History tells us that the bold, the few people and groups who rise above setbacks and confusion to make new beginnings and opportunities, are the ones who will have the future. Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general and the author of The Art of War, said that "in the midst of chaos, there is also chance." It's time to find out who the bold people are who will learn from and benefit from this latest disaster to hit the world.
The past is full of wars, natural disasters, and pandemics that caused chaos and uncertainty. A new piece of technology, like the telephone, car, or airplane, could make whole industries obsolete in a matter of days or even hours. When things change, they often mess with tradition, relationships, and expectations. It looks like the natural order of things is going crazy for people who have been used to things being stable and long-lasting. Their confidence is shaken and they don't know what the future holds, so they don't pay attention to the omens and act as if the change hasn't happened. People who aren't the leaders hide away, hoping to catch them when it's safe.
Covid-19 has an effect on how businesses run.
Few people who are alive today have been through something as bad as the coronavirus pandemic. Globally, it has an effect on both developed and developing countries. People now work, shop, and socialize in very different ways because of the disease, which has caused major changes in how people live. In some cases, changes happen quickly. In some places, the risks have risen and been made clear. Most people think that after Covid-19 comes out, the environment will look like this:
Growth in the economy has slowed down.
Most economic experts think that economic growth will slow down in the next two to five years because countries will have to pay for the costs of the pandemic.
The Brookings Institute said the economic crisis was "unprecedented in its size." It affected demand, supply, and finances "all at once," the institute said.
"The deepest global recession in decades" and long-term damage to economies around the world are what the World Bank says will happen next.
McKinsey & Company surveyed company executives around the world and found that most thought the virus would return, slowing long-term growth and causing a slow recovery.
UN: The International Monetary Fund says that governments are having a hard time dealing with public debt at a 60-year high.
The slower growth is likely to lead to a lot of competition between businesses as they try to keep sales and market share. Some people are taking advantage of the confusion to get into places where their competitors are strong. During the 1970s recession, McDonald's opened more new stores than its rival Burger King, gaining a big advantage that Burger King hasn't been able to get back.
Remote work is going to grow.
Most people are afraid of getting Covid-19 at work, according to a 2020 Gallup poll. The consulting firm PWC did another study, and it found that more than half of employers think that remote work will be around after the health crisis is over. Scientist Susan Athey says that "There are many things in which people are just slowly changing, and this [the pandemic] will help speed things up."
As you know, it isn't easy to switch to working from home. I.T. systems need to be changed to support a network of employees who work from different places. Hardware, software, and training are needed to make sure that employees can communicate and work together. Often, the security of proprietary and personal data needs to be improved. Physical processes need to be changed to cut down on waste and improve the customer experience. During the transition, short-term fixes and technical band-aids are important, but they are usually short-term, can break, and cost a lot.
Preferences for online shopping
In October 2020, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world toward a more digital world. This has been a big help." The changes we make now will have a long-term effect on the world economy when it starts to get better. The pandemic changed how people around the world use e-commerce and digital solutions. Old habits aren't likely to come back.
Customer expectations are higher.
People started to expect more from businesses before the coronavirus was even out there. A digital customer can find and buy products and services from anywhere in the world, unlike people who go to physical stores. Failure to understand what customers want quickly leads to lost sales and bad reviews on social media. In order for a company to compete in the new digital world, it must be able to figure out how customers interact with them in both tangible and intangible ways.
Supply Lines have been changed.
Dominik Luckmann took the picture.
The pandemic showed how complicated global supply chains can be when raw materials, semi-manufactured components, and finished products were in short supply in industries ranging from healthcare to food. Many businesses and organizations were already under a lot of stress because of the political split and the end of trade agreements, so they didn't have time to prepare. They were relying on unreliable sources of supply. Manufacturing companies, which rely on a steady, reliable supply of materials to keep their inventories under control, found their production lines slowed or shut down with rising costs and angry customers.
Companies in the new world must be able to see every part of their supply chain and know what to do when things go wrong. Instead of trying to fix a broken system, companies should think about how automation and new processing technologies can make their products more diverse and their capacity more flexible.
Advances in technology
If you want to stay relevant, you have to change your business every few years. That's what the founder of Atari said. That's because technology and the Internet have changed the business world for good. The fast-paced digital age has made it even more important for businesses to be able to change quickly.
In the last few years, new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, Cloud computing, and blockchain have become commonplace and changed the way people do their jobs. Computers and robots have been used to replace or supplement human abilities. This has cut costs, cut errors, improved safety, and shortened time-to-market cycles. There are very few businesses or industries that haven't been affected by this.
There was a virus that spread quickly, which made it easier for businesses to use new technology. Customers, who are used to seeing it, expect it to help them. Companies that are more willing to use modern technology are more likely to find the right customer at the right time and keep them from going to a competitor instead of them.
