This year in one word: crazy. 2020 won’t be forgotten in a hurry. As we wrap it up, it feels like the end of an action thriller movie – where the survivors look back at all the action and ask: “what was that?” What a year! That said, 2020 had much to teach. As an entrepreneur or business leader, what have you learned this year? I have learned a lot this year, but I’ll share four lessons. Let’s go.
When in Crisis, Focus on Few Goals: Like many people, I did not take the news of Covid-19 seriously until life started shutting down. I thought, “this will blow over in 3 months max.” But by May, reality dawned on me and I knew that I had to face it.
After weeks of struggling with the new reality, I finally established one focus, eliminated distractions and that saved my year. I realised that in crisis, you do not need to focus on many goals, focus on a few, and weather the storm. Focus is vital in crisis; it worked for me.
Learn Quick, Change Fast: As I studied global trends during this pandemic, I realised the importance of change as a skill. In business, we call it innovation. This year, innovation could not be rhetorical – you either lived it or died. To survive or thrive, people had to learn quickly and change fast. I know that 2020 could have been crazier if I did not change fast – and this is true for many people.
Pride is Useless: Like other years, we started 2020 on a hopeful note and many of us believe it would be business as usual; we thought what used to work for us would keep working. We were wrong. Some people stuck to their old ways and suffered, while others identified what was not working and changed it. This year proved how useless pride can be. Humility is understanding the season and knowing when to change.
Relationship is Gold: 2020 brought us all back to the basics. The maniac pursuit of money was disrupted, and much social pressure built up because people had to stay away from each other. Social distancing threw us all in the deep end. It became clear that: we need each other, and business is beyond money-making. I saw and relearned how good relationships trump money any day. In a crisis, good relationships become a source of stability and strength. 2020 proved that: relationship is gold; we need each other.