Five lessons learned from 23 months of the pandemic.
Andreas Weber
February 7, 2022
Upheaval is stressful. But that doesn’t mean it has to be negative. 2021 made that very clear to me. It pushed me and many others to the edge and the feeling that ‘Argh, I never thought about that’ was on everyone’s minds. It was a strong year. A year with lots of personal and professional question marks. Five lessons.
1
It’s been a long time since I have sensed so much courage to experiment – in myself, my colleagues, friends, the industry and clients. Less compulsion to achieve perfection. Learning through doing. The fear is gone.
2
Courage made it easy to make quick and clear decisions. Get out of your comfort zone and leave old habits behind. Time for new ways of life! It was liberating.
3
I have never spoken with so many people about space before. Downsizing, vacancies, cramped home offices, brand spaces, city, country, river. A battle of square metres and the desire for less is more. Sense of space is changing.
4
For me, 2021 was about resonance and re-sensitisation – keeping friendships alive and nurturing them with small gestures. To be present in relationships even if we cannot be there physically.
5
A number of companies have broken free from their paralysis. Working alone came to an end. The era of meaningful creative collaboration has begun.