The Long and The Short Of It

Episode 79 - Your Business & Our New Normal

Transcript:

Jen: Hello, Peter Shepherd.

Pete: Hello, Jen Waldman.

Jen: For all of our listeners, we are recording this on Tuesday, March 24th. So we are still sort of at the front end of this global pandemic. And the reason I bring that up, Peter, is because I have had the same conversation six times in the last twenty-four hours with clients, about: how do I take what I was doing, and keep doing it?

Pete: Hmm. Oh yeah, I think I've probably had just as many of those conversations in the last twenty-four hours as you. This feels like something we should talk about.

Jen: Mm-hmm. This is The Long and The Short Of It.

Pete: So tell me, Jen, how do I take my business and make it online?

Jen: Okay. I've got a few things to say for context, and then I've got some ideas. And I would love to hear your context and ideas, as well.

Pete: Mm-hmm.

Jen: The first thing is, the world we were living in before does not exist anymore. We are living in a new world.

Pete: Mm-hmm.

Jen: And while it's sad, and it's fair to be angry, disappointed, etc., we must not live in a fantasy world that things are ever going to be what they were. And I really believe that the key to optimism is to start with realism.

Pete: Mm-hmm.

Jen: In order to make things better, you have to really accept things for what they are. So, I want to just acknowledge that the moment is hard, and it's real. And we are now building for a new normal, a new future. So yesterday on one of my calls, one of my clients said to me, "Well, I just don't know what I'm doing anymore, or why I'm doing it, because nobody has money and nobody's willing to pay for this.". And I was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. People have money, but not to spend on old problems.".

Pete: Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Say that again.

Jen: People do not have money to spend on old problems. People have new problems that need new solutions. Like, I'll use myself as an example. I have a ten-year-old daughter, who for the first time in her life, has had no interaction with another human child and now we're on day ten, I think.

Pete: Mmm.

Jen: So in the old world, I needed to get her a math tutor. What I don't need in the new world is one-on-one interaction with another adult.

Pete: Yes.

Jen: So yesterday, I bought her a writing class with other children. She knows how to write. She's a brilliant writer. That's not why I bought it. I'm solving the problem of loneliness.

Pete: Yes. Wow. Okay, this is...yeah, this is so good. This is very rich. So, I'm just going to let you keep going. You're on a roll.

Jen: Really?

Pete: What else have you got?

Jen: I'm happy to pause because I feel like...I feel like my tone just got so, like, annoyed at the world. But it's not that I'm annoyed. I'm actually inspired by the possibilities that are so plainly in front of us.

Pete: Mm-hmm.

Jen: And for those of us who choose to see that we have an opportunity, right now, to really meet people where they are at and offer solutions to these new problems. I mean, talk about living a life of service. Being able to say to someone, "What is your problem,", and them being so acutely aware of it, that they're actually able to articulate it. Because in the old world, problems were buried so deep that people did not have the means to describe them, or the vulnerability to say, "I'm having a problem.". But in the new world, everybody has a problem, so we're more willing to say so.

Pete: Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. And I would build on that by saying in the old world, we often see individuals, businesses, people, assuming they know what the problem is, and not always being right.

Jen: Mmm.

Pete: And what this whole situation has done is highlighted even more how offbeat it can be when you assume you know the problem, or you assume the problem is still the same problem that they used to have, and how mismatched that is with what they're actually experiencing, what they're actually going through. Which (as you talked about, meeting people where they're at), that's empathy. That's the key to solving anyone's problem, is, "Let me understand where you're at.". I just want to like double back for my own sanity and sake, and for the sake of the listeners, to just re-emphasize what I heard, which was so rich in that: we're living in a new normal.

Jen: Mm-hmm.

Pete: The quicker we accept that...we talked about this in the Choosing Optimism episode. The quicker we accept the new normal is the quicker we can choose optimism, which is the quicker we can innovate and serve the people that we seek to serve in a way that resonates to the problems, the situations, the things that they're going through.

Jen: Yes, Peter.

Pete: Hmm. Cool.

Jen: That is it.

Pete: Wow.

Jen: I have a question for you, because I know you and I have very different businesses. In that, up until two weeks ago, the overwhelming majority of my work was in-person. So innovation looks like something specific for me. And most of your work is overwhelmingly remote, but I know you also have had to be innovating in a way that is specific to you. So should we talk about that?

Pete: Yeah. Let me talk about this from a couple of angles. The first of which is I had some upcoming work that was going to be in-person. So I was going to be going to Sydney, there was going to be a bunch of events, in-person, I was going to facilitate. There was going to be a big gala, kind of ball type situation. Like it was a whole...essentially, like a giant conference for a week. And obviously that's not happening anymore. And I received a call that was along the lines of, "How do we replicate this in-person?". And I said, "The first step is to realize you can't replicate that in-person.".

Jen: Yes.

