Flexibility in the Middle of a Pandemic

When I first started The Way Back at Chipotle headquarters back in 2014, we met every day. So, naturally, when I started writing a book, I created a daily format. Fast forward to when I published the book and started hearing that folks were using it as part of their weekly team meetings, rather than daily. Email after email, people wrote things like, “We’ve been doing this for two months now and we’re on Day 10. It’s such a great way to bond!” Did I contemplate changing it to a weekly format so it was designed for how folks were actually using it? Nope! (Ugh.)

When I decided to start The Way Back with my neighbors, we had to meet weekly, not daily. We’re now almost a year into meeting weekly and I’ve made lifelong friendships with many neighbors. It turns out, the leaders who had emailed me for so many years were right – meeting weekly is just as effective! So, I redesigned the content to be a weekly format.

Then came the pandemic. With paperback books and in-person gatherings, I felt a bit like Dunder Mifflin’s (The Office) slogan dubbed by Michael Scott, “Limitless paper in a paperless world.” Thankfully, by now I’ve learned a little more about being flexible and providing what is most helpful than I knew all those years ago. Since many of us are in a virtual work-from-home environment right now, I’ve created an online version of The Way Back and shifted to meeting via Zoom.

With all of the things going on in this moment, a lot of us (myself included) are struggling with being flexible. It can be difficult to be creative or productive when your work environment isn’t as familiar as it was. With so many things out of our control, we just want some sense of control to feel comfortable. But, that isn’t how we grow.

So, today, if you’re feeling restricted, small, or suffocated, consider this as a soft nudge to take a look at things around you with a new perspective. Is there something that isn’t working for you the same way it was 6 months ago? Maybe some flexibility is needed to provide a way to grow in this moment.  Share by leaving a comment (reading this via email? Click “Read in browser” below).