ecall Rubin’s vase, an exercise in optical illusion: when presented with a specific image, some see a vase while others see two faces. Something viewed from one perspective can look radically different from another. And when a shift in perspective leads to a shift in perception, it often yields surprising results.After all, a grizzly and a sockeye may share the same stream—but hardly the same view.

“Look. Now look again.”

These words aptly describe the economic landscape of the Last Frontier as seen through the eyes of the Alaska Business editorial team, which selected the theme for this year’s Top 49ers Special Section in which we explore changing perspectives.

The way our perceptions have been drastically shifted, reshaped, and shared have come to characterize Alaska’s world of commerce. For individuals and organizations alike, disruptive experiences like the pandemic have compelled everyone to develop new ways of looking at the economic landscape.

Entire industries have been subjected to new perceptions and realizations. For example, the lost tourism season of 2020 compelled industry advocates to answer the question, “What do we do without our visitors?” Without visitor dollars, seasonal income was pursued in novel ways: Alaskans themselves played the role of visitors to tourism communities and businesses found ways to virtually bring the Last Frontier to would-be visitors. One could argue that the tumult was enough for Alaskans to never again take for granted the friendly faces from Outside.

The spotlight on Alaska’s healthcare workforce was also cause for renewed appreciation and empathy. Entire organizations stepped up to the plate with stakes that have never been higher. Heroism in healthcare underscored how important these employees are. With their challenges and achievements continuously chronicled, what will that mean for the industry as a whole, particularly in Alaska?

Despite the upheaval, there’s reason for optimism. As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and Alaska’s business community found ways to forge a new vision while making positive leaps forward. Operations are getting leaner, procedures are becoming safer, and innovation is being welcomed at every level.

From tourism to healthcare to retail to transportation, every participant in Alaska’s economy faces the challenge of how to thrive in a “new normal.” In the midst of strange circumstances and unprecedented challenges, those in the 49th State—especially the Top 49ers—continue to seek out unbroken trails to success thanks to re-imagined perspectives.

To better elaborate this year’s Top 49ers theme, consider our narrative of the 2020 Top 49ers. A year ago, Alaska Business highlighted the theme of migrations and triumphant journeys. In the same way that whales, birds, and caribou all manage to find their way to and from Alaska, so too did the Top 49ers display a cyclical return to success. Everything that was the year 2020 underscored this “Triumphant Journey.” The 2020 Top 49ers collectively weathered a storm that continues to simmer.

A year after the triumphant journey, the path to continued success in “normal 2.0” in many ways looks more foreign and less defined. The solution: flip the script on what was considered “business as usual.” Throughout the year, Alaska Business has chronicled numerous developments that are the result of businesses changing the lens and charting new ways forward.

In a prime example, many other organizations (including this magazine) re-imagined business events, bringing together isolated individuals to maintain a sense of community in a business world where handshakes weren’t even possible. Before this previous year, it would be unheard of to conduct AEDC’s Economic Outlook or the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women luncheon in a strictly digital manner. Even Alaska Business took a leap, taking the 2020 Top 49ers event completely virtual. Granted, everyone misses the in-person versions of conventions and conferences. But by leveraging a little bit of modern tech and a lot of creativity, the business world showed it can pivot and push forward.

In “Designing Spaces for Masked Faces,” part of the magazine’s February 2021 edition, Alaska Business explored the new ways in which the workspace itself was being refreshed. With an intensified focus on health and safety—even in the most white-collar of spaces—numerous architecture and design firms introduced a new way to view the places where employees get work done. Also consider the general contractors bringing these designs to life; many just so happen to be Top 49ers.

Workspaces will continue to be the subjects of re-imagination as businesses look to leverage more technology to maintain operations. Many have found an increased value in the home office thanks to tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and others. So much so that more remote work opportunities will undoubtedly become a topic for discussion even within organizations that had previously considered it off the table.

And consider the way that the state’s healthcare and transportation leaders illustrated a new angle of solving the familiar problem of stopping disease from ravaging rural Alaska. Project Togo in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (which we covered in “46 Villages in 10 Days” in our June 2021 issue) showed the way in which effective partnerships across industries helped lead the state to one of the best vaccination rates in the country earlier this year. Not to mention the all-out heroics of nurses, doctors, and medical technicians throughout the healthcare system from Providence to the Alaska Native Medical Center. Alaskans’ appreciation for health workers has elevated, and deservedly so.

Then there are the many other reminders that it’s time to flip the collective script. A mix of low interest rates, lack of inventory, and more time spent at home has resulted in a real estate boom unlike any other. Real estate firms, like our honorary “50th 49er” Keller Williams, are at the forefront of this new development.

Sometimes we’re forced to consider the validity of our perceptions when a fact conflicts with a feeling. Example: Despite the hardships of the previous year, the combined gross revenue of the 2021 Top 49ers dropped by less than 1 percent. In ten years, it’s the smallest year-over-year decrease in revenue. And it happened in a rattled economy. Contrast that fact with the feeling of dread felt in early 2020, when the pandemic pumped the brakes on an Alaska economy still struggling to crawl from a recession.

Another perspective worth re-evaluating is the relative competitiveness of the Top 49ers rankings. In other words: big gains don’t always yield a steep climb up the list. A 20 percent year-over-year increase is always worth celebrating—but why does it only earn one or two spots higher? The answer is a positive for all involved. Other companies are growing just as fast, statistically neck and neck with each other when it comes to the rankings.

At a glance, a ranked list like the Top 49ers seems inherently competitive. However, it’s worth noting that the nature of collaboration seen in the last year and a half has trumped the nature of competitiveness. Alaska Business has witnessed more instances of the former than the latter. That in and of itself could be considered one of the shifts in perspective that has helped Alaska’s economy the most in recent times. From vaccination distribution to emergency aid in the most remote areas, Alaska continues to put people first.

Lastly, consider the perspectives of the emerging workforce currently taking shape in a post-pandemic setting. COVID-19 decimated workforce numbers, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant industries. Now Alaska faces a labor shortage in the face of growing demand. Moving forward, what new insights will be gained in recruitment and retainment? That remains to be seen, though much will be decided based on what perspective employers decide to take.

A perspective informs a perception, and that perception informs reality.

Applied to business, a lot can be revealed in a perspective shift that leads to positive realities not previously imagined. Now is the perfect opportunity for decision makers to think bolder, reach farther, and pursue new levels of success. Change the angle of approach and a way forward emerges. Many times, that shift is small—an easy jump for an organization to make. But small changes add up. The number of businesses looking at the world a new way compounds the possible outcomes, building a fascinating prism of possibilities. Take the Top 49ers: forty-nine companies, forty-nine perspectives, and every shift in perspective adds to the narrative of Alaska’s business ecosystem.

It’s abundantly clear that amid a mixed up, post-2020 world, shifting perspectives are found in nearly every facet of commerce. What will be the results in another year? The answer will likely be found in the data surrounding business leaders like the 2022 Top 49ers.

The Last Frontier’s economic future is not as black and white (or face and vase) as Rubin’s experiment. Alaskans will have to determine for themselves what they want to see in the future.