Unsurprising Surprises In The Post-Pandemic Paradigm

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses around the globe have learned hard lessons about the economy, the nature of work, and about the 7.6 billion people we share the planet with.

Many of these lessons won’t come as real surprises. Some are just things we haven’t had a chance to test with empirical experience and real-time feedback. Here are six “unsurprising surprises.” (Think of them as “owl legs” – which I’ll explain in a moment.)

1. Undesignated Drivers

The real drivers of business decisions always boil down to the same old familiar KPIs: increasing revenues and profits, cutting costs, or generating shareholder value (which are often just three sides of the same coin). Or maybe not? When things change quickly, other drivers may be the real forces at play. It’s time to fully factor these into our decision making:

• Risk mitigation
• Occupational health and safety
• Employee engagement
• Situational awareness
• Timely and decisive responsiveness

If this language sounds more military than corporate, that’s not just a coincidence; it’s the nature of responding to the unexpected.