Embrace the Pandemic’s Lessons: Change Can Be Good

The week was creeping closer and closer. I kept a constant eye on the news to see what rules might change. Visited the event website to find if there were any updates. With each email, I thought I might get bad news that the event was postponed (yet again). But alas, no such message arrived.

I was finally headed to Newark Airport to begin my first business trip in 18 months. I was flying off to Informa’s West Coast event. (I still refer to it as MD&M West even though that’s just one of several co-located shows.) Coincidently, the last trip I took before all the COVID lockdowns was the same event in February 2020.

Honestly, it didn’t feel completely like a normal trip or like everything was back to the way it was. I, of course, had to wear a mask in the Uber to the airport and while in the airport. But hey, we’ve been doing that long enough that it’s not all that big a deal these days (well, for some anyway). Annoying, sure, but not a deal breaker.

Somewhat surprisingly, no one told Newark Airport there was still a threat of COVID. I was a bit shocked to see just how long the TSA line was, how crowded the bag check area was, how many people were at the gates, etc. I was fortunate enough, however, to have that coveted middle seat open, which is always a windfall when traveling.

Once at MD&M West, again, things didn’t feel completely normal. Mind you, that doesn’t mean it was better or worse, just different. As someone who typically rolls with the punches, that wasn’t a big deal either. Sure, it felt strange, but there was also plenty of familiar. Smiling faces I hadn’t seen in some time and company logos I had seen in emails but not at trade show booths. It was a unique experience for sure.

The crowd wasn’t the same either. This held true for the booth space as well (although, I don’t think anyone missed the lack of use of “the basement”). There were fewer people to see and fewer companies to discover, but one thing continued to resonate throughout all three days: those in attendance were there with a purpose. The quality of discussion between exhibitor and attendee was better. Companies didn’t have six visitors in their booth all at once (hoping someone was talking to that one quality “lead”). Instead, they had one or two people with a true need seeking solutions.

People rethought some displays to make things contactless. Oh, there were still giveaways at many booths, but you saw a good number using things like QR codes for more information and downloadable documents instead of handing out pamphlets.

I spoke to others who had masks with them. They weren’t wearing them, but they were ready to if someone asked. They were happy to do it if it made someone in attendance more comfortable. Given this is a service-oriented industry (for the majority of firms anyway), this minor accommodation could represent a willingness for a service provider to go the extra mile for a customer. Masks weren’t mandated at the event (probably 15 to 25 percent of those in attendance were wearing them), but as I was told, “The last thing I want is for a customer to skip my booth because they don’t feel comfortable with us not wearing masks.”

Some changes and accommodations made during this pandemic will become a distant memory and I will be glad to see that. Others, however, represent opportunities to rethink a strategy or a way of doing something. It could be a personal routine that you change or it could be something your company needs to reconsider. Forced changes due to the pandemic revealed weak points, soft spots, and poor protocols. Learn from these revelations and don’t let them all go by the wayside once something that much more closely resembles normal returns.

Further, the changes may be beyond the four walls of your facility. There’s ongoing talk of significant changes within the industry. The face of the supply chain for medical device manufacturing could change. Reshoring is on everyone’s mind. Will supplies move from China and other Asian regions and relocate to the U.S., Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean? We won’t have that answer for several years, but it’s something people are looking at. That’s going to create significant challenges. Get ahead of the curve and look to see what decisions you can make for an easier transition. Or better still, how can your company benefit from such a change in the industry?

Change is only scary when you’re unprepared for it. Plan for it, embrace it, and find ways to turn it into an advantage.

What changes have you seen that you’d like to see continue going forward? Reach out and share them with me. 

Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]