The guidance for companies is simple: be clear about your own vision and values, then operate your business in line with them. And don’t be afraid to experiment and adapt because I’d bet big on today’s answer not being the best one for the long term. Some years ago now we adopted the four day week and hybrid working, and we’ve made several changes to how we operate these approaches over the last three years. All, I hope, for the better for our team, our work and our clients. Be prepared to adjust as you go.
Part 2: new opportunities in changing behaviours
In many ways, for me, the most interesting aspect of the post-pandemic phase is how we can capitalise on the ways that individuals have changed their attitudes and behaviours. There are a whole host of things that people value more now than they did two years ago and there are many previously entrenched behaviours that have been altered.
Think about some of the adaptations that we’ve all made. It’s now normal (and better in many cases) to consult with a GP via a video call. Our homes have been reformed to provide dedicated places to work. We can now assume anyone can conduct a business meeting remotely. Almost everyone has tested themselves for a disease at home… these are a handful of hundreds of alterations in attitudes and behaviours, and each will have numerous consequential impacts that are as yet unknown. These impacts will ripple through attitudes to almost every aspect of life for many years to come.
That behavioural fluidity is a massive opportunity. We have known for many years that the greatest and most disruptive leaps in innovation come not from solving a problem but from enabling a new behaviour; spotting an opportunity to do something instead, rather than better.
There has possibly never been a period with more potential here than the next few years. While everyone figures out what really matters to them, and begins to shape the products and services they consume around those choices (and their new attitudes), there is a greater opportunity to inject new behaviours into their lives than ever before. Whether for work or for personal life, I’d argue that we’re entering a golden phase for innovation: a whole new generation of ‘essentials’ are going to emerge and companies that understand how to capitalise on this now are going to give themselves a huge advantage.
Those that carry on as they were in what is potentially a Wild West for innovation are going to miss out. Bold near-future thinking, built on a mindset of invention, is needed to unlock this potential. We are all more open to new things than ever, both consciously where we seek out change and unconsciously where we are simply more receptive to conducting aspects of our lives in new and better ways.
Part 3: Key takeaways
Let’s sum this up simply: leaders need to get their teams in the right mindset and enable the right types of behaviours if they want to capitalise on the opportunities emerging from the pandemic. Personally I believe that a mix of high-intensity, rich-input, in-person time mixed with quiet thinking and doing time is the basic formula for doing great work. The exact mix of that formula depends on the company, the team it hosts, and the domain it operates in. I’m certain that insularity is bad for creativity and equally sure that the traditional five-day, nine-to-five office-based routine is as destructive.
Make no mistake, there are some critical times ahead for many companies. Harness these changes effectively and you’ll flourish, both as a place to work and in the propositions you present to customers. Forget about getting ‘back to normal’ in any sense, and grab the opportunity to invent new, meaningful behaviours for a world full of customers ready for new, meaningful things to do.
