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There is no return to normal!
I met an old friend and asked how his business was doing. He replied that it had improved but was far from pre-COVID days. He added that he has mortgaged his house and is hanging on as he believes it will only be a matter of time before things go back to normal.
As Singapore and the rest of the world begin to live with the pandemic, I worry for businesses who are expecting a return to the pre-COVID “normal.”
The rapid adoption of digitalization solutions has fundamentally transformed the world, and businesses that are not pivoting to the new normal will find themselves irrelevant.
A simple example would be F&B outlets in our CBD that rely on the lunch crowd. While business has picked up with the end of the circuit breaker, remote work has become mainstream. The total number of employees returning to the office has fallen and will continue to fall as companies adapt to employee preferences to work from home.
The impact of the pandemic is far deeper than a health crisis. The pandemic has changed the way we work, live, and play. Businesses need to recognize this change and update their USPs or face Chapter 11.
I urged my friend to consider the possibility that there is no return to normal and to pivot his business while he was still in the position to do so. Being old school, I fear that my advice has fallen on deaf ears. I hope I am wrong but, in this instance, I doubt that I am.
