Education: Find the Silver Lining

— EDUCATION —

Finding the Silver Lining

Words cannot capture the immense toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct medical impacts of the disease, as well as the continuous ripple effects on mental health and the economy have been serious. However, the challenges of the pandemic have also fostered ingenuity and new ways of doing business. Here are a few...

1. ZOOM: How many knew “Zoom” before COVID? Now, we all know. Connectivity with stakeholders has increased, allowing greater knowledge share and ideation. The skills of distance learning, which were once only practiced by a few colleges, were learned and perfected by nearly every school and student at every level of academia.

2. FAMILY TIME: The pandemic “forced” many people to slow down and gave them more time to be physically present with those they love. Family dinners replaced fast food. Parents got to know their children more. Leisure became a reality, not a casualty.

3. WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Without a commute, people have found more time for exercise, sleep, meals, etc. These small changes have improved worker quality of life.

4. CORPORATE CULTURE: With employees working remotely, companies had to be intentional about preserving their cultures. And as good CEOs are aware, “culture will trump strategy, every time.” – Harvard Business Review

5. TEAMS: Yes, the Microsoft application “Teams” (see bullet number 1) helped many companies stay connected, but more so the many project teams working within businesses. Using the power of virtual meeting applications, employees were able to meet, connect, and even socialize no matter where their home offices were located.

6. TRAINING VIRTUALLY: More people were able to attend training workshops and professional development, as cost barriers were reduced by distance learning options. Additionally, participation has increased as studies have shown introverts are more likely to speak up in a video conference setting.

7. PRAYER: The challenges of the pandemic have returned a focus to prayer life. During the pandemic, National Public Radio reported that “prayer” searches on Google have increased by 60%.

8. DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS: During the pandemic, people have been more intentional about connecting with others and more intentional about who they connect with. Whether it’s evaluating client relationships or friendships, the lack of physical access to others has forced us to carve out quality time with those that matter.

9. ADAPTABILITY: “Adapt, improvise, and overcome.” Long an informal motto in the military, many businesses adopted this attitude during the shutdowns. They learned new skills, adapted to unfamiliar technology, reinvented the way to connect with customers, and even did more with less.

10. THE OFFICE: As more companies experiment with remote employees, they’ve reevaluated what an “office” looks like. With less bodies in the building, some companies have opted to downsize or even sell their buildings, thereby reducing the cost of conducting business.