The fog of the first few months has thinned a bit. We’ve adjusted our sights. We’ve started to adapt. We’ve started to build new habits. Discover and master new strengths.
There’s a sense of resilience-- that we can and will prevail. That business will go on. Will it be the same? No, things will be different and for many reasons.
We are in the middle of a re-evaluation taking place on both an economic (macro) and a human (micro) level.
Our daily lives are marked with a dramatic economic backdrop – mass unemployment and retrenchment, stock markets untethered from reality, precarious government finances, companies going out of business, broken supply chains, a migrant crisis, daily infection and death rates ticking across the screen, signals of a long and painful recession, an unknown end and certainly no signs of a viable playbook from government leadership. All macro signals that the systems are beyond broken.
And yet, in some ways it’s been a very human crisis. While the pandemic has shattered our sense of normality in the every day routines that give our lives comfort, it has reminded us of what truly matters. Getting back to basics, reconnecting with family and each other, finding ways to live sustainably, being more mindful of our health and wellbeing and discovering new ways to live and work. With perspective, time and no small dose of desperation, the Covid Crisis is forcing a values reset.
In a remarkable essay in the Financial Times, Arundhati Roy writes: “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”
We need to take stock and ask ‘what kind of world do we want?’ and realize we all have a role to play in how we move forward.
The idea that both business and humanity need each other to succeed-- once considered idealistic, is now mainstream. A definitive shift is underway:
From Consumer Sector to Human Sector
From Shareholders to Stakeholders
From Individual to Community
From Mindless Consumer to Mindful Customer
From Wants to Needs
New systems will need to be built in new ways that reflect these new sensibilities and values.
From business surviving to business thriving:
We believe the next 90 days are critical for every organisation. This period will define your business, brand and leadership success in the days to come.
It is a time for companies and brands to step back, re-think, re-set and pivot where needed.
It’s time to go back to fundamentals and ask: Why are we in business? What business are we really in? How do we respond to existing threats and new opportunities to emerge stronger and more resilient? How do we lead in a more conscious way that’s responsible to colleagues, customers and communities?
There are no easy answers. There is no playbook. However, we’ve created an array of practical tools, provocations and sprints to help you and your team anticipate and ideally prepare for coming out the other side.
In time, the world will be back in business. Those who thrive will be those who have recognized and planned for business, but not business as usual.
If you'd like more information about our sprints or how we can activate them within your organisation, do write to us at hello@studiojigsaw.com
