2020: A Retrospective

Could it have been a more challenging year?

There were moments, especially in the last few months, when it seemed as if everything I encountered was negative and I really wondered if we would ever return to our “normal” life.

Then I watched a Band of Brothers episode and realized that life isn’t as bad as it could be. We are not in the middle of a world war, though some fellow humans are experiencing war.

So, the answer to my opening question is a resounding “yes!” It could have been much more challenging.

This is not meant to minimize the difficulties that many have experienced, nor the sorrow in the face of loved ones dying and others suffering from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, either physically, emotionally or financially. It has been tough for most, but it has been awful for many.

Many of us are experiencing pandemic fatigue, and I haven’t found anyone who wouldn’t like to get back to “normal,” whatever that may be for each of us. This is Thanksgiving week in the US, and many are facing lonely holidays without family or friends, and that’s sad.

Can we find a silver lining somewhere? Has what we’ve been living through taught us any useful lessons, or strengthened our relationships, or helped us prioritize what’s really important in life? I hope so.

Perhaps we’ve had more time to spend with our children. Perhaps we’ve learned a new skill. Perhaps we’ve read more. Or played more. Or cooked more. Or exercised more.

At AdvantageCS, we’ve learned to communicate more electronically. Video chats & meetings, IM, email, texting, you name it – we’ve used it, both internally and with our clients and prospects. We just signed contracts with a new client after an 11-month sales cycle during which we never met them in person. That’s extraordinary! Technology has really enabled our business to keep running. We completed a sizeable R&D project this fall thanks to technology.

Many of our clients disseminated critical information during COVID. (See blog posts here and here.) This was great work by dedicated people.

And now we have some good news---3 companies are getting close to vaccines, and there are predictions of an aggressive economic recovery (after we endure a few months of turbulence until the critical mass of people is vaccinated).

I have to say that I’m thankful for many things, both personal and professional. But I do look forward to being with friends and sharing a meal and leaving masks behind and traveling to prospects and clients and trade shows and industry events and going to the theater and concerts and parties and graduations and big weddings, and all the other things we do as a human family to be with one another and enjoy each other’s company.

May 2021 be a year of recovery for everyone---economically, emotionally and physically.