Every month Prairie Business asks several business professionals a question to which they provide their industry insight and perspective.
The question for December is, "What is something you have learned in 2021 that will benefit your organization as it prepares for 2022?"
Dr. Maria “Duffy” Meyer, DDS and owner, High Plains Dental, Dickinson, N.D.
In 2021 the most valuable thing learned in our office was flexibility is the key to a successful future.
The team at our office had to learn to be flexible with scheduling and rescheduling due to COVID-19 related complications in our patients and with some of our vendors. Our supply chain was disrupted at times, but the flexibility we all learned helped the office to run more seamlessly.
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Our patients were also very flexible and were understanding of short notice schedule changes. The world has changed because of COVID-19, but with flexibility we will happily prepare for 2022!
Jay Lies, president and chief commercial officer, Choice Bank North Dakota, Fargo, N.D.
2021 provided the opportunity for our team to learn how to adapt to the evolution of collaboration throughout the pandemic. This year we learned that by actively listening to each other, we can have meaningful communication that enables us to succeed and develop innovative solutions together.
Customer interactions, employee work experiences, and how business is conducted rapidly changed within the banking industry. This challenge taught us how to remain agile and prepared to meet the present and future needs of our customers.
The resilience of our customers, teams, and neighbors is inspiring and drives us to continually work toward improving the quality of life and economic viability of the communities we serve well into the future.
Lisa VandeVoort, principal business manager, Architecture Incorporated, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Though seemingly obvious, the first thing that comes to mind is the importance of flexibility. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are far reaching and continue today, causing disruptions to supply chains across the world. As architects, we must be especially nimble when developing project schedules and cost estimates to accommodate for these disruptions and be proactive about developing creative solutions to mitigate issues.
Similarly, we must ensure that we offer our team flexibility for their own unique needs to remain competitive in attracting and retaining the best talent. COVID-19 may have expedited the implementation of certain technologies to achieve this level of flexibility, but it has resulted in improved workflows and communication that will last long into the future.
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As we look to 2022, flexibility will continue to be a key factor in our ability to deliver on our core values of Creative Solutions and Proven Service – both internally to build a strong team as well as externally to deliver our clients an exceptional experience.
Mike Delfs, president and CEO, Jamestown Regional Medical Center, Jamestown, N.D.
I’ve learned that the teams at Jamestown Regional Medical Center continue to exceed my expectations. Even during the most difficult times of this pandemic – and all the other times, the hip replacements, the chemo infusions, the new babies, etc. – our teams remain legendary.
I am grateful for them and can’t wait to see how they exceed expectations next year.
