There’s Opportunity In The COVID Era. If You Act Fast.

McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm, has called it “The Great Acceleration.” COVID-19 has intensified the pace of change and the advancement of already-existing trends. And, like an earthquake, it has widened the fissure separating the old reality from the new.

In their July 2020 article titled “The great acceleration,” McKinsey noted that with the current pace of change, “the quarter is the new year and the fastest will win.” What seemed impossible before is happening now in a matter of weeks.

Companies with resilient, future-ready business models have pulled further away from their industry peers while those with legacy business models have fallen further behind, McKinsey wrote. The key to being on the right side of the divide is your team’s ability to read the trends and move quickly to adapt.

In our June 30, 2020 blog post entitled “Even in a pandemic, keep your eye on the prize,” we stated that:

“The best CEOs and leadership teams need to not only be smart and decisive to survive the near-term but must also be appropriately focused on refining and evolving their longer-term, strategic focus. It’s a time to be even more humble and honest as you look both inside and outside of your organization. Step out of your comfort zone – and above the fray of the moment – and openly assess the unknowns of the future.”

To do so, we advised teams to spend a minimum of 10-20% of their time evaluating relevant trends (“strategic sensing”) and to immediately adapt their strategy and resulting operating plan accordingly (“future back analysis”). This may have seemed impossible at the time when mere survival was enough of a challenge for most. However, as the economic impact of the pandemic continues to unfold, the aligned, bold and agile team will emerge the winners.

We underscore that time is of the essence. Waiting for more clarity will come at a very high cost. Now is the time to leverage your strengths – aggressively reallocate resources to your best opportunities – and be bold and decisive in letting go of what isn’t working. Take action now.

At Catapult, we know that defining what success means for your organization is more critical than ever before. While it’s imperative to have clarity around the opportunities that will be presented by emerging trends and the accelerated pace of change, the difficult part is determining how to engage your team and implement your plan.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Catapult can partner with you, your team and your board to develop a plan that will enable your organization to win – and emerge aligned, focused and thriving – contact us today at info@catapultsuccess.com or call us at 1-716-256-1550.

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