The Year is Now #2020SICK

by Sblock Contributing Editor General
Let’s be honest: you’re drowning. Not in water—in tabs.  Emails.  Slack messages.  Dashboards.  Tools that were supposed to make work simpler, but somehow turned work itself into a full‑time job. That tension is exactly why #20_TWENTY_SICK exists.  We’re in #2020SICK. The pace of change in technology—AI, software, automation, how products are built and businesses are run—isn’t incremental anymore.  It’s compounding.  This blog is about those moments where you look up and realize: wait… this changes everything.  Not hype.  Not buzzwords.  Just clear examples of how modern tech is reshaping how real businesses operate—and how you can actually take advantage of it.Because here’s what is true: in #20/20_SICK, the right systems let small teams operate at a level that simply wasn’t practical 18 months ago.  And small businesses have a secret weapon: speed.

1. Stop Answering the Same Questions 100 Times a Day

The Problem

Your inbox is filled with the same questions: order status, password resets, missing links.

Your team is exhausted. You’re exhausted. And answering the same question for the 74th time adds no value.

What’s Sick about #2020SICK

Modern support systems can now handle full conversations end‑to‑end. They understand context, remember previous interactions, connect to internal tools, follow decision rules, and resolve issues without constant human involvement.

What This Looks Like

A 12‑person company connected their support system to order data, help documentation, and escalation rules. After 30 days:

  • 92% of inquiries handled without human involvement
  • Response time reduced from 4 hours to 4 minutes
  • Support workload dropped from 40 hours/week to 8
  • Customer satisfaction increased

The team stopped answering repetitive questions and focused on real customer relationships.

The catch: these systems require setup, training, and clear escalation rules—but once implemented, they return dozens of hours each week.

2. Stop Doing Busywork That Should Just Happen

The Problem

Leads get moved manually. Follow‑ups get scheduled manually. Files get organized manually.

You know it’s busywork—but if you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done.

What’s Sick in #2026ICK

Workflow automation now goes beyond simple triggers. Well‑designed systems recognize what should happen next and execute automatically.

What This Looks Like

A marketing agency automated client onboarding:

  1. Contract signed
  2. Project folders created
  3. Team assigned based on availability
  4. Communication channels set up
  5. Custom onboarding checklist generated
  6. Kickoff meeting scheduled

Time per client dropped from 6 hours to 12 minutes.

The catch: workflows must be mapped first. Once defined, execution becomes automatic.

3. Stop Losing Deals Because You Don’t Have the Right Tools

The Problem

You’re competing with companies that have polished proposals, pricing calculators, and demos.

You’re manually editing PDFs and hoping your spreadsheet formulas still work.

What Will Standout in #2020SICK

Modern sales enablement systems allow small teams to produce enterprise‑level sales materials instantly.

What This Looks Like

Working with an 8‑person team SaaS company we are in the process of implemented:

  • Instant proposal generation
  • Dynamic pricing calculators
  • Personalized demo environments
  • Automated contract drafting

Results:

  • Proposal turnaround: 2 days → 15 minutes
  • Win rate: 18% → 34%
  • Deal cycle: 47 days → 28 days

The catch: relationships still close deals—but strong systems level the playing field.

4. Stop Spending Days on Research That Should Take Minutes

The Problem

Market research turns into dozens of tabs and no clear answers.

Really #2020_SO_SICK?

Centralized research workflows can analyze large volumes of information, identify patterns, and summarize findings quickly.

What This Looks Like

A consultant reduced competitive research from two days to 45 minutes, freeing time for strategy instead of searching.

5. Stop Manually Pulling Data from 10 Different Tools

The Problem

Revenue data lives in one system. Marketing data in another. Operations data somewhere else.

Down With the #2020_SICKNESS?

Modern business intelligence systems unify data, clean it, analyze it, and surface what matters.

What This Looks Like

We have worked with a 25‑person e‑commerce company to:

  • Cut reporting time from 4 hours to 15 minutes
  • Identified wasted ad spend in the first month
  • Made faster, clearer decisions

So What’s the Move?

The mistake isn’t adopting these systems—it’s trying to adopt all of them at once.

  1. Pick one bottleneck
  2. Implement it properly
  3. Measure results
  4. Iterate

The winners aren’t the biggest companies. They’re the ones who start in the right place.

So What’s Next?

#2026SICK isn’t about chasing every new tool or trend.

It’s about understanding which shifts actually matter—and which ones quietly change the rules of the game.

This post covered just one angle of that shift.

Next up: how software teams, solo builders, and non‑technical founders are rethinking what “development” even means—and why the old playbooks are starting to break.

That’s where things get really sick.