The Answer To “When Will Things Go Back To Normal?”

When will things go back to normal?

A lot of people in the business community are asking this question. They seem to grasp there was a pre-pandemic period and now we’re in the post-pandemic period.

But more often than not, they seem to conclude there’s a point in time when things will be “normal” – again. 

The mistake in defining normal is thinking normal = like the pandemic never happened. 

I don’t think I’m too far out on a limb in saying we’re not making America (or any other nation) pre-pandemic normal again. 

There is no going back.

A 2-year lockdown changes things. Change means there’s an old-normal and new-normal. 

Personally – I order groceries predominantly online, use more gas on getaways than commuting, drink way better coffee (goodbye pods, hello burr grinder), and the list goes on. 

If going back to normal means going back to weekly hour-long grocery trips, an hour+ of daily commutes, and crap coffee… no thank you. 

And it’s not just anecdotal. We’ve ALL changed, even if it’s in slight ways.

The retailers of the world are struggling to shift inventories and interpret demand. The employers of the world are struggling to figure out if they are “in office” or “work from home” or “hybrid.” The workers of the world are struggling to figure out how much pay they should ask for given the rapidly rising cost of life. 

There’s pre-pandemic and post-pandemic. There’s no no-pandemic. 

Change is everywhere. And it’s creating incredible opportunities. Look wherever you see someone (or some business) proclaiming “when things go back to normal.” 

It’s your bat signal for an economic crime unknowingly being committed.