P2P

3 I L T A N E T . O R G F R O M T H E C E O A re there any Big Bang Theory fans out there?? (I know there are!) In the final episode, Penny says to Sheldon "So, I guess the only thing that actually stays the same is that things are always changing." What does that mean for us as we approach two years of pandemic pivots? Well, first, it is fair to say that the world of January 2022 wouldn't look like January 2020 even without a pandemic. That is a powerful statement. The pace and depth of change was likely greater, but we would have had change. Second, we can look back and say rationally (with or without nostalgia) that there is no "going back to normal." And that's OK. I think it's OK because we associate work normal with processes, procedures, roles, responsibilities, and tools. However, if we look at normal in terms of business problems to be solved and outcomes we are trying to achieve, many fewer aspects have changed, and the situation feels largely normal. In the practice of law, individuals and companies still have legal problems to be solved. They need lawyers, specialists, and tools to solve those problems. Courts adjudicate the problems. Law schools train the next generation of solvers, and so on. Turning back to the pandemic, many doctors and scientists are saying as we emerge COVID will become like the flu – something in our environment. We will take annual shots. We will manage our risk. We will focus on the most vulnerable. The problem we are solving is how to keep as many people safe from COVID as possible. In business, we need to look at change in the same way. It is endemic. It is always there. So our challenge – and our path to success – is to focus on the problems we are trying to solve and the outcomes we are trying to achieve. Then the changes to tools, processes, and even people seem more "normal" and less scary. We need to tune our change management sensors to changes in problems and outcomes. As we pass into the New Year, please allow me to thank you for three wonderful years at ILTA, for the support, flexibility, agility, and commitment you have all demonstrated over the past 18 months in particular, and for the opportunity to continue to serve you in 2022. Wishing you peace and all that makes you the happiest for 2022! Hugs to all! ! ILTA Joy Heath Rush joy@iltanet.org T H E R E ' S M O R E O N L I N E ! For more great insight on ILTA's CEO, listen along online as she sits down for another CEO podcast! listen here »

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