Pete: "Let's accept our new normal. And let's leverage the constraint, and technology, in order to create an experience that is even better.". So this is the question, the idea that I've been talking to so many people about, so many people, as they try and all of a sudden run an entire business online, for example. Or like, even just doing a weekly check-in with their team, which they always did in-person. Now they have to do it online. The trap is trying to replicate what you used to do in-person on Zoom, or on Slack, or on email, or online. The opportunity is to think about: what was that meeting for? What was this conference for? What did success look like for this conference? Okay, cool. How do we get there in a way that we can use the technology that we have, and in a way that's actually even better than what it would have been in-person? So the example of the conference I mentioned, I had this conversation. And the person I was speaking to was like, "Well, we want people to learn something. We want people to apply that learning to the work they're doing. And we want people to connect with the other people that were going to be going to the conference.". I was like, "Cool. So, the goal is: learn, apply, and connect. You can definitely do that using Zoom, in a way that you would not be able to do in-person. So you could do a quick riff, then you could break people out using the breakout room function, for example, and say, 'Take two minutes to all talk about how you're going to apply this to your work.'. All of a sudden, everyone's on the hook. So they're talking about how it's going to apply. They're learning something. And they're connecting with a small group of people in that little breakout room. Then you bring them back. All of a sudden, they're connecting to the broader community, the broad one hundred and fifty odd people that were going to go to the conference.". So, on, and on, and on we went. The point being, we took an event. We blew it up. We asked, "What was it for? What was success?". And then we looked at technology, and the constraints that we have, and figured out: how do we make it even better? Because if you were to say to a roomful of people, in-person, "Break out into groups of three, for six minutes,", it would be chaos. It would be pandemonium. But you can do that on Zoom at the click of a button, which is wild. So, that's one example of a physical event. The other change I've noticed in the work that I'm doing: it's really just contextual. In that, all of a sudden, the coaching that I, as an individual, and me, involved in a bunch of cohorts and groups...all of a sudden the coaching we're doing is actually helping leaders make decisions, in the context of this pandemic.

Jen: Mmm.

Pete: So that is sort of amazing, in the sense that you have the opportunity to help leaders shape the decisions that will potentially shape the future of a bunch of companies, a bunch of cultures, a bunch of countries in a way that you could be proud of. So all of a sudden, all of the things that we've ever talked about on any episode of this podcast (of showing up to lead with generosity, of showing up to lead with empathy, of seeking to serve a specific group of people, of being clear on what your work is for, of being clear on what success looks like)...all of a sudden, it's like we've been practicing for the last three years, Jen. I said this to you offline. It's like we've been practicing for the last three years. And now the universe has basically put us in the arena, and said, "Okay. Now's the time to lead. Go.".

Jen: Mmm.

Pete: I'm not sure I really answered your question. But that was just where my head went.

Jen: No, I think you...I think you did. I mean, if I heard you correctly, what you just said is: the, the context has shifted, because the content is no longer hypothetical.

Pete: Yes. And what this new normal has unveiled is what's really important, and what really matters, and what we should really focus on.

Jen: Mmm. So good. Well, I want to circle back to the question of, "How do I take what I was doing in-person, and then do it online?". Because at the studio, you know, obviously, the majority of what we were doing was in-person. And when it became clear that we were not going to be meeting in-person for a very long time, my initial impulse was exactly as you said: Do not try to replicate the in-person experience, online. That can only lead to disappointment. And instead, optimize the online experience. Build something that is so good online, it would be disappointing in-person.

Pete: Oh, yes. Yes.

Jen: And that's really what we've been aiming to do. So my JWS team, they are so amazing. We literally blew up our entire business, business model, everything. We started from scratch. And in two weeks, we built an entirely new training program that is completely optimized for an online experience. But here's what's really funny...and I don't know if this is true in other industries, but it is so true in my industry. So in the work I do as an acting coach, I work with my clients in-person, and then they go home and they work on their own. Like singers, actors, they, they work on their own at home.

Pete: Mmm.

Jen: And what this has pointed out to me, as I'm talking to other acting teachers...we are all freaking out, going, "Oh my goodness. What are we going to do? Our clients are going to have to figure out how to work at home.". And it's like, wait a minute. No, no, no. They've been working at home the whole time, and we've just been ignoring it and letting them fend for themselves. Have we ever really asked our clients, "When you're working at home, like, what's that like?". So now we're required to. We are required to. And if/when we come back to in-person work, the at-home work is going to be so much richer because we, the teachers, have set them up for success at home.

Pete: Mmm.

Jen: So it just feels like, at least from a performing arts perspective, that we are healing an issue that we didn't know we had that was like a festering wound.

Pete: Wow. I think you're right. I think that might be true in other industries. I have an example that just springs to mind, recently, where I was talking to a friend of mine who said when they work in the office, they have like a daily check-in, in the morning, called a huddle. "What are you working on," and "What's, what are you going to get done today,", kind of thing. And then they also do a check-in at the end of the day, which is like, "What did you get done,", "What are you committing to tomorrow,", kind of thing. And they've always done that in-person. It's always been a thing. And they started doing it remotely. And after, like, the first week, one of the team members gave them some feedback, which was, "I think we're meeting too much on Zoom. It's kind of...like, it's getting, it's getting annoying.". And the realization, I think, was: that was probably true when you were doing it in-person, too.

