It’ll be all white on the night
Tomorrow – after years of planning, waiting and saving – I was supposed to get married. But then the world changed. And now here we are.
We chose the date two years ago; trawled venues small, medium and large to see what might suit us best; spent hours poring over every little detail – all for a day that no one may ever see.
But having now rearranged the date (twice …long story), we think we might be back on track to make it all happen. That’s if all the stars align and the world doesn’t decide to spin off in another altogether unexpected direction. Which we now realise could well happen. But we’ll make it work.
And it’s the same in business. By and large within our business we operate to fixed deadlines. There are project deadlines, tax deadlines, software expiry deadlines – a whole lotta deadlines. But at the moment those have taken on a life of their own too.
We’re still finishing our work on time for our clients of course, but from their side there have been a whole raft of changes – changes of heart, of financial position, of future plans. Nothing’s working out quite as we thought it was going to …and perhaps that’s the way things will be for the moment.
I’m resisting the urge to say ‘new normal’, because it makes no sense. Normal changes all the time – and what’s normal for you isn’t normal for me. We’re all just going to have to learn how to survive and thrive with the circumstances we’re given, even if those suddenly change again.
My wedding will happen. It won’t be exactly the same as it was going to be before, but will it be any the less because of it? Definitely not. It will be an amazing day that I will remember forever.
Business will go on – it has to, it’s the way of the world. But perhaps the way we go about things will be a little different. Worse? I don’t think so, necessarily. Just different.
We’ve all got to learn to go with the flow. Be resilient and ready for change as and when it happens, and work around whatever life throws at us next.
If we need to speed up a project – so be it. Put one on hold for now – fine. We just need to be understanding of one another’s needs, requirements and expectations, and work together to make everything carry on.
You’ve probably heard the analogy that’s being banded around a fair bit – the one that says: Don’t listen to anyone who says we’re all in the same boat, because we’re not. We’re all in the same storm, but in our own boats, dealing with things in our own ways and coping with things as best we can.
Because it’s not about a stiff upper lip or taking anything on the chin, it’s about riding the wave. If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re excited, allow yourself to be excited. But keep going. Because you can. And together we really have got this.
Stay Safe.
