What a year. The pandemic has slowed things down, for sure. For me, that isn't all bad. More time at home. Less time on airplanes. More time with family and an amazing opportunity to learn. Learn about ourselves, about others, about our communities and country. Where we are strong and where we have cracks. What we should celebrate and what we still need to work on.

I call it the covid crack. This pandemic is like a crack in the windshield. It starts with a small rock that hits our windshield.

We know it's there.
We see the little nick when we drive, but don't pay much attention to it.

We know it's there.
But don't feel the need to do anything about it, as it isn't impacting us too much.

We know it's there.
And hope that the little chunk out of the glass doesn't begin to move into a crack.

Because once it does, there is no stopping the crack and usually will quickly spread.

That is what the pandemic has been doing - accelerating the cracks. Where there were issues (hidden or not), they are quickly spreading. Issues such as domestic violence, injustice, addictions, abuse and all types isms (ie. racism, sexism, ageism). They have always been there and yet the issues now seem more pronounced and heightened more quickly. Like a crack in the windshield. You may think that isn't a good thing. I disagree. Because I believe it allows us to see the issues more clearly and hopefully more urgently. And decide if/what we are going to do to drive change.

Over the past few months, we have heard many say "don't waste this crisis."

I completely agree - leverage the crisis and all the change as best as you can. But Ialso am challenging myself and the folks I work with to understand the cracks. Where they came from. What caused it. Why was it ignored. What are we missing. What are we not being truthful about. For me, it hasn't always been easy to look at and certainly has created some strained discussions.

Regardless if you agree or not, one thing we do know is that this pandemic isn't over. There is more to come and more cracks on the way. Now is an excellent time to get really good at not only leveraging this major change to accelerate your personal and organizational goals, but also evaluate the cracks and root out their origin. For yourself. For your families. For your communities, companies and countries.

If you would like support in this area, don't hesitate to reach out.