A classic story line, only we've been watching the COVID-19 story unfold in front of our very eyes. From my perspective the good news is that we aren't merely passive observers to this particular story, we each get to influence a little (some a lot) of what is happening now and what happens next. And we must grab hold of this, as sometimes compelling events of this magnitude can overwhelm us.
This particular event (or black swan - albeit one that had been partially predicted) is at times unbelievable. The enormity of it sometimes catches me by surprise. The numbers, the amount of people impacted by various conditions and constraints and the sheer global scale are all really hard to comprehend. And it now feels odd as we relax guidelines in the UK and social distancing is all but forgotten in a heartbeat, whilst knowing that it hasn't in fact gone anywhere. Added to this is also the choices being made around us, not all of which seem sensible, or in the best interests of humanity. And these decisions do act on us and impact our lives, sometimes horrifically.
The enormity of it sometimes catches me by surprise from time to time.
However, whilst it is an incredibly hard time, now economically as well, it is in my nature to be annoyingly optimisitc. In the first instance it wasn't straight-forward for me, as I am sure it wasn't for a lot of you. Governments and organisations in the beginning seemed to be acting extraordinarily slow, information was poor and coming in from all corners of the web in memes and unqualified news articles, before it came from governments and health institutions (some of this continues for us in the UK). Perhaps this just highlights how unprecedented this is, and, lets be honest, how poor some of these institutions really are - nothing like a crisis to reveal your weaknesses! So, I had to process this. And I and my team did some of this by rallying around what we could do to help our clients and in turn their customers and employees. And I was lucky that I had your archetype project lead in my team with Nancy Roberts and our great colleague Scott Brown leading strategically to make this all work. This then lead to more critical thinking and more structured thoughts - and eventually some foresight and future planning. A process I suspect a lot of us have gone through.
At a certain point (12 weeks back) I started talking to people like Adam Freeman and David Cushman about the need to not only look at the "rescue" phase we were in, but also to look forward, and certainly not to talk about "going back". Despite the horrifc nature of COVID-19, and how genuinely scared it makes me at times, we have to draw out the positives and plot a way forward from here. For me there is a series of steps corporations are going to go through, and a series of things we will start to focus on to help them through it (phraseology in the step titles is also thanks to our colleagues in the Leading Edge Forum).
Step 1: The beginning - managing the shock
Rescue: for many this has been characterised as managing risk and regaining operations in the new ways, bringing in new services and growing services where necessary to meet the changing demands being placed on us. This will all continue for some time. Gartner talk about the need to keep coming back to this phase as lockdowns re-emerge - I am not so sure. I think it will and should continue as a focus ongoing and organisations should act like that restriction is in place wherever possible; with other after-shocks coming fast and preparations for those needing additional bandwidth. Even if the risk of infection is reduced, and only theoretically until vaccines are at scale or herd immunity is possible (and 70%+ is the guideline levels of anti-bodies), this phase will still need to be managed for some time ahead. And businesses need to continue to improve and sharpen their initial approaches to things like..
Remote working now moving to virtual working: A new focus is needed on how people genuinely operate their daily lives, the job itself, the coffee chat, team lunches, general open informal behaviour etc. For some businesses their services to employees and out to clients will need to be truly virtualised. Early on we did this with our workshop methodologies (SPACES) and created a Virtual Innovation Centre - this needs to continue to evolve as we learn increasing amounts about how these can be optimised. And there are many more examples like this as we continue forward from here.
Ensure employee safety in the workplace: A top priority has been to strictly control access to the workplace, in accordance with national regulations. This has meant implementing measures such as checking employees’ temperature at the entrance of buildings and other innovative methods. Some categories of employees have shown that they can do almost all their work remotely, and are likely to continue doing so without any significant impact on their activity. This will keep them safe. For others this isn't so clear, and we will need to continue to evolve the approach and learn fast, and work on sensible behaviours.
Managing risk, reporting and compliance: As we continue to get to grips with changes to forced or recommended conditions and, for example, "stay at home" moved to "stay alert" - so does the way in which we approach & manage risk, reporting and compliance. Small aspects of workplace technologies were adopted at first, some of these were incredibly focused and related to the initial conditions imposed. Now these need to expand and adapt to meet the changing nature of the workforce and environmental conditions. Also, to ensure their full benefit is realised as well.