Gaining a Competitive Edge
When a company has had a lot of success in the past, it tends to fall back into the same habits it used to be. They start to believe that ideas, practices, and systems that worked well in the past will work well again. It's because they follow the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought.
Because of their arrogance, they don't see how things could change, especially things like Covid-19 that happen quickly. Many people don't pay attention to the signs of the future, just like big stores like Barnes & Noble, Toys R' Us, and Blockbuster didn't pay attention to Amazon in its early years. Change gives companies who want to beat their rivals a chance. Change also forces leaders in an industry, a region, or a community to fight back hard:
Theme parks for people to enjoy. With Disneyland (1955), Disney World (1971), and other amazing theme parks, the company that made them now competes with Universal Resorts theme parks. First Universal Park opened in 1984 and had rides based on popular movies like Back to the Future and Terminator 2: #-D Battle Across Time. Disney's most popular rides (It's a Small World, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Pirates of the Caribbean) look old-fashioned and out of date next to the newer park. Attendance figures show how popular each ride is.
Manufacturers of electric cars, on the other hand GM made the first modern electric car, the EV1, in 1996. In 2000, Toyota came out with the Prius, which was the first hybrid car. Other car companies have done the same thing. In 2003, Tesla made its first car for sale in 2008, called the Roadster. By 2019, the company had sold more than 220,000 cars. Analysts think that Tesla will sell more electric cars in the free world than any other company, even though the other companies have a lot more money, more car factories, and a lot more dealers.
These companies and others like them all had one thing in common: They saw a bright future and took action while their competitors sat on their hands. Businesses big and small run into this same problem all the time. It's the reason for 40% of Fortune 500 companies changing hands between 1999 and 2009.
5 Steps to Change a Company
When things change, they should not be done all at once. Instead, they should be done over and over again to adapt to the new conditions and skills. If a company doesn't change over time, it will die like a dinosaur did a long time ago. Renewal isn't just for big or medium-sized businesses. A small restaurant or auto repair shop can also benefit from it. Successful businesses want to be closer to their customers, cut down on extra costs, and invest in the future.
Step 1. One way to do this is to look at the foundation of the company you want to
What is the reason for the business? Why did it happen? It serves who. Many businesses have had to make short-term changes to their business model because of problems with Covid-19. Some of these changes have worked, while others have caused new problems. For example, when employees worked from home, I.T. departments paid more attention to connectivity and communication than to digital security.
In order to move forward, businesses should make sure their basic assumptions about their customers and their strategies to reach their goals are correct. Managerial tools like SWOT analysis and the 7-S framework by McKinsey are used.
Step 2. Check Out Operational Processes.
Companies use business processes to carry out operational strategies. These are a set of actions that are meant to achieve a goal. Over time, processes get bigger, more complicated, and redundant, which makes it take longer and costs more. Before taking action, management should look at major processes to make sure they're in line, effective, and efficient. Many companies hire independent, knowledgeable people to help with the audit to make sure that the results are fair and realistic.
Step 3. Make a List of and Prioritize Change Projects.
When there is a lot of change at a company, it can be hard to keep track of all the projects that could be done. Few businesses have enough money, resources, and expertise to work on multiple projects at the same time. Focusing on projects that have the best benefit-to-cost ratio is the best way for a company to be ready for the future. Enterprise Project Management Offices (PMO) play a big part in this, and they help a lot.
Step 4. Start Important Projects.
Delaying projects that have clear benefits could make your company less competitive. Markets move quickly, voids are quickly filled, and inefficiencies are quickly eliminated in vibrant, growing markets, whether they are delivering a product or service. Excessive caution leads to being a "also-ran."
Excessive caution leads to being a "also-ran."
Managing projects well, whether they're done in-house or outsourced, requires careful planning, the right people, and a lot of support from the top. Goals and measures must be tangible and have pre-determined milestones. This emphasizes that projects must be completed on time and on budget.
Step 5. Monitor and Change.
Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which is now DXC Technology, used to run a TV commercial about building an airplane while it was in the air. The ad accurately portrays how difficult it is to make changes in a constantly changing world. The best way to make sure a project comes to a good end is to keep an eye on how things are going and make changes to goals, practices, or deadlines as needed. In the last step of Kotter's eight-step change model, he emphasizes how important this is. This step is called "Institute change," and it's all about making sure the change is ingrained in the organization and becomes "the way we do things around here."
The last thoughts.
The appearance and impact of the coronavirus is a reminder of how quickly business changes. A company that sees an opportunity and acts on it is more likely to be a business leader in the future. Companies that get stuck in the pandemic's crosshairs may not be able to move forward.
