Envisioning the ‘new normal’
Progressive, forward-looking businesses - even those mired in the economic meltdown of Covid-19 - are already beginning to define and map out the ‘new normal’.
In the media there have been many speculations about when things will return to normal. And this sentiment is, understandably, strongly expressed in public surveys. However, the likelihood is that our lifestyles will not return to just the way they were.
Adapting the famous Peter Drucker maxim - we can now say that:
‘Crisis eats Culture for breakfast.’
In the midst of business and crisis planning - Survive - Recover - Redefine - strategists are exploring three crucial questions:
What will disappear or fade into irrelevance after the crisis phase of Covid-19?
What adaptations and new ways of living and working will continue?
What other changes will emerge beyond what is already visible?
The combined impact of these three trends will shape a ‘new normal’ - one that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
As a creative strategist, I’m living these questions for my clients (and myself), particularity in the non-profit sector. One thing is already clear - the convergence of mission and purpose between the historically distinct Charity and Corporate worlds will continue.
Companies focusing on their purpose, will look and sound even bolder than the campaigning charities of yesteryear. It has been notable just how many companies have come to the fore during this emergency phase through creative responses.
The main message from the charity sector has been about the need for money to continue BAU and avert going bust. These are legitimate concerns from within a charity leadership and governance structure. However, it is not the most compelling message.
Research from Salesforce this year gives a stark feedback message from supporters around the world:
‘Do more with less’
This means a small agile structure that is digitally automated to deliver big impact - scalable, low cost solutions.
What would charity look like if we started afresh today? This is a question I’ve been exploring for some time in response to the frustrations that the sector creates - particularly being slow, bureaucratic, and risk averse.
A friend and ex-colleague confided that at her large high-profile charity, she discovered there was a 27-person sign-off process go through on a small new product initiative. Charities can take process to extremes where it just acts like a comfort blanket. And a way of avoiding taking action and/or anything that might open up criticism. Donors and supporters would be shocked if they knew where some of their precious gifts went i.e. on Kafkaesque internal machinations.
As a result of the crisis my friend’s sign off process has reduced from twenty seven to four - at least for now. But she’s worried about what will happen once the ‘crisis’ is declared over. All organisations need to find intelligent answers to these questions (as applicable within their own situation). Otherwise we’ll be back to the original Peter Drucker quote:
‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’