Step 2: The middle - adapt the organisation
Revitalise: We are now facing a likely recession (assuming the bounce back theory is dead), and a huge amount of unknowns will lead to a great deal of understandable caution. Discretionary spend will be down, and ways in which companies can reduce capital burden (up front) and reduce their costs will be high on the agenda. In year (sometimes in quarter) ROI will be mandatory, and this will bring value first models into sharp focus. Businesses will continue their journey to digital, and for some this will rapidly accelerate. Here's some predictions:
Value focus: There will be a need to demonstrate ROI in-year or sooner. This will bring about an even greater focus on how companies look to identify and generate value. This should in turn bring about more iterative models, where they are yet to be adopted. For example, SMART manufacturing or water will be more often adopted value product by value product instead of in the traditional big chunks of: analysis > IOT: instrument the networks and/or assets > data extraction into insights and then change the performance models (a lot before any value is realised). Instead a value product might be to simply perform a series of tasks better using technology and data driven insights, such as identify maintenance or fault issues and being clear about how and who will fix it. Deliver that and then move to the next value product as viability permits. And this will also apply to things like cloud enablement / migration, clearer focus will be given to where value can be generated fast with relatively low impact. Etc.
Adapting fast: Solutions that allow businesses to adapt quickly to unlock value will be a key focus area. We are already seeing a higher demand for aaS solutions in the marketplace, and this is likely to continue. Daniel Hawthorne and other DXC colleagues launched DXC's CBaaS, helping banks transform or simply (and importantly) get new product out to market fast. This sort of rapid enablement is also in the spirit of true transformation to look at build, buy or partner options far more closely, and adopt the right ecosystem approach accordingly.
Digitising everything: On the way to the next step of an "anti-fragile" business it is clear that some need to react to the potential of digitising things now that have perhaps been on the list for some time (often with high value potential). Things like insurers fully digitising / automating claims process (even where physical assessment is required today), through to simply processing data extraction from documents and paper into the machine and so on. All the way through to fully digitised product and/or eCommerce models, reducing reliance on physical channels, but also making the logistics and capability of an organisation far more streamlined, increasing availability and improving customer experiences (and relationships).
Understanding the new - "human" telemetry: As we move into the new ways of working, and organisations look to sustain the benefits we will need to understand our people differently. Some have seen huge "productivity" improvements overall, this is good, but few truly know why, to what cost and if this is sustainable (mental health, general wellness and so on). Following virtualising working for a lot of functions we now need better ways in which we understand performance, and in a greater 'human' context. What was perhaps gained from eyeball or direct contact will now need to be understood in a different context.
Greater responsibility - This is perhaps a more hopeful than forecasted prediction. I think we've all seen a huge increase in consciousness among colleagues, clients, friends and family. Not just around what's really important, but also in addressing some of the bigger issues facing humanity. One of the agenda items which has huge value potential for planet, people and profits is sustainability. And we are seeing organisations take an even greater focus on things like energy management, decarbonisation and behaviour lead impact. This will continue to be a key area of transformation, but some of the foundations are starting to be laid now.
Step 3: The end - transform the organisation
Reimagine: The anti-fragile business!
For some time now I've been harping on about the need to stop thinking in "internet build out" terms, and to start mapping transformation clearly to new value. Ensuring that the strategy or strategic imperatives of your business are supported and can be understood by insight and that the success criteria matching this is super clear. I've also matched this focus with looking at and engineering innovation as a working model, rather than simply a low funded sideline exercise, devoid of strategic intention. Instead creating one either matched by the R&D capability of prior pioneering organisations or better still the basis for all change. We are now faced with an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally change everything, the new technologies will help unlock this, but developing a new working model driven to create new value is absolutely critical to success.
We are now faced with an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally change everything, the new technologies will help unlock this, but developing a new working model driven to create new value is absolutely critical to success.
For me the main transformation drivers have still not changed. Businesses will look to be more responsive (to competitive, customer and planet drivers), more responsible (diversity, sustainability, community etc.) and more resilient. This last driver may now have an increased focus, but actually all three of these are complimentary and combined make up true transformation.
Despite everything that is being faced now, plotting a path through, so that the efforts made help shape a successful future, is even more critical. Those that look at cost cutting and risk in the old models will come out weaker, or worse they will cease to exist. Pure economic imperatives will not succeed - a proper strategy is needed!
Thanks to: Duncan Alexander, Simon Body, Scott Brown, Jean Crisp and Roderick Morgan.
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