The strangest and most complicated year of this century is over, we are now in 2021, called the year of hope …. in the form of vaccines and cure for this damn virus that has infected more than 80MM of people, and killed already almost 2MM globally. We will all wish to return to the world we lived in before Covid19 arrival.
From 2020 to 2021 in theory only 1 digit changes, but this single number feeds millions of dreams and wishes made by all citizens of our planet, after several hard months of restrictions, suffering limitations on what was once our “normal” life.
We have been many months without traveling, going out to restaurants, enjoying with our friends, hug each other naturally and now we even need to wear a protective mask to walk in the street in several countries. Many governments have restricted our temporal or geographical freedom of movement.
If we think about it for a moment, we will see that we´ve made all these great sacrifices to stop the virus, because no one wants to sacrifice their individual rights at any time and wants to continue to maintain them, whatever the existing external threat.
Now it is a question of gaining the right to end this long period of restrictions, reducing the virus capacity to infect others, probably assuming some permanent changes in our global life dynamics. These new rules are yet to be determined, because no one knows for sure which of the transformations experienced will end up being permanent for all.
One initial recommended new routine action that we can do is to extreme the quality of our food, ensuring our immune system is as well prepared as possible to defend itself with more guarantee from the virus infection.
I would now like to share the summary of my learnings from 2020 just finished, and provide some tips for 2021, which I will implement in order to improve my existence and that of those around me, as far as possible.
My five main learnings for 2020 have been:
* We all need freedom: When we lack it, we value it much more. We must never lose it, and, in any case, have the inner strength to find it at all times, despite any external physical constraints. At least, we always have the freedom of our minds!
* Personal development requires that we know ourselves, especially how to recognize and manage our own emotions. If you can notice them in advance, much better!
* Global changes and transformations are not (only) linked to technology, but depend on our ability to understand and manage them satisfactorily.
* Open transparent communications are key for people to understand each other
* The “Supply Chain” (as an integration of all operations & logistics process functions) has been consolidated as a critical area of business, in all sectors of activity.
As for my tips for this 2021, with more personal and professional growth, they are:
1.- Open your mind, like an umbrella, and allow yourself CHANGES AND TRANSFORMATIONS: Train your curiosity, be creative and innovative and avoid saying “NO” as first answer to any change proposal.
2.- Allow yourself personal development moments on a regular basis: Some people may think they do not need help, but an accompaniment to overcome our most difficult challenges is always a lever to get out more easily and perform better in less time.
3.- Communicate, collaborate and coordinate with everyone else: We can be alone in many moments, but to advance in personal and/or professional projects it will always be necessary to do so by interacting with several people. Knowing how to do it right will be key to success.
4.- Use professional networking as a lever to develop: No one ever has all the answers, but there are people who are so well connected that they always know who to ask their unsolved questions.
5.- Talent development must always have time allocated in your agenda, either for yourself and for your teams.
Finally, I wish you all a year full of happiness, personal and professional successes and improvements, in a world full of health and economic recovery for all humans.
Let’s take care of ourselves & continue transforming.
About The Author:
Miquel Serracanta is a business advisor, focused on Supply Chain, by serving the global supply chain community in optimizing End-to-End Supply Chains. Our services include Organization, Talent development (Head-hunting, Trainings, Kaizen events, Workshops, Team activities), Strategy design & implementation, Planning (S&OP, IBP) Projects & Processes continuous improvement and all SC functions performance improvement in a synchronized way: Procurement, Logistics, Transportation, Warehousing, Distribution, Last Mile, Customer Service.
