FIB Trend Report 107- Post Covid-19

In our ever accelerating times, keeping ahead of the latest breaking news and trends from the world’s of fashion, music, film, art, tech, activism, is a time consuming daily challenge. Sure the information is all out there, but it is a time consuming ordeal to scan all the necessary sources. As Darwin said survival depends on how quickly you can adapt.

The future belongs to those who prepare today.

In this PODCAST #107 I want to discuss change in the age of Covid-19.

The Covid-19 crisis has changed things,  and I believe that now is the time to be looking at oneself to see what personal change you can make. We are living in the age of Covid-19, and depending how you view things it can either be a blessing or a curse. Or maybe it can be both.

And during this Lockdown period we have more free time on our hands than before, so one can either waste this time on negative thoughts or actions, or one can try and use the time for a positive purpose.  It all comes down to a simple choice really.

It reminds me of that famous scene from The Shawshank Redemption, starring Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding and Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne.

 

Andy: Whatever mistakes I made I paid for them and then some. That hotel, that boat, I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Red: I don’t think you got to be doing this to yourself, Andy. It’s just shitty pipe dreams. I mean, Mexico is way the hell down there, and you’re in here, and that’s the way it is.

Andy: Yeah. Right. That’s the way it is. It’s down there and I’m in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying.”I guess it comes down to a simple choice really…”

Whatever you make think, COVID-19 is a deadly serious global pandemic, and all necessary precautions should be taken. Still, C. S. Lewis’s words—written 72 years ago—ring with some relevance for me. Just replace “atomic bomb” with “coronavirus.”

“ In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anaesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

— CS Lewis “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948) in Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays

The world isn’t changing… it’s CHANGED.  So the $64 question now is, are you able to change with it?

And how FAST can you re-invent who you are and what you do?

Throughout history periods of great change have created great opportunities. This happens because the status quo or established order of things is up ended, and it’s in times like these that the underdog advantage really become a powerful thing. The way things used to be done, will need reinvention.

If you’re in the small percentile of individuals and companies that benefited from this shift in consumer behaviour, then you just need to handle growth

But if not, then you really need to FIGURE OUT HOW TO RE-INVENT WHAT YOU DO to stay relevant in this new world.

Some of you who know me will recall my mantra and one of my sayings is;

“The only sustainable competitive advantage is the ability to learn faster than everyone else. And that if you don’t like the idea of personal reinvention, you may like the idea of irrelevance even less”

But now that ability to learn/relearn/reinvent ones self has taken on an all new level of urgency.

Make no mistake…

This is HARD.

A lot of individuals and companies aren’t going to make it…Imagine all the marginal businesses, those ones who were barely hanging on before the crisis.

Many of the brands and businesses that do survive will be a fraction of the size they were before COVID-19 hit.

But there will be some (maybe even a lot) that can reinvent  themselves fast enough and set themselves up for the next decade of growth.

Look at the miracle of post War Japan. Out of the spectre of the atomic bomb and war devastation, from the poverty and starvation came a renaissance of industry and creativity the world had never seen. Necessity is really the mother of invention.

And I am betting that the Covid-19 disaster will create a similar circumstance.

For some it may be the realisation that a spiritual journey of co-operation and service may replace the obsession to dollars and consumerism.

Some may go even harder in the quest for accumulation and enrichment. And try and seek out new market opportunities.

Whatever it is, things will change.

I think at the core of all of this issue is a re-evaluation of one’s values. What remains truly worthwhile.

Here are some questions that I suggest people and also businesses ask themselves to figure out how to adapt to this new world:

“How will we do what we’re doing in a post Covid-19 world?”

“How are we going to change to get through this?”

“What could we be? How will we bring our message to people in a different way?”

Here’s what some of our FIB Writing Team had to say:

 

1. What’s OUT, and not coming back? 

Small businesses that had barely started or were already unsuccessful, and the people who lost their lives to coronavirus.
– Alan De Rossi.

