Sometimes it's the smallest insights, questions, or decisions that have the biggest impact on our business, our marketplace, and even our personal lives.

A Defining Moment is a point at which the nature of a person, group, or organization is revealed or identified. It is the moment of truth. It energizes you. It increases your awareness. It transforms the way you do things (positively or negatively). But in the moment, we don't realize it's a defining moment.

COVID-19 is a defining moment for our organizations and our work. Is your company thriving or just surviving during the pandemic? Better question: how is your organizational culture faring: hiring, morale, engagement, retention, leadership, etc? How has your culture responded?

Did you accelerate, innovate, or evaporate?

During this defining moment, many organizations are accelerating products and services to the market that they may have waited years to introduce. They are refining their business approach, their customer service, and their engagement efforts. The digitization of companies isn't new though; it's just accelerating...and in some ways, many businesses are five years ahead of where they were at the beginning of the pandemic. Grocery stores have shifted to online ordering and delivery. Schools have added virtual learning options (just like colleges have done in the past). E-commerce has exploded, as expected.

Many organizations have also innovated more in the past six months than they have in the past few years. The coronavirus has forced businesses to become a better version of themselves. It has forced them to rethink their culture, their people retention, their product delivery, and their overall systems. Remote work is becoming a new perk at companies. Telehealth is changing the way we visit the doctor (and it's about time). The real estate industry has started incorporating working spaces into new home development. More banks and financial institutions are adding new services to their mobile apps. How have you reinvested your business and yourself?

And unfortunately, many organizations are evaporating due to COVID-19. Maybe they're just not built for a pandemic like the travel industry. The entertainment industry ran out of things to do as production shut down. Childcare was hit hard. A record high 20.5 million jobs evaporated in April. Many of these jobs will never return because an entrepreneur, an entrepreneurial organization, or a big innovative business has redefined how business is done without those jobs.

One thing is for sure: the only constant is (unpredictable) change.

And sometimes it's the smallest insights, questions, or decisions that have the biggest impact on our business, our marketplace, and even our personal lives.

So…what happened with you and your organization, department, or team? Maybe it’s time for your next defining moment!

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