I don’t think any of us are sad to see 2020 go. While the new year will still have it’s, twists and turns, it is important that we reflect on the past year and reboot for the year to come! With 2020 behind us, we can move forward in making 2021 a better year for ourselves, our customers, and our businesses.
The pandemic accelerated digitization on a global scale, but it also humanized us, as we collectively adjusted to virtual workspaces and events. Our deeper connection to technology – and the rapid improvements of that technology – allowed us to easily create better dialogue, send e-greetings, increase engagement, and shop online like never before. We online shopped live never before.
But you don’t have to be reminded of that – we all went through it. During this period where we take some time to reflect on our challenges and accomplishments, NetElixir wanted to share our key learnings from working with over 100 retails brands this pandemic holiday season, with some insights from our Founder and CEO, Udayan Bose, into the non-tangibles and the non-digital things we learned this year.
A Note on 2020 from NetElixir’s CEO
I am sure we will forever remember 2020. Unfortunately, given the magnitude of what we have had to deal with during the pandemic, there are residual effects that we expect to roll into 2021. I will also remember 2020 for how much it taught us all. Here’s some of what 2020 taught me:
- Humility: Matters that may have been considered important felt trivial as the pandemic swept through the world.
- The importance of Prioritization: The pandemic forced us to prioritize what’s important for us.
- We are who we are (the importance of authenticity): The Zoom calls brought our co-workers, clients, partners, and prospects inside our homes. Since every communication was through Zoom, people saw us as we were, not what we wanted to show them. And, this, in my opinion, was one of the biggest positives of continued remote work. It helped humanize our professional relationships. Suddenly it wasn’t a vendor-client or a partner-partner conversation – it was a conversation between two people – a person to person conversation.
- Adaptability: We had to react quickly to the ever-evolving eCommerce landscape, to meet clients and customers where they were, and seize opportunities as they arose. Indecision was costly. Agility and adaptability will continue to be crucial to success in the future.
- It is NOT about me. It is about YOU: The pandemic amplified the importance of a fundamental business truth – every interaction with internal and external customers is always about them and not us. Asking “how can we help” is fundamental to fully understanding and meeting the needs and expectations of others. We need to provide solutions to problems customers are dealing with directly, not what we think they are dealing with.
- The Importance of Positive Momentum: As a result of numerous initiatives that we undertook, at a very rapid pace to proactively meet the challenges of the pandemic head-on, we emerged stronger together. We kept building on our positive momentum to do better, learn from both what went wrong and what went right, and progress onto the next thing.
- Leaders are everywhere: People just need an opportunity to have their leadership skills blossom. Establishing an environment of continuous experimentation and open innovation and communication inspires everyone to do better, reach higher, and create something bigger than themselves. New leaders help organizations grow further and faster.
- The Importance of taking a pause to self-reflect: Burnout is real. Taking planned breaks from work and slowing down occasionally is important to be able to recharge and tackle a problem with fresher insights. Spending some “me time” is crucial to maintaining the work-from-home flow, while keeping us mentally and physically healthy and capable.
- Thankfulness is an incredible energizer: There is so much to be thankful for this year, I don’t even know where to start. I will just share my favorite quote that I think defines the importance of being thankful:
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
2020 will soon become history. While we can’t really control the unfortunate loss the pandemic has caused, we can definitely look back on the lessons that we have learned and how we have grown as a human being in 2020.
From the NetElixir family to yours, we wish you a very happy and healthy New Years!
