Can you hear the people sing?

Years ago I met someone who told me that he had always wondered what it would be like to live through a revolution. A revolution is a period of rapid and sweeping change.

McKinsey believe that Covid has accelerated certain changes in our world by as much as 10 years. I suggest that we are living through a revolution right now, in all sorts of ways.

As leaders I believe we have an obligation to steer this particular revolution so that we all can come out the other side to a better more compassionate, more flexible and more human world.

It would be worth us all taking a moment and to understand what we have learned as a result of the last 12 months.

Some of my learnings include:

• People and businesses are far more resilient and flexible than we give them credit for.
• We don’t need to stick to rigid office hours to get the job done.
• Whilst expensive holidays and restaurants might be nice, they are not the most important things.
• If we look after one another we will all be safer and more fulfilled.
• I have enough
• I am enough, and so are you.
• When we work together it is not only effective, it feels good, great
• If I embrace flexibility, I can still get stuff done but in a different way.
• I am not independent so much as we are interdependent.
• Leadership takes sensitivity and courage and honesty, not rank.
• We can have very effective meetings without having to travel to be face to face.
• Even so, meeting face to face gives a level of connection that is difficult to replicate.
• Looking after each other’s well being is not for debate.
• Kindness and generosity are not rationed, we should give them out liberally and constantly.

So what about this for an idea? Instead of obsessing about what we have lost over the last year, wouldn’t it be more productive to focus on what we have learned and shaping a better future? It would be naïve to think that we would ever go back to a pre Covid revolution world and given what we have learned I don’t particularly want to.

What does our better future world look like and how are we going to create if for ourselves, our family and our firm? What a waste it will have been to have gone through everything we have gone through and not learned the lessons it has been teaching us.

Doing good by doing well. A well led business will benefit the world more than almost anything else.

If you would like some help in improving your business performance or just someone to talk to please reach out. We are in some of the most challenging times ever. Don’t wish that life were easier, take action to get better You can get me on ian@kinnery.co.uk .

I am also posting anything that I think will be of value on LinkedIn. Join me there.