Patrick Mosher reflects on the pandemic as a historic pause and introduces the "keep the change" framework: decide what to retain and what to discard. Keep mRNA breakthroughs, outdoor time, better sleep, and appreciation for frontline workers. Release higher alcohol consumption, mental stress, and pandemic hesitation.
Chapters
I remember the voicemail from our CEO, Joe Forhand. I'm happy to announce today we have separated from Arthur Andersen. In 2000, my company went through a business model change from partnership to publicly held. It fundamentally changed the very fabric of our company. Gone were the days of renting out Disney World for our global seminar. Partners no longer could make the call to take huge risks with clients. We retained the title of partner for years when we were no longer a partnership. Many people left disgruntled, bemoaning the past. Ah, the glory days. I stayed. Why? Well, after I left my PhD program in organization behavior, I considered my career as an ongoing PhD dissertation on how executives make decisions and how organizations face the reality and inevitability of change. I stayed with voracious intellectual curiosity. How do we keep the fabric of what made us successful and release what no longer was our identity? I stayed to do my part to bridge the past to the future, and we changed the course of our corporate history. We went from a $10 billion company in 2000 to a $44 billion company in 2020. Yes, and I'm proud to say I did my part. So here we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Some experience this pandemic as Groundhog Day. For me, it kind of feels like Groundhog Decade. It's like our society is going from being privately held to publicly held. And I'd like to say our humanity is at a crossroads, but we're not. We've just stopped. It's the pandemic pause. As you stand in this place, are you looking forward or backward? The pandemic pause is an incredible time to reflect. If you hope the return of status quo Somehow you got turned around and you're looking backward. Turn around. We're at an amazing time to retain learnings from the past year and blaze a new trail going forward. A friend and colleague who's a president of a leadership and organization development company calls it "keep the change." I love it. What change to keep and what to release? Create a list, and let me help you jumpstart your list. We have an extraordinary scientific breakthrough called messenger RNA vaccinations. Let's keep that one. Studies show that we're spending more time outdoors. Let's keep that one. We're improving our sleep patterns. Keep. We've improved our exercise habits. Keep. We improved our diets. Keep. We increased our alcohol consumption. Release. We're reporting more mental stress. Release. We've increased pandemic-induced hesitation. Release. We honor our frontline healthcare and emergency workers. Keep. We appreciate our school teachers more after homeschooling our children. Let's keep. We've lowered emissions 17% in the U.S. Let's keep going. We've learned how to use technology to work and learn. Keep. And we've learned how to use technology to whittle away 4 hours per day watching TV, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Release. And there's a cool new trend— pandemic puppies. People adopted puppies in droves. How about a little bit more exuberance in your home? Keep it. As we move forward, make a list of what you will keep and what you will release. We're at a profound point in human history. You decide to look forward or backwards. Let's keep the change and blaze a new trail forward, because trailblazing is exactly what Wisdom for Humanity is all about.
