The world has changed. The details of how and how much it has changed are not clear. We are in the throes of a future-making event. We know some of the economic effects thus far, but the pandemic is ongoing, and we are yet to see the end. The earliest timing for even talking about post-Covid is probably 2021. The reality though is that this pandemic’s effects will continue well beyond that time—economic and otherwise.
For Business in T&T as elsewhere, not only the economic impact will have consequences for business operations. Businesses have their raison d’etre within the context of society. Not the other way around. Hence, businesses will have to contend with the social impacts in particular as their stakeholders—including their suppliers, staff, and customers and so on–grapple with the realities of a post-crisis world. The uncertainty will be around for a very long time. Upheavals of which we do not yet have a glimpse will likely exacerbate the situation.
So, what is a business to do? Keeping carefully abreast of local, regional and global developments, opening themselves to perspectives and possibilities that do not necessarily align with the sources to which they usually turn for advice, is not an option. Most businesses fixate on day-to-day operations and the bottom line. One essential activity for this time when there may be some breathing room is for businesses to prepare for the future by thinking about the past. How may they have been sabotaging business continuity pre-Covid-19 by their own business practices? What do they want to be in the future? How can the business grow and develop to take advantage of possibilities that will open up in the times ahead?
The process of reevaluation should be thorough and complete, carefully devoid of unwarranted self-congratulation. Business owners should ruthlessly identify and eliminate blind spots. The idea is not to make this a public process or an opportunity for good public relations. It is a process intended for making alignment to the future possible. Post-Covid-19 there will be opportunities as well as challenges—businesses need to be ready by using the present moment to prepare for that future and not just anchor themselves to a past that is now gone.
First published on LinkedIn, 27 April 2020. Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thinking-through-business-post-covid-future-marcia-carrington-headley/
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
Marcia Headley 