As hope for a vaccine begins to become more real and a glimpse of what could be a return to something more normal, we have the chance to not only return to what we had before, but to improve on what we do and how we do it. In short, we need to create a present that is less focused on the here and now, and build an existence where the future is just as important as the present.

So much of the resistance happening now to everything designed to keep us safe is rooted in the need for instant gratification that dominates society right now. If we can think about the possibilities the future holds, it makes it much easier to make needed sacrifices now.

Of course, that’s easy for someone like me to say. I’m fortunate to be stable in all areas of life right now. It’s not as easy for those struggling to make ends meet or even to survive from day-to-day. This pause in our normal life has only exasperated the chasm between the haves and the have-nots in our society. This is not good for anyone. We have done an admirable job in privatizing the benefits of our hard work while getting the risk more spread out. This is leading to greater inequities, which do not move us toward any type of sustainable future.

There is a direct impact to the work that HR does in all of this. The demand for a skilled workforce is increasing even faster than the supply of workers with college degrees. This results in rising wage inequality by education levels, and companies facing a skills gap.

So, my challenge to you for 2021 is as follows. What is one thing you can do through your work that creates a present that is focused on the future? 

Yes, we are all “different” and that matters.

However, being different doesn’t mean being immune to change or needing to be adverse to trying things in a new or novel way. Different is not an excuse.

Be different. If something doesn’t work, try something different again!

While fighting the “different” bug, it’s often tempting to cite a best practice or exactly copy what another organization is doing.

Here’s the thing; we are different so some adaptation or change is likely to be needed to another’s best practice or procedure. It’s worth a shot and being open to different may lead to something else. That something is being better! This is always something to strive for. Better than we are now, better than others, better than yesterday.

Different is better. And better is different!

The discussion began when a student inquired about handling an employee situation after someone has done something wrong yet they insist that they’re right. After joking that a situation like that would never happen because HR is always right, I shared a story that affected me.  Without sharing the lurid details here, the story was about me being accused of doing something that I did not do. Rather than argue and hold hostility to those involved, there was reflection on the things that I had done in relation to the situation as well as the things that I had not done that could have prevented the misperception from occurring in the first place.  In short, it still benefitted me to learn from the situation and get better so that I would not be in the position again where I could be wrongly accused.

Even when one is not wrong and is still being accused, there is always room to improve. I reminded the group that learning from a negative situation can provide great dividends moving forward and that many of my most valuable lessons had come from the mistakes I’ve made, not the immediate successes.  Had I simply been bitter about being accused and reacted in a hostile manner, it is likely that the lessons learned would not be as positive and I would not have gotten better moving forward. To simplify it, it is important to get better, not bitter.