How the Pandemic Has Fundamentally Changed Us

We may not be worse. We may not be better. But we will be different.

As the world looks ahead eagerly to a post-coronavirus reality, something unusual has happened. It may not be visible on the surface, but peel off the veneer of booming “productivity” (as we’ve come to think of all our endless Zoom calls) and the endless Netflix binge-watching. You’ll make an interesting, perhaps even profound, observation.

I noticed this for myself last year in Sydney, when I saw an elderly woman approach a total stranger’s dog and begin stroking it. I didn’t think much of it at the time … until I saw exactly the same happen two days later, elsewhere in the city.

Having spent time in the homes of nearly 3,000 different consumers over the past 15 years, in nearly 100 different countries, I’ve come to believe in the power of gaining valuable insights from seemingly insignificant observations. Everywhere we go, all of us leave behind clues that tell the story of who we are and how we feel. I’ve invented the term “Small Data” to refer to these tiny perceptions, which often lead to positive turnarounds in the way companies conduct their business.

Notice how we tend to leave the last bite of that amazing (and oh so unhealthy) chocolate cake on the plate, as if that…