Surviving COVID-19 Together

The year 2020 will live in contemporary memory as the year we all desperately needed. Global bastions of power stood dumbfounded, powerless to stop a microscopic RNA molecule. Covid-19 highlighted our deep inter-dependency. The only way we could move forward was TOGETHER.

Here are 5 things we’ve discovered about moving ahead in 2020.

1. Redefining Interaction.
Things change. Quickly.

No wonder confusion and panic set in when governments mandated new rules to curb physical interaction, while at the same time bringing the economy to a grinding halt. With our elected officials focussing on flattening the curve, common folk and businesses were left facing the conundrum of how to ensure financial survival. So, there we all were, in the same boat.

So, before the loneliness and panic set in, we contacted our clients to let them know we are there to help.

2. Emerging Landscape
We soon realised that this was not going to be like a two-week vacation, where, upon your return, you find everything exactly the way you left it. As this realisation dawned, it spurred us into action. 

Our first priority was to assure our clients of our continued support. The message was simple, we can worry about money later. But for now, let’s explore a viable path through the emerging landscape, together. And as soon as we recalibrated our focus, we found that the world of endless possibilities had never disappeared, it had only changed its guise. 

3. Uncanny Valley
Despite the flurry, human wants and needs remained largely unchanged. What had changed, was the way to get from where we were, to where we wanted to be. Offline presence was no longer possible, so the online experience had to be expanded to take up the slack. 

We seized this opportunity to help clients develop new digital e-commerce infrastructures in line with their unique business goals, and re-establishing customer trust by creating meaningful online interaction. A case in point being a wine merchant client, who experienced a 400% increase in sales once the ban on the alcohol trade was lifted.

4. Zoom Boom
Going digital and working remotely requires new skills and habits. Daily team meetings on Zoom set the foundation as our team adapted to working remotely. Soon our biggest obstacle to meeting project deadlines was slow data connections and load shedding.

Pushing hard to meet existing project deadlines forced us to up-skill fast, and I can state with confidence that we are now world class practitioners of the asana.com project management tool. Daily customer update reports ensured that clients stayed aware of our constant effort.

5. Out With The New
As the world settles into a new state of temporary familiarity, and humanity re-assumes the illusion of stability, a quiet confidence has taken root in our team. We know we are ready and able to face whatever the future may hold. Our new skills will allow us to reap full benefit from the current expansion in online activity and resulting digital opportunities.

And, if the world changes again, we will just change right along with it.  

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