It feels like we are coming to the end of something, at the same time we are on the doorstep of something new. The end is the end of pandemic living and the new is whatever version of blended work and learning is going to happen next.

By September, many people will be “back” in their offices. But it will not be the same. As I scan the literature – and there is a lot of it to read – the prevailing data suggests:

• 80%-90% of organizations will have some sort of flexible work at home policy.
• 75% of all employees have re-thought their living arrangements for purposes of commuting, not commuting and having mobility.
• Workers will never go back to a 100% in-office environment.
• 50% of workers will want more balance and time for living and getting healthy again in the near future.
• 35% of all workers feel optimistic about the future of work (which means 65% feel a lot of uncertainty.

Is it me, or has the number of unsolicited moronic emails and cold calls that we get every day reached a fever pitch? Over the past several months it feels like it is accelerated to a desperate level as too many vendors and “salespeople” are panicking to make something happen, but in fact are just making it worse.

I did an analysis over the past month and was horrified to realize that the longest I have gone in a day without an unsolicited voice mail or email is 34 minutes. And I have my spam filters on both my email and phone turned up to the maximum!

The reality is that these bad vendors are getting both more sophisticated and stupid at the same time. By sophisticated, they are leveraging digital tools and figuring out ways of setting up automated workflows and getting through the spam filters into the inbox. By stupid, I am referring to the dozens of poorly written emails that we are inundated with every day. How is this one for mind-blowing stupidity (I swear this is real and total unedited except for the person’s name):

As we head into a long holiday weekend in the United States, many of us are going to relax, reflect, and regroup on these strangest and most unique times.

If you are a leader of a team or a process, I wanted to share with you some insights from research and work Advantexe completed this year in the area of Business Leadership with a focus on how virtual leadership is accelerating the value that you are creating as a leader. To keep it simple and effective, there are 3 ways a leader can accelerate value (what to do) and 3 ways a leader should execute the acceleration of value (how to do it) in this new normal of 2021 and beyond.

“Community is the new marketing: You don't build a community to "promote your product" You build a community so you DON'T have to promote your product. Point: community is the great growth unlock”

Supply Chain Management, Procurement, and other operational functions that are critical to the success of a business are more strategic and more important than ever. In the new realities of the post-pandemic world, the skill profiles of people in these functions have changed dramatically and talent development professionals are struggling to identify, assess, and develop the skills critical for success.

Analytical skills are always important, especially when we live in a world of seemingly infinite data. The need to analyze data to make the best decisions for the company is a core competency that needs to be constantly nurtured and developed. However, there is an emerging skill in the world of Supply Chain management that is even more critical: Business Acumen.