.

I'll start with Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. He said in his book "Also sprach zarathustra"

"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger"

2020 will be remembered as the year that taught the value of resilience - a year that turned logic on its head and human interaction into one of the most precious commodities on the planet. 2020 changed our lexicon of life for good too. In January "bubbles" was a famous popstars chimpanzee or something West Ham fans were forever craving. Tiers were costly layers of a wedding cake, In February the only scientists you could name were Stephen Hawking or Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory if you are like me (which I sincerely hope you are not!).

From March onwards the Nietzsche quote became an unwritten mantra with a global pandemic negating much of what we believed to be a given and meaning we had to adapt or fail. I like everyone else thought "How will we cope?" What will the future look like?" Much was made of "the new normal", which morphed into "the new reality" as things were just not .... normal.

In these darkest of times, I sought solace in our values which have served me and our division well. Let me explain.

Caring Passionately for All - we installed our We are Carlisle portal to keep all colleagues informed of what we were doing and how the latest of the PM announcements would change how we work, how we live, how we travel, how we communicate and how we are paid. Life changing stuff. We installed Wagestream to give colleagues access to their wages in a more flexible and immediate way to react to the brewing financial maelstrom about to emerge. We reached out to managers and staff about how they were feeling and coping with the wide ripple effects of the pandemic. So many more examples exist but it saw our caring passionately for all value come into vivid focus and drive how we wanted to navigate the storm ahead.

Customers at the Heart - without customers we don't exist. Simple as that. It was exciting and challenging to work with clients as their worlds changed and needed to adapt ... immediately. From re-engineering of delivery methodologies to completely new ways to work - we did it all. We mobilised a number of new contracts mid pandemic. Training, recruiting, and even deliveries took on new spectrums of difficulty as life became a none contact sport BUT it also provided opportunity to change, to collaborate and to work in a closer way with clients than ever before. The realisation we were all in this together was the spur and inspiration to innovate with new services created, new training competencies delivered and true partnerships forged. Lives were at stake now. Our fantastic clients as always didn't let us down. We learned and adapted TOGETHER.

Sector Based Experts - we all became Covid experts overnight and studied this new topic with avid interest. The virus acted as a catalyst for change and asked us the question "How will you adapt to deliver in this new, unchartered world?" Previous expertise was rendered largely like last years Christmas socks - in need of a refresh and reframe. We did this learning new skills, using new equipment - developing our online training offering to become a staple of delivery. We provided face coverings to all staff and worked from home to reduce risks for those of us who could. Teamwork took on a new dimension - TEAMS Work - working collaboratively on line with the digital agenda being forced has driven new skills and collaborative competencies - holding fruitful meetings in Liverpool, London, Leeds, Manchester and Wolverhampton in the same day - with no fuel used and carbon footprint decimated. Modern methodologies to meet client needs and keep face to face contact with management when physical 121s aren't possible ..... or legal.

Promise Based Culture - our front line colleagues have been sensational, brave, professional and ... consistently brilliant. They epitomise promise based culture. Being there to enforce new rules, new priorities, new ways of working and using their expertise to keep assets, staff and reputations of clients safe. Our back office teams have put their ingenuity to the fore at delivering a business as usual presence in a far from business as usual world! Our HSQE team transformed into 5 Chris Whitty's and driven the competence and confidence to cope, thrive and prosper. In a world where less miles have been travelled our back office teams have put in so many metaphorical extra miles on the clock to keep us going - it has been amazing to watch. As for our managers? They made Dynamo look like Tommy Cooper with the magic and miracles they perform on a daily basis with problem solving skills entering black belt first dan level! Lots of promises made, lots of promises delivered, many promises renegotiated on both sides of the fence.

The sheer amount of effort, experience, expertise and empathy we have shown this year, makes me proud to be part of a 4000 strong team! To twist that advert on the television I am part of an army but it was made in Carlisle! Thank you one and all - colleagues and clients alike. I've learned so much. I've laughed, cried and lost my sense of taste and smell but not my sense of humour.

In essence, 2020 - it didn't kill us - it made us stronger and our values were our vaccine - that shot in the arm that made us survive. Our satnav to navigate the stormy waters of the new world.

So as I face the final day of this unique year, I wanted to end with the only words, the only wisdom I can find to make sense of this crazy, topsy turvy world we live in and the 12 months we are leaving behind. Those words come from a more contemporary thinker - Jay Cartwright - hormone addled 6th former and student of life from the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive on Channel 4s the Inbetweeners who summarised it so simply and succinctly (and I paraphrase)

"2020 - Completed it mate!"

And that is some achievement!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and successful New Year for 2021!