Navigating the New Normal

The global pandemic has changed the world in countless ways. You advise that business leaders approach ‘the new normal’ in three phases. Please explain.

The first phase, which most organizations have already addressed, is to restart. This involves thinking about re-opening your business and looking at issues like safety, security, and how you will operate in a socially distanced way. Once these things are in place, leaders need to think about reforming their business model by examining and questioning everything they do. Things have changed so much that many will need to completely reconsider and revise their strategy, how they deal with customers — and maybe even the key aspects of their culture.

The third phase is to revise your purpose. Every leadership team needs to revisit the very core of what their business is about. This is a time of such radical change that many will need to revise it. Going forward, you need to be able to say, ‘This is absolutely the direction in which we should be moving’. Having total clarity around that will be your guiding light during all of the uncertainty that lies ahead.

When you question everything, it shows that you are not taking for granted that things are ever going to be the same.

As indicated, you believe it