PUT YOUR PANTS BACK ON
Richard A. Moran
Venture partner, author, speaker, advisor, radio personality. Lending perspective, prescriptions and personality to the workplace.
THREE 2021 RESOLUTIONS TO CONSIDER
I’ve heard lots of phrases to describe the year 2020, but most cannot be mentioned in polite company. Green bins on fire seems to be an often-used descriptor. It was a year that tested us all in so many ways but we learned new management techniques and almost everyone learned how to use the mute button. Almost everyone.
Usually, this is the annual post in which I encourage resolutions for the bright New Year. This year my suggestions do not include getting more exercise, asking for a raise or eating fewer turkey sandwiches at your desk. Like every thing else this year, the resolutions are different.
My resolution suggestions for 2021 are simple and there are only three. Unlike resolutions of the past, these are ones I think you can keep.
Resolution One: Put 2020 behind you.
It happened, it sucked and here we are. Don’t dwell on “coulda, woulda, shoulda.” Instead of living in the “If Only” world, try to live in the “Can’t Wait” world. Forget the last year and look forward to time with friends, travel, eating in restaurants, wild parties with motorcycle gangs, family gatherings, spa treatments, and concerts, to name just a few things we have been missing. By most standards, 2021 has to be better. One of the cruelest developments of COVID is that it deprived us of things to look forward to. Now, look forward to 2021.
Resolution Two: Get a Puppy.
During COVID we learned who our friends really are and at the top of the list is Fido or Rex. The dog doesn’t have to be a puppy. He or she could be full grown, a rescue dog, or any one of a thousand variations when it comes to breeds and types of dogs. The important notion is to keep the canine commitment. No one will love you more than your dog. No one grounds you more or is more forgiving than your dog. No one aids your mental health more than your dog. If you already have a dog consider getting another one to double the pleasure. Plus, if we ever go back to the office, in most places you can take the dog with you. Who can argue with a resolution that includes a fine, furry friend?
Resolution Three: Put Your Pants On.
How we dressed from the waist down became irrelevant on Zoom calls. The lower body dress code of 2020 included sweat pants, shorts, pajama bottoms or, it must be said, other creative alternatives. Those days will soon be over so get back to that part of the closet and resolve to put your pants back on. Your family, friends and co-workers will thank you.
I sense that good things will be happening soon. The workplace will be re-defined in a flexible way and new opportunities will surprise us post-COVID. So set your sights high in the New Year for new ways to work and to be successful. And if you are able to keep your resolutions to lose weight and get more exercise this year, good for you.
True that...
Procurement partner for Unilever's Beauty and Wellbeing brands at Unilever North America
3 年Rick Earl MS Well said.
Vice President Safety at ContransUSA a TFI Co.
3 年I think 2020 will be a more redefining moment that we know, I am not sure we will know for at least 5 more years. I do not want to be negative, but I think we must prepare for additional changes. One of the biggest issue people faced in 2020 was telling everyone that it will be fine a couple months. 2020 has fundamentally changed that way many things work. It will be the final nail in the retail collapse. We will see a significant decline in malls, retail, restaurant, and bar industry. The failure rate for independent bars and restaurants is 60% to 80% between the 1st and the 4th year, so you can expect more in 2020. But there is always someone that wants to try so that bar and restaurant industry will bounce, brick and mortar retail is DOA. Commercial real estate is going to have to be creative. ?The office will never be the same and owners are looking at the high cost of operating, renting, or owning them and the ability to manage staff from home and I believe you will continue to see experimental models driven by COVID-19, resulting in smaller office and more remote work. The combined loss of office space and retail space will result in opportunities on how to market and use these spaces, local authorities with flexible zoning will get the jump on this changing market. Herd immunity will not be as quickly achieved as we think, there are 14 major disease with vaccines that are still active in the world and we have had protection for years. Mumps, Measles, Polio have all had vaccines and yet that world still has these disease flourishes in different parts of the world. There is a huge lack of trust; the government “Fake News”, the military cheating at the West Point, defund the police. Business being driven by the political winds of segment of public, forgetting they are here to produce and serve. Billionaires not looking to who helped them make what they have and considering balancing the equation. Influencers, actors commenting out of their experience and driving bad decisions. There is an undertow of distrust and thinking of “what is in it for me”, there is a divided heart in America, and no one is trying to develop unity, if we don’t, there could be an even more significant disruptions in what we use to consider normal….. ?Just the thoughts of an average person looking at history.?