As someone who has spent the last 30 years working with corporate leaders globally in understanding the broader spectrum of our world beyond the boundaries of turnover and ROI I was taken by the recent LinkedIn Article, posted by Serious Lynx entitled, “Harvesting Your Personal Network”. https://seriouslynx.com/a-different-kind-of-summer-trip/ Our goal has always been to stretch leaders thinking beyond what they could have imagined.
I have made many interesting choices over the years as I have searched, experimented and incorporated a unique balance of brain-science and heart-centered approach to our work. This often included trying new things and stepping way outside my comfort zone. One of those new things was becoming a vegetarian and then vegan for many years. With my continuous focus on being intentional and deliberate in all choices, thoughts and emotions, changing my diet was just one more thing to become very intentional about.
So, when I read the article, I was immediately drawn into a reflection on the continuous changes we are going to see over the coming years as a result of this global pandemic. Many of us have had the chance to reflect, slow down and consider what is really important in our lives. People reconnected with family and children in a way they had not done for some time. We all began to cook in our own kitchens again and mealtime became an important family ritual once more. The idea of not being able to get the amazing bounty of fruits and vegetables from the fields and into our homes felt very heavy. This is not just a UK problem but will be a concern in many developed countries where we have relied on foreign workers to do this task each season. Each identified new change as a result of our present situation will need to be looked at with curiosity, creativity, compassion, love and ingenuity.
During the first week of the pandemic lock downs some said to me, “I don’t understand the craziness around buying toilet paper. Toilet paper will be the last of our concerns if we can’t get food, we need to focus on what really matters. In fact, we won’t need any toilet paper if the food chain is drastically impacted”. I laughed and yet at the same time felt a sense of realism and ground awareness of the truth.
I wondered how business could assist in filling our fields and orchards with young people who could have a completely new experience, doing something meaningful and important. Yes, this is a really big change and completely unexpected, but it is now upon us. This is just one of many changes we all will face as our world adjusts to each new opportunity that Covid-19 presents.
I would love to hear your ideas how business could support this initiative. Let’s make a long list and then see how we could support in solving this important challenge. With a looming global recession how could business support young people in getting the work experience they want and need while also keeping our food chain moving along smoothly.
