Editorial Director's Notepad

designing lighting, December 2020

by RANDY REID

I always thought my marriage had been good, but the pandemic strengthened it. Life is too short to spend it on an airplane or in a car traveling to a meeting that may or may not be beneficial. Earning a living is important, but chasing every last dollar is no longer as meaningful as it once was.

Networking online. This is totally foreign to me, but I am warming to the idea. The IES Past President’s traditionally get together at the Annual Conference for lunch and cocktails. Dan Salinas scheduled a Zoom call for us and it was wonderful, and we had about double the rate of participation that we typically have for in-person meetings.

Below is my commitment to my employees, my industry and to my family:

Participate in meaningful tradeshows, only. A strong LightFair, LEDucation and IES Annual Conference are very helpful for our industry, and we need those shows in person and I am personally excited about the new ArchLight Summit. However, I am no longer going to go to every show or conference just because it is being held.

Online Education will be my first choice. Prior to the pandemic, I would never dream of learning from my computer. Online education has come a long way, and I have participated in some great online training that was very professional and meaningful. For the most part I am doing it on my schedule and in small doses that fit well with my ADHD.

In-person meetings. I am an old-school, people person. I want to shake someone’s hand, look him in the eye, and size up his or her character (usually in the first 10 seconds.) A perfect example of my new thinking is that I am establishing a friendship with one of the brightest people in lighting, Sam Koerbel, the founder of Lytei. Sam and I have never met in person, but I have watched many of his videos and now feel like I know him well because of Zoom. Although we have never shaken hands and I have not looked him in the eye personally, I have developed great respect and admiration for him and that would not have happened prior to the pandemic

If we leave the pandemic stronger than when we entered, and if it makes us better people, more considerate, more patient, and more forgiving, then perhaps COVID-19 was the wakeup call our society needed.

What will you do differently in 2021? Send your ideas to me at editor@designinglighting.com