COVID-19 has… you’re probably quite familiar with all that follows. Every other article on nearly any topic has started with this; a description of the changes it has affected follows.

The pandemic has changed nearly every industry in one way or another. It’s been going on for two years. We’ve really just learned to navigate it, work around it.

The events industry in particular has changed quite drastically. Working ‘on the grind’, so to speak, wasn’t anything new to 4.0 Management. The company is used to being on-ground from dusk till dawn to carry out events big and small. Suddenly, the pandemic made all of that grind to a halt. No more events, no more activations, leaving it wondering if that was the end of their team.

They were fortunate to have been able to pivot. They’ve learned new insights and skills over the course of two years and have never stopped learning, and that’s how they kept their ‘awesome’.

Not everyone made a successful pivot. So as a major move: they’ve rebranded to 4.0 Management, to reach out further and to help more businesses stay afloat no matter the circumstances. They’ve been working together pre-pandemic, and saw no reason to stop that. Instead, they saw opportunities beyond just managing events, but opportunities to help more businesses thrive.

4.0 Management shares four things they learned amid the pandemic and hopes others find value in them, and use them to remain ‘awesome.’

1. Self-care is absolutely important. It’s not enough to put on sheet masks anymore, although our team certainly loves that, too. What we learned the most about self-care is that it’s important to put yourself first. When you take care of yourself, you’re able to give 100% to your clients. So we revamped our headquarters to include workout nooks, and we’ve carved out wellness time. Sometimes, we even go on weekend-long outings with our staff - no work, just play. And after that energizing weekend, we slay the workweek harder than ever. It’s a worthy investment.

2. Speaking of investments - never stop investing We mean investing in your team, investing in learning, and investing in equipment and tools to help you do your job better. In the industry we work in, there are always a lot of changes that we have to keep up with to stay relevant! That’s why we at 4.0 stay hungry. We ventured into a bit of interior design some months into the pandemic; we continued producing videos; we continued practicing and honing our skills; we added to our manpower roster; and we built our own virtual conferencing platform. We practiced pitching campaigns over Zoom, we studied the most efficient ways to send care packages to our clients and employees, and we made sure to keep the team’s mental health in check. I’m sure there are other companies who have done the same and more, but this has worked beautifully for us. We’re able to perform our best by listening in on the little details and learning how to meet client needs. I believe that even after the pandemic has passed, or once everything goes back to ‘normal’, we’ll stick with this strategy. It has helped us become happier and more efficient as a team.

3. Technology is your friend, not your foe. Digital is the future. There’s really no denying it. We even constantly convince our clients of the same! Sure, we had our reservations over using virtual conferencing platforms, until we decided to create our own and we’ve held exciting online events and activations ever since. We were initially hesitant about the whole work-from-home set-up since we were such a dynamic team working face-to-face, until we all learned to openly communicate what felt best for us and we’ve kept that same dynamism while keeping a flexible work set-up! We’ve thankfully learned to master virtual event and convention set-ups, to stage virtual press conferences and brand launches, and more. We’ve honestly learned to love technology and all it can do for us as a company.

4. Awesomeness is innate. Sometimes, our circumstances are what we make them. All things being equal, it’s really up to us to find our inner awesome. I’m very fortunate to be able to work with a team that seems to have awesomeness ingrained into their DNA, so much so that I feel that, pandemic or not, we have the ability to succeed and thrive. The pivots and preparations we’ve made over the past two years have also taught me that it takes a village to produce high-quality events that leave clients more than just happy with the work we’ve delivered. Sure, we’ve added tools, equipment, and people, but we’ve also added even more heart into our work. At a time when it seems that the playing field has leveled, there has never been a more opportune time to help people stand back up. I’m immensely happy that 4.0 Management is able to do that - to help businesses big and small find their awesomeness amid the challenges.

Does anyone know when things will go back to normal? I’m sure even the experts can’t peg a date. As for 4.0 management, with their rebrand and with more exciting things up their sleeves, they’ve left the hope of that normalcy behind; not because they’ve lost hope. It’s because they’ve learned to build their own version of normal. It’s a version they’re taking and running with, and they’d like to invite you for the ride.

Contact 4.0 Management at [email protected] for collaborations and partnerships for your next digital event or visit at www.4pointzero.ph, Facebook, Instagram.