It’s a funny thing… we are three months into this pandemic, and everything has changed. It’s all new, and yet at the same time no one knows what ‘new’ is; we don’t know what next week looks like for our industry, let alone what ‘the future’ will bring. Like many of our friends and colleagues in hospitality, we are doing more with less and steering ourselves forward in a sea of uncertainty.
But in the fog, there is light. Our mighty team has bonded together in new ways and is quietly –with determination – finding joy. We are taking this time to roadmap the rest of our year (yes, one that does not include the types of events that we thrive on) and are inviting a new perspective; it’s all about the long game.
We are taking the ‘unknowns’ and embracing them as a gift, re-directing our conversations back to what matters… values and our heart’s desires. Instead of feeling forced to see things differently when we don’t know what the future looks like, we are finding comfort through this new lens. We are reconnecting with the relationships that matter most to us (our team, our clients, and our event partners) and rediscovering our company’s unique brilliance. We are problem solvers and creatives! These elements are baked so deeply in our DNA that the shift is –while daunting –one that we welcome. We have the tools, we have each other, and we have perhaps the most liberating experience of our careers in that we can get back to what matters most and reimagine how to deliver ‘meaningful’.
We have been busy engaging with community stakeholders and are having fun looking at new ways to activate spaces with safety and responsibility at the forefront. We are collaborating with our teams in all destinations, reaching out to see what works for them, their plans and how we can work together better and differently to provide exceptional experiences while keeping our teams and guests safe.
This time of change has us looking at our core values; Relationships, Passion, Accountability, Excellence, Creativity and Collaboration. Through a recent campaign, we’ve ‘tried them on’ again to see how thinking about each of them affects how we feel about our work. We’ve discovered that they all still resonate and that there are new truths bravely shining through as well; Authenticity and Innovation.
It’s been hard. Everyone is tired of shaky ground. But we are laser-focused on coming back stronger than ever. We have a resilient team who is getting through this together –apart –and will return refreshed and ready to do what we do differently. It’s the opportunity to create beauty and connection out of that difference that is lighting our way forward.
Jennifer Burton, DCMP
President
Pacific Destination Services Inc.
