Weekend Leadership Reading: 10/16/20 What if the pandemic IS the new normal?

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Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular workdays. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles to help answer the question, “What if the pandemic IS the new normal?”

From the London Business School: What the response to Covid-19 can teach us about creativity

“Individuals, teams and organisations are finding innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the pandemic”

From CorporateIntel: 5 Key Learnings in Crisis

“Many of us are trying to decipher some level of meaning in the Covid-19 crisis. I must admit, I’m unable to find any. This is an act of nature, an act of environment. I see no message in either the depths of pain and loss this disease is causing globally, or the resulting social and economic havoc that is its byproduct. I think if you’re looking for a clear definition of existential occurrence, this is as clear as it gets.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Rob Walker: Most Post-Pandemic Predictions Will Be Wrong

“Just examine all the predictions we made during 9/11 and the Great Recession”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Bhushan Sethi and Peter Brown: Why corporate well-being initiatives need to get personal

“It’s now been several months since companies first implemented their COVID-19 crisis response initiatives. Although in many parts of the world the virus continues to present serious health and economic challenges, company leaders must balance such urgencies with the need to take a longer-term view of their company’s prospects. To better understand this dynamic, PwC recently conducted a CEO Panel Survey, asking nearly 700 CEOs how their company’s business model will change after the pandemic. Their responses spoke volumes about how the future of work is likely to evolve.”

From Richard Florida: The Uncertain Future of Corporate HQs

“The Covid-19 pandemic has seen tens of millions of Americans engage in a gigantic experiment in working from home — one that looks to be more permanent than anyone might have imagined. Corporation after corporation has announced that they won’t be reopening their offices until mid-2021, at least. Some commentators are even predicting the death of the office and the end of cities.”

From Sean Silverthorne: 18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID’s Rising Waters

“Since March, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge has posted more than 80 stories and research papers on the topic of COVID-19, most targeted at managers and the new challenges they face. That’s a lot of information to digest. To that end, we went tip hunting to bring to you top ideas for managing through the pandemic. The topics: people and personal management, strategy, marketing, and organizational design.”

From McKinsey & Company: The postpandemic workforce: Responses to a McKinsey global survey of 800 executives

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to our working lives in the short term, and is likely to change the way that we work in the long term. To understand these changes, McKinsey commissioned a survey of business executives around the world in June 2020. The results suggest that the crisis may accelerate some workforce trends already underway, such as the adoption of automation and digitization, increased demand for contractors and gig workers, and more remote work. Those changes in turn will create greater demand for workers to fill jobs in areas like health and hygiene, cybersecurity, and data analytics.”

From Dennis Carey, Ram Charan and Tierney Remick: CEO Shift: How CEOs Are Using Crisis To Pivot To A Better Future

“Here are the 5 big shifts-CEOs must make immediately to ensure a brighter future. Otherwise they are putting their company, their employees, their customers, and yes– themselves–at risk. That, we suggest, is the only thing we do know.”

From The Economist: The world economy – The peril and the promise | Special report

“The covid-19 pandemic will accelerate change in the world economy. That brings both opportunity and danger, says Henry Curr”

From Bain and Company: The “New Normal” Is a Myth. The Future Won’t Be Normal at All

“Industry leaders in the next wave will use each advance to move toward a new future, not back to an old and outdated idea of ‘normal.’ The lessons of the past few months are as valuable as they were painful. Now is the time to turn them into the business and operating models of the future.”

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