Big Ideas

What we learned in 2020, and the innovations ahead for 2021

I want to try an experiment with you. Think about one thing that you are most proud of accomplishing this year. Then share that one thing as a comment to a post I started on LinkedIn (click the link or the button below).

📣Share One Thing👏

If we do not cherish the good things, we can easily fall into depression. The global pandemic hurt many of us whether through job losses, decreased business, more work, delayed plans, or even the passing of loved ones. When my father-in-law died alone in a hospital in Hong Kong in late March, our family was devastated at not being able to see him in his last moments or hold a proper funeral.

In a year that has been generally awful, it is important to take stock of the positives in our lives. That might be family, friends, work, or some goal you set for yourself. In my case, I published my first book, I started a new role at AWS, I learned how to be more comfortable with video, and I got to spend more time with family.

There has also been some remarkable progress and innovation across the technology industry. Mostly driven by the switch to remote working and that all commerce moved online, the increased focus on digital enablement and channels drove a huge shift to the cloud. In a perverse way, the ashes of 2020 will be the seeds of even faster and more impactful innovation in the years to come.