Although not quite a ‘live’ performance this cinema visit was a reminder that sometimes the more traditional ways of consuming media are infinitely better. We may adapt quickly to changed circumstances but a couple of hours in a cinema seat was worth multiple box-sets.

Last Wednesday I embarked upon my first international business meeting since getting back from NYC in January. Here are my thoughts about business travel in the “Age of COVID-19”.

We’ve got a long way to go and the pressure is on restaurants and bars to deliver experiences which continue to attract but this felt a lot like normal.

To this day I have never heard a greater orator nor witnessed someone so able to both entertain and enlighten as Sir Ken Robinson. From that moment forward I compared, unfavourably, every speaker with him and watched almost all of his presentations.

Despite the importance of being realistic about our collective situations it is important to be both pragmatic and optimistic about the future.

It’s a reflection of how much has changed over the last 5 months that the routine of everyone getting up at a similar time and commuting to an office building for a regimented start, staring at a screen, attending some meetings, leaving at another prescribed time and reversing our commute 5 times a week seems utterly crazy.

Shoppers have fallen out of love with their cities. This marriage between their wallets and the cash register had long since stumbled on difficult times but it needed a pandemic to highlight the folly of maintaining the pretence.

This past weekend I returned to the skies for the first time in 114 days. My impressions ? It really is time to get back into the skies - it’s never felt safer and now is the time to enjoy an almost ‘golden age of travel’ where there are less fellow travellers because, let’s be honest, it’s other people that are the problem 😉.

This global pandemic has resulted in changes to almost every aspect of our lives. Some will prove to be fleeting but others may well end up being lasting. It’s my belief that the more lasting ones will be because COVID-19 came knocking on an unlocked door.

About 8 weeks ago when the UK started ‘lockdown’ I wrote 10 Top Tips on working from home. You can read the original article here. 

On reflection they have stood up well but I thought I would shared my 10 observations of this period - especially since it’s likely that working from home will be a regular feature for many of us.

They say every cloud has a silver lining and during this global pandemic I don’t think I have been the only one searching for the positives. Some have turned their hands to sourdough, others virtual yoga and the determined few to ever more complex DIY tasks around the house.

I used the ‘pause’ to finish things I started long ago and this culminated in me dusting off a slim volume about the workplace I’ve been working on for over 20 years.

In so many instances COVID-19 is going to accelerate existing trends. This global pause will almost certainly result in changes of behaviour with retail brands probably being the most visible and dramatic arena for change.

With the majority of the world faced with the same trauma and largely doing the same thing in reaction it seems highly likely that behavioural changes will emerge. As a curious marketer here are my ‘hot takes’

Last week Heinz, with the minimum of fuss, launched in the UK ‘Heinz To Home’ an incredibly simple eCommerce proposition based on shipping a box of 16 cans of their most popular products.

I think we will become more discriminating about our travel, we will think more about our plans, we will invest more overall. We will have survived weeks and weeks of COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ and think ‘where do I really want to go ?’

Yesterday I received the UK Government’s ‘vital update’ on Coronavirus through my letterbox. These official envelopes have been dropping into every household since the end of last week.

Last week, amidst the dominating COVID-19 headlines, something wonderful happened. After a 2 year journey Polaroid relaunched. Film, new cameras, brand - the works.

Despite only being a few days into the UK ‘Stay At Home Saves Lives’ regime I don’t think I am alone in letting my mind drift beyond the confines of my home to places further afield.

After primarily working at home for 7 years and, despite everyone else offering their own thoughts on home working, I thought I would have something to add. These tips are aimed at people who are finding working from home a new experience.

Our businesses and our friendships don’t stop at the border - we may have our wings clipped for a short while but we will all be back flying more and further. That’s called progress.