Now more than ever I think of strategy not only in regard to organizations but in terms of how people navigate the world and their lives. I consider myself to have always been a strategic thinker, even with the most mundane tasks or activities. That tendency is what led me to pursue a bachelors in Decision Science. As the entire world faces the new challenges of COVID-19 – the vast majority of people have begun to view their daily activities through a more strategic lens. Routine activities such as grocery shopping and medication refills have not only begun to demand a strategic approach from the average individual but have demanded the acceptance of uncertainty as well. Everyday households are trying to plan, anticipate, and prepare for the future just as companies are, albeit on a smaller scale. This week’s readings led me to further consider the parallels between how organizations and individuals are, and reacting to, shifting strategies.
Mckinsey’s article, The Global Forces Inspiring a New Narrative of Progress, highlights how resource constraints have transformed traditional business models: “they will generate new ideas—creating less resource-intensive processes, turning waste into raw materials, and building a more circular economy”. The impacts of COVID-19 have forced households to change their own way of doings things. While the impacts of COVID-19 are too recent to allow for a meaningful study of these changes, consumer research from EY Future Consumer Index does show a 72% spending decrease on clothing and a 36% increase on groceries.[1] Further research form Accenture shows a rise in ‘conscious consumption’ in which “consumers are more mindful of what they’re buying…striving to limit food waste, shop more cost consciously and buy more sustainable options”.[2]
As families now face an increased strain on both material and financial resources, I am curious to see how a household ‘business model’ will change. From my experience and that of those around me, it appears that we have learned to do more with less. For example, a family kitchen table now serves as a shared office space and elementary school desk, broken furniture, appliances, and clothes, are being repaired or repurposed rather than replaced. Delayed shipping times from online orders lead to DIY solutions and anticipating future needs.
Now more than ever, flexibility is the key component for a winning strategy. Companies, households, and individuals alike will find the greatest success by being flexible about their methods as their aim to achieve their goals. Yet, we are seeing companies and individuals becoming (or remaining) entrenched in their way of doing things, despite the potentially grave consequences. Some people are determined to resume ‘life as normal’ and have returned to their same way of doing things such as visiting crowded beaches on holiday weekends, going on annual vacations, or shopping and dining in small indoor spaces, all without the proper personal protective wear. Some, although not a large portion, of businesses have resumed business as normal as well by maintaining their same way of doings things from the pre-global pandemic world. The reasons for this require greater introspection, but a small part of it may just be a continuing reliance on intuition and past experience. Mckinsey’s article The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends concludes that “in the new world, executives, policy makers, and individuals all need to scrutinize their intuitions from first principles and boldly reset them if necessary. This is especially true for organizations that have enjoyed great success”. This is true now more than ever and has even greater implications for household and individual decision-making.
, highlights the unprecedented speed and level of impact technology has had on our local and global economies.
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