Pyrrhic Return

Don’t get too excited. Our return to work might be a pyrrhic return. This week we will discuss the lessons we learned and the difficult decisions we need to make post pandemic. The four decisions are not all business related. They are a healthy mix between personal and business. We will start with the easier personal items and end with the essential business changes. The personal items start with where we will live. The business changes will sound like we are running for mayor of New York City or governor of California. That would be easier than what we need to change. 

Big City 

Over 500,000 people have died.  We are scared and need leadership.  Change requires someone to move first. Unfortunately we follow the herd. Following the herd will guarantee that our current experiences don’t change. To change we need to implement a new idea that is different from the herd. A good leader has the courage to be the first mover. The challenge is that the new idea will feel too different for our colleagues to embrace. It also will take too long to see results. This places us in a difficult conundrum. We need a first mover. The leaders at Bank of America and Goldman have ideas  

Small Town

We are enamored with the simple life of rural America. Upon further review we will realize many of the items we miss from our big city. The examination will identify that the rural lifestyle is too simple. Unfortunately complexity costs money. Is the cost and frustration worth it?  Only we can make this decision after we take the time to compare the two lifestyles. As one of my mentors told me “the grass is brown everywhere “.  

Inflation 

Inflation has come back. The easy monetary policy and the realities that we have sacrificed our workers and pricing power have created inflation. Our question is will the Fed and consumers notice the change?  This is a fine line that we appeared to cross. The last time we had inflation was in the 1970s. Some people remember but most people forgot. This adds to the confusion of whether inflation is a problem. The places that inflation will have an impact are in prices we pay and our wages. Time will have the answer.   

New hires 

Our experience matters. While we might not go back to business as usual we are still limited by business logic. Everything that has survived might be worth keeping. Integrating experienced voices in our decisions can help. Recently we have been reminded that several new ideas don’t pass the experience test. Involving and listening to experience can help. We don’t need to accept all of the old ideas but we need to understand why they did or didn’t work. 

If you were lucky enough to survive the pandemic you need to be thankful and make some changes starting with taking the vaccine.