Pivoting

If a pandemic can be credited with anything positive, this is what I vote for: pivoting to alternative beneficial actions.

The pandemic taught us to embrace e-commerce and order goods online. In my youth, we ached for the latest Sears catalog. Close behind was the wait for the JC Penney catalog. Paging through 1000 pages of goods was a pastime often engaged. I remember gazing over the possible accessories for my bike or toys. Later it was my idea book for birthday and Christmas gifts. Window shopping with a book. Still later the catalog was used to determine pending choices for updating the wardrobe. And tools, appliances and other goodies.

Decades later shopping malls replaced catalogs in a sense. We could visit a mall and slowly traipse past shop windows and get ideas for gifts and self. Malls became a hangout for teenagers, even pre-teens. The pandemic changed that, but a handy cell phone was quickly already changing that.

The pandemic witnessed a huge pivot to online shopping whether by computer, I-pad, or cell phone. The world was digital and rapidly replaced in-person shopping. We even learned to order groceries online and receive goods by courier or Amazon. Goods showed up at our door within a day, sometimes hours.

Then came Grubhub and Doordash. Even fast food orders were digital and delivered, sometimes with 24-hour availability.

As the pandemic eased and rekindled in stages, digital ordering joined curbside pickup for more options and convenience. To lessen time spent in stores, online shopping offered time to study product choices and then a quick trip to the store sealed the deal after talking with a salesperson. This was especially true for electronic products!

In the world of personal services and consulting, businesses pivoted to more phone contact, then to email traffic, and finally to Zoom video services. Zoom and its many competitors saw an enormous surge in demand. Consulting firms pivoted quickly. Volunteer agencies and counseling services did the same.

SCORE.org is a national volunteer service of 12,000 trained mentors helping entrepreneurs start their own businesses, as well as helping small businesses overcome challenges. All free support, SCORE mentors turned to Zoom sessions and increased productivity by 50%, in some cases more than doubling their contacts.

Working from home became an immediate stop gap measure; now it is a large option for conducting business and employment. Teamwork for scattered workmates was satisfied with Zoom meetings and chats. Productivity soared. Commuting dwindled and with it freedom from harsh train schedules, rugged hikes in snow and cold and the cost of train and bus fares. Even our wardrobes shifted to softer and cheaper options. With it our social sense of style relaxed.

The pandemic taught us to cope in many ways. The result is refocusing on things that matter to us. We don’t waste time on what another person or colleague thinks of my apparel or appearance; instead we focus on ideas that work for client and team.

Family time became a thing again. Homes were spiffed up with paint, new furniture and better electronics. Cars were always a thing in the USA, but in the pandemic they were driven less frequently. Commuting was part of that but so was a drop in errands. Mixing with the public was now a new concern and we chose how to transact our actions more carefully. I suppose this pattern will shift back to previous patterns after the pandemic, but I feel our coping skills will change how we live.

The new way is not bad. There are big positives. I wonder if we will hang on to those?

October 26, 2021