It’s All About Relationships
By Jon Giunta
You know that feeling when you haven’t spoken to a friend in a long time and you finally connect and it feels like no time has gone by at all? That’s a real relationship. They certainly exist in our personal life, as they do in business. Something good at some point transpired in the past that enables two people to immediately connect again and when you “hear” the other person smile on the other end of the phone it’s impossible for you not to smile as well.
If this time in our history has a silver lining this may very well be it. People distanced and slowing down long enough to reconnect with those we have lost touch with. Maybe it’s more communication with siblings, parents or local and long-distance friends, a long-lost colleague or client or someone you were meaning to call, but you are just too busy. Let’s face it, we are busy. Work, commuting, traffic, school, hobbies, sports, binge watching, eating out and the list goes on. There’s an awful lot for us to get distracted over.
Well, “These times they are a changin” said a great poet some 50+ years ago and they certainly have.
I’m not a big fan of the “new normal” designation we hear these days, but I do realize there are current situations which lend themselves 
toward change. I choose to focus on the positive change rather than the negative. Most of us look at change as foreboding as I once did, but I was taught some time ago to look upon change as an opportunity to grow. That tenet did not take hold in me over night, but through years of pain and practice it has sunk in.
I must admit I was not an avid video communications user with the exception of work conferences or an occasional Skype meeting, but over the last 90 days I’ve attended several virtual events including a Zoom memorial service, my nephew’s online college graduation, Zoom happy hours, Zoom social gatherings with friends across the globe, MS Teams meetings with colleagues, a Face Time Telemed visit with my doctor, a very sad and untimely Facebook Live funeral, an abundance of live music on YouTube and access to recorded live performances, meaningful client calls, supportive candidate interviews and more. Amazing! We haven’t missed a beat! Another silver lining!
It’s easy to get caught up in the abundance of media sources and conflicting factions that just want to separate us, but I’ve done my best to focus on patience and tolerance and picking up the phone and having that conversation or Zoom interaction with an old friend or client and adding some joy and realistic optimism instead of discourse and fear. Again, unfortunately, not easy but in time it becomes natural and certainly super rewarding! I remind myself to just be myself and speak from the heart.
I choose to see the best in people and sincerely look to cash in on the silver linings. It takes practice, open mindedness and ultimately love for our fellow man and woman, because life is all about those relationships and the last few months has again proven that it always will be.
Even though we are separated, we are never apart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon Giunta is the Director of Creative & Digital Marketing Talent at LLoyd South in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Jon is an experienced Creative professional with experience as an Art Director and Creative Director in the New York City and South Florida markets. He eventually transitioned to a recruitment and search career due to his exceptional ability to correctly identify candidate talent and put them on the right project at the right organization. He currently addresses talent in all of the following areas: Creative • UX/UI • Web Dev • Copy • Marketing • DigiMarketing • Project Management • Advertising • Executive and Leadership.