B4 Digital Magazine – Issue 62 OUT NOW

Whatever you’ve encountered personally or professionally over the last three months, on behalf of all of us at B4, I hope you’re in the best shape possible to tackle whatever the future has in store. The scars of COVID-19 will never heal for many having lost loved ones and close friends, businesses and jobs. But there will be other ‘casualties’ that we’ve not even considered. For example the annual meet up with business acquaintances at conferences that might never happen again because we’ve all adapted to working remotely and / or because business travel won’t always be necessary; the jovial supplier who used to pop in every week and who has now had to close their doors forever; the places we used to visit on business trips and our favourite restaurants in other towns and cities; even being able to put a smile on your children’s faces when you bring back a gift from a business trip; the workplace camaraderie that will never be replicated on line, celebrating team birthdays or bidding a work colleague a fond farewell at a leaving do….none of it will ever be the same. You might even miss the dodgy coffee from the vending machine.

But although nobody was prepared for the dark cloud that consumed all of us, we have learned some great lessons about ourselves which will give us the confidence to tackle whatever lies ahead with purpose and the knowledge that if we can get through lockdown, we can get through anything. We’re certainly a lot more resilient than we ever gave ourselves credit for, we’re definitely more collaborative than ever and we can adapt to new circumstances pretty damn quickly. Two cases come to mind on that last point…..Jarl Severn and Cllr Ian Hudspeth, who head up Owen Mumford and Oxfordshire County Council respectively, both said during B4 webinars that if they’d been given ten years to prepare for COVID-19 that it would have taken ‘many months, if not years’ to prepare for what ultimately took days to execute.

So as we all start to return to work in some way shape or form, we must draw from the positives of lockdown and take this opportunity to build what will be for many, very different lives. Collaboration, support, togetherness, understanding, encouragement, sincerity, trust, honesty, celebration and appreciation have become clearly visible traits of the human race over the past three months and these must all become habits. You, me, your colleagues, your customers, your suppliers, your friends, your families……we must all strive to be better versions of ourselves, better for each other, better for ourselves and better for everyone we come into contact with. Now’s the time to analyse yourself and honestly answer the question ‘What can I do better for me and for everyone else and what do I stop doing that is no longer acceptable?’ Let’s all be better for the sake of everyone else.

We hope you like this, our first digital version of B4 Magazine and we look forward to sharing with you, in the coming months, how B4 will be changing to provide you with even more great opportunities for you and your business.

Enjoy B4 62

Click here to read https://www.issuu.com/b4-business