THE NEW NORMAL
EMBRACING THE
NEW NORMAL
BY: ANDY BUYTING
Now that we’re coming out of the COVID-19 crisis and the economy is
starting to return to some sense of normalcy (depending on where you
live), hopefully business will be back in full swing before we know it.
In the meantime, there’s a lot of talk about what the new normal is and
what it means for business. You’ve heard peers refer to it, but what does
“new normal” actually mean? Essentially, we look at this new economic
phase as anything that will be changed permanently as a result of COVID.
It’s an interesting question to explore. When we look at our own
businesses, it seems to come down to where your industry is going and
how you can accommodate that in a way that ensures your business stays
afloat. We need to ask ourselves: Where is my industry going? How are
your customers, employees, products, and services going to change? What
is going to be that new normal for you?
The “new normal” is a relative term and it’s been used—perhaps
overused—a lot recently. McKinsey & Company had an article come out
not too long ago that refers to this new period as the “next” normal. I
found this interesting because it really is another round of evolution for
the way the world operates economically and as a whole.
In my work as a certified Scaling Up coach with an invested interest as a
shareholder and the face of Tulip Media, I work with a diverse collection of
companies. This recession has led to several dynamic conversations with
some of my larger clients. One topic of discussion that has come up
repeatedly is that every recession in our history has had a lasting effect on
society.
You look at the dot-com bust, which permanently changed the way tech
companies operate. No longer is it acceptable to just raise a bunch of cash
and operate with no margins. From that point on, the bubble was burst
and there was a greater emphasis on the importance of producing a profit.
Ever since 9/11 and the events of 2001, airline travel has never been the
same.
The recession of 2008 and 2009 had a lasting impact on banking. Sure,
banks still take risks, but not like they did back then. This recession had a
permanent effect on this one small area of the economy.
So, what is going to be the permanent effect of this crisis and the pending
recession that we are going into now? It’s inevitable that COVID will
devolve into a recession over time. In fact, for all intents and purposes, it
already has, and it’s going to take a while to dig ourselves out of this.
As we moved through the crisis and the lockdowns that ensued, many
politicians and business leaders had you believe the economy was going to
experience a mere three-month disruption and would then quickly bounce
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