Jen: Whoa.

Pete: But until you had the opportunity to try and do it differently (even though you kind of did it the same), the context shifted, and all of a sudden people felt comfortable telling you, "Actually, there's this thing that I've never really told you,", which I think is kind of what you described in your industry. So I'm trying to...mmm. I'm trying to think of the opposite...I'm trying to think of the opposite to a band-aid. Because I feel like what people are trying to do when they think about, "How do I just replicate this in-person,", is they're just like, "I'll just do it because it's a band-aid, because then we'll get back to where we were.".

Jen: Mm-hmm.

Pete: And I think your point at the start of this is so valid, which is: we're not, we're not getting back. Everything has changed. Everything has changed. So I'm trying to like visualize the opposite of a band-aid. So, if you have any ideas...?

Jen: Well, here's what I've been asking people to do. And I think it's made them uncomfortable, but it's, it's a worthy exercise. Imagine the doomsday, worst-case scenario.

Pete: Mmm.

Jen: So, you know, you could think of that on the macro- context of globally. But for the sake of a clear example, I'll use myself and my studio as an example. So our doomsday, worst-case scenario is that we never again have the opportunity to see each other in-person.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: We will never get back into the studio. I will never hear Drew play piano live again. I will never hear these voices in-person.

Pete: Mmm.

Jen: I can never physically adjust someone's movement. So that's our worst-case scenario. And what I have decided to do is build for that scenario. Because if my optimistic scenario happens...which is that everyone takes responsibility for their actions, follows the protocols, stays socially distanced, we flatten the curve, and eventually we can interact with each other again. Because I was building toward the doomsday scenario, I will have built another business that can supplement my existing business, and can withstand change. So God forbid something like this happens again in the future, we don't have to scramble. We're sturdy. And if this never happens again in the future, I've just figured out a way to serve all of my clients who don't live in New York City. Which, by the way, when my clients are working, a lot of them are out of town. They're on tour, they're at a regional theater. In either scenario, we've built something that matters.

Pete: Wow. It dawns on me that what you described is essentially a pre-mortem...

Jen: Yep.

Pete: ...which we talked about way back in Episode One around: what does it look like to start? And one of the things we recommended in starting is to do a pre-mortem, which is to paint the picture of, essentially, the worst-case. (What went wrong.) And to use that idea, and to use the idea that the last three years has been like practice, or the last seventy-something episodes of this podcast has almost been practice...it's almost like a moment in time to start again and do a new pre-mortem, given this new normal that we're living in.

Jen: Mmm. Ooh, that could be a whole episode that we do, Peter.

Pete: Think so.

Jen: Yeah. I hadn't thought about it through the pre-mortem context, but now that you say that, I realized that the doomsday scenario I outlined is the doomsday survival scenario. The worst doomsday scenario is the studio, in any form, ceases to exist and I never serve another artist again.

Pete: Oof.

Jen: That's like...you know. So in order to avoid that...

Pete: Yes.

Jen: ...I've got to build for the doomsday, we're still in business version of the future.

Pete: Yes, yes. I much prefer the latter. We much prefer the latter.

Jen: How have you been coaching...when a client comes to you and says, "I don't know how to take the first step in thinking about how to do this online,", is there like a prompt or question that you ask?

Pete: Oof. I think the prompt, or the question is...I sort of touched on it earlier. Which is, like, "What's it for?". And, "What does success look like?". "What do you...what are you trying to do?" Or another question could be, "How do you want people to feel?".

Jen: Mmm.

Pete: Because I'm not sure (especially with things that just happen in-person), we actually pause to think about that that much. But I think before we consider how we can make something better, and before we just default to replication, let's pause for a moment and think about, "So what was it we were trying to achieve? What's this for? And what did success look like?". In the example I used earlier, it was learning and connection. It was like, "Cool. Okay. So, what we need to do is create something online that facilitates learning and connection. I think we can do that. It's going to look completely different to what it would look like in-person, but that's the point.".

Jen: Mmm. I love the idea of instead of asking, "What did we do,", asking, "What were we trying to do?". I love that. That's so great.

Pete: Hmm. Yeah, it could be confronting because sometimes you're like, "Wait, I don't even know.".

Jen: Which is actually a great place to start.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: Like, knowing that you need to find clarity is a great place to start, instead of assuming that you have it already.

Pete: Yes. Yes. That's the opportunity we all have in this new normal: finding clarity.

Jen: So listeners, wherever you are right now, we hope that something we have shared here has sparked an idea about how you might move your own work forward in a way that allows you to embrace reality, so that you can choose optimism and build something meaningful that will serve your audience, your community, people you care about in our new world.

Pete: And that is The Long and The Short Of It.