I think businesses and companies that haven’t found a way to optimise – for example, going online – will largely be left behind. I wouldn’t be surprised if this period was the final nail in the coffin for retail. I think that, from now on, people will always choose the easiest, most convenient option in terms of how they do things – not just shopping for consumer goods, but even essentials, groceries, etc.
– Zoe Dela Plana

I feel like old structures of society, social and economic differences, possible class structures. Old world thinking and ideas. The way people look at themselves.
– Gabriel Gouveia

If anything, this virus has shown us how worthless oil really is as a commodity. The world is already shifting towards renewable energy solutions and with oil dropping below zero today it is only a matter of time before it becomes an old recourse.
– Grace Llewellyn

2. What’s IN?

Individuals, and companies, who are able to reinvent themselves and adapt to this situation and figure out how to stay relevant. Many will find the lockdown to be a blessing in disguise. This mindset could be beneficial to their success post-Covid-19.
– Alan De Rossi.

In the last few months, we’ve really seen an emphasis on taking care of yourself and the self-care/wellness industry has boomed since this all started. Exercise and self-care has not only become a lot more accessible, but a lot of people have started incorporating it into their daily routine. I think even the notion of ‘taking time to care for yourself’ will shape a lot of people’s routines post-COVID.
– Zoe Dela Plana

Collaboration, multi-platforms, use of technology, possibly more manufacturing of essential items. Looking at things from a global perspective while still looking domestically. Re-invention of one’s self, expansion of knowledge.
– Gabriel Gouveia

The idea of what an essential service is has drastically changed due to coronavirus. Low skilled workers such as supermarket attendants are now in high demand and are some of the labour force at the backbone of the crisis. Similarly the importance of health professionals like nurses, who are known to be overworked and underpaid is now more understood. Food delivery is a booming industry as is streaming sights.
– Grace Llewellyn

 

3. Do you have any predictions? 

I predict that while many companies will be negatively impacted, many large industries (particularly the entertainment industry) will be more resilient and will be able to create successful strategies for regrowth. There will likely be an all-time high demand from consumers post-Covid-19, which large industries will capitalise on.
– Alan De Rossi.

I think more events will be ‘ritualised’ and people will stop doing novel, unimportant stuff – for example, maybe we’d see less people just grabbing lunch on the way home from the shops, and more people having dinner out with a group of friends. I read an article about life in Wuhan post-lockdown the other day, and although their population is free to dine out and restaurants are open again, customers aren’t visiting restaurants. Although this could just be attributed to precaution, I think post-COVID, people will really start evaluating what’s important to them and what they should spend their time on.
– Zoe Dela Plana.

Re-invention of society as a whole. New business, new ways of working and collaboration. A possible new age of manufacturing and development. Possibly like what happened with the atomic bomb a new age of manufacturing.
– Gabriel Gouveia

I predict that people will continue to hang out and play games/Netflix watch party over zoom after the crisis is over- because you get to hang out with your friends from the comfort of your bed.
– Grace Llewellyn

 

4. How do you think life post-Covid-19 will change? 

I think once coronavirus blows over, things will slowly go back to normal. It will take time for businesses to recover, but many individuals will have better judgement of the potential repercussions of any action they might take part in. There will most likely be a rise in productivity to come back from the impact of the virus, and perhaps a better sense of unity.
– Alan De Rossi.

I think we will be more connected, digitally more than ever. But still connected. Life will forever be different, the way society is shaped, the way we travel and interact.This will have both positive and negative aspects, which we are already seeing now.
– Gabriel Gouveia

I think life will go back to normal for the most part. I would like to say that we as humans will have a greater sense of collective community and hygiene, but I think human memory is short and the sentiments we share today will not last. I hope that government intervention will scale back to its normal role and we will continue to function as a democracy, but I worry that the government will use the controls they have employed in this crisis to continue to exploit the Australian people.
– Grace Llewellyn

FIB TREND REPORTS:

Charles Darwin said “It Is Not the Strongest of the Species that Survives But those Fastest to Adapt.”

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