2020 Kinda Sucks

This year is unprecedented. 2020 is different from every other year you’ve run your company. Not only are we facing a global pandemic, but we can throw in a recession, as well as political and social unrest. How about hurricanes? Murder hornets?

Yet, when I read articles about “how to stay productive while working from home” or see something on “17 tips for your next Zoom party,” I keep feeling like we’re ignoring the great emotional weight of the situation.

The truth is that things pretty much suck right now. There’s uncertainty in just about every aspect of our businesses. Customers and clients are skittish. Employees are overwhelmed, distracted, and worried. It’s hard to find work. It’s hard to get work done. All of this is a huge emotional weight to carry around.

As the leader, you’re often also the visionary and the cheerleader – tasked with remaining positive and keeping an eye toward the horizon. But that’s a difficult role to play right now. Strategic and creative thinking is especially difficult when we’re overwhelmed. It’s even more difficult when we feel the need to hide behind a mask of happiness and positivity.

Can we just acknowledge that 2020 is not like any other year? Let’s reset our goals and focus on getting through it. Don’t focus on your competition, growth, or expansion. Just get through it. Sustaining is success.

If everyone is going through what you’re going through – and they are! – then many of your competitors are going to fail. If you can simply sustain your business, you will come out the other side stronger, with fewer competitors, and with more experience and respect for having navigated through these rough waters. 

So take a deep breath, keep your head down, and steer the ship. If you can do more than that, great! But let’s acknowledge the difficulty of the situation. And don’t beat yourself up for not continuing your 2019 trajectory. No one should expect you to do more than to simply get through the storm.

Jeff Robbins is a business coach, mentor, and virtual business partner who works one-on-one with company owners and leaders to help them build vision and direction for their companies while building productivity, stability, and happiness for their employees and themselves. You can work with him too. Reach out to set up a free session.