Comments: Priorities for Post-COVID Business

Insights about businesses’ priorities are often gleaned from surveys and studies of CEOs and executives. Today, keeping your finger on the pulse of change requires diligence. Not that long ago, tuning into an annual report provided an indicator of a company’s plans for the next year and some years ahead. That won’t cut it anymore. In a September report, McKinsey & Company highlighted “priorities for CEOs in the next normal” based on surveys and studies. In general, the results were not surprising, but a deeper look into the “5 priorities” listed below showed the complexity and significant changes that leaders and all personnel must tackle. It’s a full plate for anyone … and for all of us. 1. The embedding of sustainability in corporate strategy - is required to achieve an organization-wide focus. McKinsey advises to design the work according to specific sustainability topics instead of an overall view. Focus on each topic the company is prioritizing (e.g., hydrogen, decarbonization). Three models were identified: 1. Develop a large central team with few business-unit resources. The central team maintains decision rights and coordinates with individual business units, 2. A lean central team holds decision rights and works with many business-unit resources, and 3. A central team deploys agile teams to business units. 2. Capturing the power of the cloud - requires funding to support the investments needed and to put HR and compensation in place to attract and retain the talent. The oil and gas industry was rated No. 2 behind high tech in terms of gaining value from the cloud: EBITA ranging from $80 to $160 billion. 3. Developing talent - relies on HR leaders, who identified agility, mapping talent to value, and simplifying the organization as top priorities. A more flexible and responsive model will help meet the demographic shift to millennials becoming the dominant group in the workforce. 4. The faster speed of change - seen during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic must now be maintained. When businesses’ backs were up against the walls, rapid shifts to remote work and faster decision making led to success in dealing with the disruption for many. To remain resilient, businesses should maintain this sped-up approach, shedding “business as usual” for good. 5. People seeking meaning in their lives and work - refers to stakeholders, be it society, shareholders, or employees. The most recent Edelman Trust Barometer (January 2020, pre-COVID) included a survey of 34,000 people, of which 56% believed that capitalism was doing more harm than good globally, with majorities in 22 of the 28 markets surveyed. Business leaders should demonstrate that they see their mission as serving not only shareholders but also customers, suppliers, workers, and communities. You’ve seen similar lists in various forms, but mindfully applying them to your own work is where the value lies, and it contributes to the technical and business advances because we are all stakeholders as individuals and workers. Moving forward requires leaders, but without our commitment, the progress lags or stalls out.