A lot of commentators have talked about "rebooting" of business after Covid-19. This Forbes article talks about the "if, how and when" of "rebooting" - all sensible points. I would add a few additional observations around what companies should be doing in the interim. The tech-centric "reboot" metaphor is even more apt than it first appears. A "reboot", derived from "bootstrap process", a command sequence that starts up your PC, it originates from the phrase to "pick oneself up by the bootstraps", meaning "to accomplish something difficult without any external support". And this is closer to what businesses are facing: the timing sequence of restart is not necessarily obvious and external guidance or support is likely to be inconsistent and unreliable.
In the US there has been considerable debate between State and Federal government about when and how to re-open for business, and who has the authority to set the roadmap. In Europe, the European Commission has published an EU roadmap to lifting Covid-19 containment measures, but there has been relatively little co-ordinated action or clarity of purpose across Europe thus far. In the UK, the Opposition has been calling on the Government to produce a roadmap. The Government has so far resisted. One thing is clear: it will be some time before there is any clear guidance on timing and phasing of a return to normality across different sectors and countries. Whatever the timing of the "reboot", it will likely be phased and may well be different across industries and countries.
In the interim business leaders need to make use of the time to plan their own "reboot roadmap", so they are ready when governments finally provide a clear steer on which businesses can reopen and when. Here are a few important considerations
- Any roadmap will need to consider a number of scenarios for the timing and phasing of the reboot, including pessimistic but realistic ones. This is no time for wishful thinking: it is not inconceivable that there could be future outbreaks and returns to lockdown that will further delay the return of activity to pre-Covid-19 levels.
- Importantly, businesses will need to be on top of the intelligence and data that drives the assumptions behind detailed scenario planning: regional infection rates, development of treatments and vaccines etc. Experience to date has shown that reliance on government briefings will not be enough
- Commercial creativity will be important in the earlier days of a reboot. B2B and B2C customers are coming back from a hugely disruptive experience and flexibility will be appreciated if it can be provided
- Protection of personnel through the reboot will be absolutely essential: national health systems could risk overload and private health provision will still be patchy. The protection of people through effective provision of business-adapted social distancing practices and personal protective equipment is a prerequisite. Today's enforced remote working practices may become the long-term norm even after exiting lockdown.