How History Can Help You Analyze COVID-19 Data and Plan for a Better 2021 FINDING THE TRUTH IN THE PAST
This spring, scientists and local governments asked citizens to “flatten the curve” by staying home and limiting the spread of COVID-19. While the economic shutdown had many businesses scrambling to make up for lost profits, it could also provide more pivotal information for making wiser data-driven decisions, according to Columbia School of Business professor Oded Netzer. The pandemic skewed data that many business leaders rely on to make decisions about future marketing practices. How can you make valuable marketing moves when your data is undercut by a crisis and marred by unprecedented closures and business decisions? For Netzer, the answer lies in the past. In an article published by Columbia Business School, Netzer explains using data, which cannot provide the full story of the circumstances to make a marketing plan, requires human foresight and conceptualization. It’s our job to pick up on the patterns data from the past has given us. He explains, “Humans are good at pattern recognition; computers are good at data processing. At times like these, when data are limited, we need to combine both.”
Netzer recommends analyzing the market crash of 2008, previous fallouts from past pandemics — such as MERS or even the Spanish flu more than 100 years ago — and changes or data pulled from countries further along in the COVID-19 fight. Because of the limited information experts have on COVID-19 and the lasting implications of the pandemic, Netzer believes those who look to the past to conceptualize current data will have the best idea of how to move forward. With this thinking in mind, Netzer recommends businesses run simulations and test marketing strategies now before fully deploying them in 2021. This can provide real-time data and identify pain points. In addition, Netzer advises businesses to establish multiple variations of their marketing plans so businesses can easily adapt as the times do. Now is the time to examine your skewed data, compare it to the past, test your 2021 marketing strategies, and create simple, effective hypothetical scenarios so you can be better prepared for marketing your business in the new year. This year’s data may be incomplete, but it can still be a powerful tool in building your future.
HOW TO PLAN FOR AN UNCERTAIN SCHOOL YEAR
While schools are preparing to reopen
this fall, parents, teachers, and students have mixed feelings about the reopening. Parents also face a big unknown: Will I be prepared if the schools close again? These uncertainties add a great deal of stress to one’s role as a parent. So this month, we’re providing reliable resources to help families get through this school year together.
• Kids deal with stress differently than adults do. The National Association of School Psychologists offers advice for helping your kids cope at Bit.ly/StressAndCOVID19 .
Practice Self-Care •
Stay Healthy and Mindful •
Self-care is necessary for helping your family navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Find tools and strategies at ChildMind.org/article/self-care-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/ . • Taking care of your emotions is just as important as taking care of your body. Get tips to help care for your emotions at ActiveMinds.org/about-mental-health/self-care/ . Be Ready to Home-School Again • UNICEF created a brief video guide to help make the home-school process less stressful for parents and kids alike. Check it out now at Bit.ly/UNICEFLearning . • Find websites, apps, and online activities to help when lessons plans have been interrupted at LearningLiftOff.com/20-best-homeschooling-websites-and-learning-resources . There’s no telling how long the effects of the pandemic will last, so it’s important to take it all one day at a time. There are questions about health and safety as well as concerns about how students who have fallen behind will be helped to catch up with their classmates. We hope these resources will help parents and students get through the school year healthy and happy.
It’s important for you and your kids to stay healthy during a pandemic. Follow these suggestions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Bit.ly/ KeepKidsHealthy2020 . Mental health is as vital as physical health. Mindfulness is an essential tool for good mental health. Find free yoga videos to teach your kids about mindfulness at AloYoga. com/pages/alo-gives .
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Develop Coping Skills for Stressful Times • Uncertainty can be overwhelming. Learn more about how to cope at APA.org/ helpcenter/stress-uncertainty . 2 APPLETON: 920-944-6020 • NORTHEAST GEORGIA: 678-491-9744
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