Global Business And The Failure Of Imagination

June 14, 2021 Christian Salafia

If there’s anything the last 18 months of the Covid pandemic has taught us, it’s that many, many businesses around the world did not have a robust Risk Management culture. While nobody could have predicted the extent of the pandemic, it became clear within the first 2-3 weeks that the foundation of the global economic system itself was built on sand. In many cases, a two week disruption was enough to have a tremendous financial impact on businesses around the world.

Now, 18 months later, things are beginning to return to “normal”…but should they?

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

When it became apparent that it was going to be more than “two weeks to flatten the curve”, businesses began to divide into two major categories:

Those that developed a “gloom and doom” outlook and began shedding employees.
Those that adapted and changed to the new global environment.

Those that took Option 1 represent the ‘old school’ way of doing business. A way that utilizes layoffs as a way to compensate for a refusal to adapt.

Those that took Option 2 typically found success or, at a minimum, were able to keep operating because they adapted to the new environment. Whether is was remote working, changing from a brick and mortar to an online business, or even diving into new niches and markets, these businesses were able to see the landscape, evaluate the risks, and implement changes. They learned that:

Employees are more productive when the work-life balance stress is lessened.
Employees are happier being able to work remotely.
They could save operating costs in reductions of infrastructure spending (buildings, utilities, etc.).
Consumers responded more favorably to businesses that adapted to keep staff than those who cut staff at the first sign of trouble.

In many cases, the businesses that were able to adapt found greater success because circumstances forced them to change. Yet now, as things are improving globally, there’s a growing sentiment that it’s time for businesses to return to “normal”.

The Temptation Of “Normal”

The idea of returning to “normal” is a failure of imagination. It’s abundantly clear that the way things were operating before were either fragile or completely unnecessary.

But…”normal” is comfortable, it’s familiar, and for many in management “the way we’ve always done it”. But as we’ve seen over the last 18 months, “normal” was simply a mirage, a house of cards that could be knocked down with even the most minor disruption. Yet even now, after all the world has been through, the drive to return to “normal” by many larger companies is much stronger than the drive to change.

Change is scary because it involves uncertainty and risk, and sometimes when risks are taken they don’t work out. Businesses tend to be risk averse as they see only the negative connotation of risks. In the ISO 31000 standard, however, risk (the effect of uncertainty on objectives) has both a positive and negative connotation.

The fear and hesitancy can be minimized for businesses that have robust Risk Management and Change Management cultures.

A proper Risk Management culture of understanding and assessing the risks of returning to “normal” versus adapting and changing can show businesses how they need to change in order to stay relevant. Risk Management can address both the threats and opportunities both in taking action and in taking no action.

A proper Change Management process can ensure those changes are minimally disruptive, supported by management and staff alike, and are more likely to be successful and permanent.

In a post-pandemic world, business that can identify, assess, evaluate, and implement changes to strengthen their operations are those that will stand out as leaders in their industry.

Is your business ready to stand out?