“The Secret of Change is To Focus All Your Energy – Not On Fighting The Old, But On Building the New”
For so many years we have lived a fast paced world and this fast paced lifestyle has taken a toll on ourselves - our physical health, our mental well-being, our relationships, our satisfaction, peace of mind and just about everything in our life and the world at large.
With due respect to all healthcare and support professionals who risk their lives to help people every single day; with due respect to every single life we lost and with due respect to every family suffering the pain of loss, fear...etc.
I think we should relook the world we live in, evaluate our habits, look at food we eat, review our personal hygiene practices, relook on how we treat people and reinvent the way we run businesses.
We must think about our planet, how we have polluted the land, air, water and caused global warming. Though we are going through a pandemic, the spread is much lesser than if it was a tsunami / earthquake or any other natural calamity. Imagine for a second what would happen if ice caps keep melting and continents keep submerging like how it happens in these fancy Hollywood movies. I guess anything is possible these days!!
The world has been under a lockdown for the last 30 – 45 days or so but look at how much better earth is and how our wildlife animals are ruling the beaches, islands, streets…etc. So I guess it is high time for us to look at how we dispose our waste in the environment, how we grow our food without chemicals and how much better can we take care of our planet.
After so many years, we have had environmentalists and researchers talk about how river Ganga, river Yamuna have become pure and fit for people to drink. If we could recollect the time when it was polluted so badly that people were banned from bathing in the river as it could be hazardous to them.
I think people from Jalandar almost 150 miles away from Himalayas can see the mountain tops from their place after 30 years after air pollution clears due to lockdown.
I think as human beings we are resilient and thrive after a crisis. If you look at important events that ever occurred in history, it has a strong relationship with a movement / a boom / a revolution after it. Things may not go back to normal after this but we can create a new normal and that’s okay too!!
One of my favourite quote of Socrates is “The Secret of Change is To Focus All Your Energy – Not On Fighting The Old, But On Building the New”
It might take a few months for us to be back in action after the pandemic ends. I am not giving a false promise saying life will be a breeze but all I am saying is there is a strong light at the end of the tunnel.
Any change is painful, growth is challenging in this scenario but Nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere even after realizing the truth!
As Robin Sharma says “Change is Hard At First, Messy in the Middle and Gorgeous in the End!”
Let us take a minute to visualize how the new world is going to be!!
Let us together create a new world where we live happy and peaceful lives, run our businesses effectively, have a healthy lifestyle and inspire our people to be the best version of themselves in thoughts, actions and behaviour.
What is the New Normal for Entrepreneurs?
The new normal for businesses is to first understanding and respect the challenges our employees face and simplifying the complex processes. The world has seen a lot of businesses with horrible office politics, non – cooperation from colleagues, complicated processes, hierarchies, hr practices, irrelevant hr policies and many more. The second step is to reinvent the business with the customers and employees at the core of the business – relook at the current challenges they face, how do we make life easier for them and build strategies around this theme. We must use this lockdown period to address the 2 key important people of our business – employees and clients. Once the pandemic is over and businesses start opening we shall act immediately to kick start new ways of doing business.
I think all of us – people who run manufacturing companies, people who work with Manufacturing companies / work for / suppliers of these companies must ensure that these companies don’t resort to disposal of waste causing any type of air pollution. We need to create processes, policies and practices that safeguard the environment around us.
To rephrase the new normal for businesses is
· to simplify and optimize business processes with a touch of humanity
· reinvent your business with focus on both the customers and employees
· Improve the user experience or service offering along with right pricing considering the circumstances
· Create viable opportunities for the future
The new normal for HR professionals
To my fellow HR professionals, HR Expert consultants, trainers, coaches let us all be HR with a big Heart. Let empathy be our middle name!! Let us do a small perspective shift and relook our company with the lens of Empathy, Human with a Heart while we frame hr practices right from recruitment to exit, hr policies. Let us be strict in evaluating the culture fitment while recruitment because that helps to retain easily rather than employee finding in a few months. We can give suggestions on how companies can reduce their expenses but we must not suggest measures like cutting down coffee machine or stuff like that to reduce value provided for employees. Age old HR practices and processes aren't going to drive us forward.
We can recommend fun Fridays but let that not be the only work of HR professionals. Let us Revisit our policies, review them with a touch of humanity to bring about win – win policies that favour both the employees and the employer. The way we treat our employees need to change, our hr policies, hr strategies, the way we run hr departments should change for good.
Let us apply Design Thinking in HR, relook, reinvent, map a plan of how to reskill and rework on ourselves first and then recommending it for our company’s employees. Small changes eventually add up to huge results.
Together all of us must do away with words and actions of cut – throat competition, kill the competition and instead use inspiration, collaboration, reinvention and reskilling as the way forward.
Dear Marketing Experts let us create a new normal where there shall be no manipulative sale because manipulating customers is NOT Marketing!! Let us create ethical marketing techniques and practices that revolve on adding value to the customers. I think as people together we can do more for all of us and the world around us. Reinvention and collaboration should be the go to strategy which all entrepreneurs must follow.
I think that a perspective shift is required for all organizations. Instead of complex systems and processes, we need to demystify and simplify the way we work. All processes need to be customer centric and employee centric. Employee centric and customer centric decisions are required. I strongly believe that we must replace benchmark policies or business practises with new practises that are practical, solve problems of customers and with a touch of humanity and innovative. Re-skilling ourselves is the need of the hour.
A new normal for the education system must be such that a learner understanding and applying concepts must be given more importance than just scoring marks. We need to ensure that the students enjoy the actual process of learning, are intrigued and curious to explore more about each concept and apply it. Our teaching community must be reskilled and upgraded to engage and involve the children in learning, applying and enjoying the learning.
Is being a boss or a HOD or head of a company called Leadership?? I guess it is a topic to write in depth for another day. But then who is a Leader? Look at what Simon Sinek says about Leadership:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” “Leadership is neither a rank or a title. It is a choice. The choice to provide care and protection for those for whom we are responsible” “Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting (behaviour) and most importantly a way of communicating”.
Regards,
Aparna Subramanian,
CEO & Founder,
Transformational Business Solutions
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