Ashland, Virginia, January 13, 2021
For the past 10 months, we’ve all had our eyes fixed on January 1, 2021 as some sort of magical finish line. Let’s face it, we’ve all thought it at one point along the way – if we can just survive 2020, everything will get better in 2021. But unless you live in some alternative reality, 2021 hasn’t exactly panned out to be the utopia we’ve all wished for.
Of course, on an intellectual level, we knew it wouldn’t instantaneously “get better” after the ball dropped. Collectively, we have a lot of hard work left. But just as we persevered through the challenges of 2020, we will succeed in 2021. And I think that I know what a critical component of that success will be:
We cannot forget to give one another a little extra grace this year.
Like last year, everyone will have to accept operating outside of their comfort zone. If we learned one thing last year, it was that we can be incredibly resilient when we need to be. The world’s workforce adapted almost overnight to the work-from-home dynamic. We shifted to online learning for our kids. We adapted our businesses to contactless commerce. We masked up and kept our distance. There were many sacrifices and sadly, we lost many loved ones. And while things are getting better day by day, we’ll need to continue to be flexible and adaptable as we move forward. And we need to remember that all that adaptability is hard work. It’s hard on us emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically. We need to be mindful of that, and continue to be a little more patient as we adapt. Change is difficult, but the reward is a better tomorrow.
A better tomorrow begins with the hard work of imagining what that day looks like. Creative, backed by the geniuses at Steelcase, has been thinking about how organizations can emerge better and stronger from this period of disruption. We’re excited to announce our Work Better campaign, which is designed to help organizations look ahead and plan with confidence. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing new insights, new experiences, and new products, all designed to help you create a safe, inclusive, productive and comfortable environment for your team. But more importantly, know that our team stands ready to help guide you through that process. Our mission has never been clearer: Creative exists to help advance the way people live, learn and work. Let’s do that together.