Kenneth Rick, CPA, IREON, Janover LLC

Name: Kenneth Rick, CPA 

Title: Partner

Company Name: Janover LLC

What was the most challenging part of working during the pandemic?
I found the most challenging part about working during the pandemic was keeping up good spirits. Zoom, Teams and even Facebook quickly became daily communication tools. And video calls quickly superseded ‘old fashioned’ voice calls. On the other end of these calls were my clients, business associates like my fellow IREON members, my staff and partners. Everyone was and is working hard and it was funny to spot a child or a pet running around and trying to get their parent’s attention for those working from home. That alone is a challenge!

But frequently ‘small talk’ turned to being locked down, shut out, masked up and general worried about Covid. So not only was the challenge to keep my own spirits and optimism up, but also to try and cheer up my business associates on the other end of the video. People’s
moods seemed to rise at summer’s end and into September as the new normal set in. Many businesses were ‘finding their way’ and the news was reporting lower Corona counts. That was good while it lasted. Now there’s the spike that was predicted and everyone is using every ‘new age’ technique to keep their outlook positive. More people tell me they are jogging, meditating, being mindful and grateful. I’ve heard that in every generation new challenges arise and mankind learns to adapt and overcome. Soon we’ll have a vaccine and yes it may take a year to distribute and administer it but we’re heading toward getting Corona under control. We (as a worldwide society) will come out of this being great at remote software tools like Zoom (that’s been around but now will be an everyday tool). We’re better at many other remote working set ups including home scanners, cloud based programs, and have even discovered how many programs run just as well as Apps on our phones. Also, since a pandemic is worldwide, I believe we have gained a better understanding of how all humanity is connected. So the challenge was to keep my spirits up and also those of people I was working with. But I think the world will come out of this entering a new age of remote work efficiencies and generally moving to the next level of a technological jump forward.