FOCUS TOPIC
WHEN A CRISIS BECOMES A CATALYST FOR CHANGE “You are an explorer, and you represent our species and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.” - Terence McKenna Dora Naydenova Local Group Sofia
Living in a crisis is quite stressful because it
A crisis demands movement and change – the
affects all aspects of our lives, personal and
complexity of generating an idea, decision making
professional. On the professional side, how the
and implementation all increase dramatically.
companies interact with customers, what kind of
This mindset became the main part of the new
goods and services they decide to purchase and
“COVID-19 strategy” of the company I am working
how the companies deliver them is affected. This
for: we quickly started experimenting with the
ultimately leads to a big change in how companies
new ideas, in order to fail, to learn and the most
do their business. At a first glance it is pernicious,
important - to move forward: to innovate. As a
but when you think about it better…
company which provides productivity solutions for the offices, we turned our company message
Someone once told me that the best area for
to the new normal - the home office. Also, we
innovations is the one which has a lot of problems.
were providing different discounts and variations
The crisis creates significant new opportunities
of our products every week. As the crisis was
for growth and this varies between industries.
expanding rapidly and each organization started
During the
lockdown, many companies that
promoting their solutions more and more through
sell physical goods were facing a big threat of
traditional forms - newsletters and advertising, we
bankruptcy since interactions with customers
have decided to start webinars where the guests
were extremely limited, or completely stopped.
were our customers. We were discussing how the
Either way, some of them saw this bankruptcy
working process is changing when we all are at
threat as an opportunity for innovations. The
home, how they use our products and if they find
point is not in developing something totally new
them useful. This strategy built more trust in us
and unique, it is in adapting an existing product
because we were there for them, talking, sharing
or technology to the new standards which will
knowledge and ideas.
boost the business.
Let’s talk in numbers now:
The COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity that few feel equipped to pursue. Although most executives agree that innovating the business will be critical...
...few feel equipped to face the challenge.
90%
85%
21%
2/3
believe that the COVID-19 crisis will fundamentally change the way they do business over the next 5 years
are concerned that the COVID-19 crisis will have a lasting impact on their customers’ needs and wants over the next 5 years
have the expertise, resources, and commitment to pursue new growth successfully
believe that this will be the most challenging moment in their executive career
Source: McKinsey & Company
14 ESTIEM Magazine | 59th issue - Innovation in a Crisis: Adapting and Advancing
