The Next Normal

THE NEXT NORMAL

THRIVING IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

A Bookazine Edition by

THE NEXT NORMAL THRIVING IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD A Bookazine Edition by

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS Philip Morris International, World in 2050, Cisco, Quora, Group of Nations Learning Economy Foundation, and Salzburg Global Seminar.

Copyright © by Diplomatic Courier/Medauras Global Publishing 2006-2021 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. First Published 2006. Published in the United States by Medauras Global and Diplomatic Courier. Mailing Address: 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, 20036 | www.diplomaticourier.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN: 978-1-942772-07-1 (Digital) ISBN: 978-1-942772-06-4 (Print) LEGAL NOTICE. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form—except brief excerpts for the purpose of review—without written consent from the publisher and the authors. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication; however, the authors, the editors, Diplomatic Courier, and Medauras Global make no warranties, express or implied, in regards to the information and disclaim all liability for any loss, damages, errors, or omissions.

EDITORIAL. The essays both in print and online represent the views of their authors and do not reflect those of the editors and the publishers. While the editors assume responsibility for the selection of the articles, the authors are responsible for the facts and interpretations of their articles. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication, however, Medauras Global and the Diplomatic Courier make no warranties, express or implied in regards to the information, and disclaim all liability for any loss, damages, errors, or omissions.

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COVER DESIGN. Cover and jacket design by Marc Garfield for Diplomatic Courier.

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A Bookazine Edition by

THE NEXT NORMAL THRIVING IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANA C. ROLD MANAGING EDITORS WINONA ROYLANCE SHANE SZARKOWSKI CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ADAM RATZLAFF MERCEDES YANORA CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS KELLY R. BAILEY ANDREA BONIME-BLANC DANTE DISPARTE DIANA EL-AZAR PIERRE FERRARI DANIELLA FOSTER ANDRES FRANZETTI LISA GABLE DONNICA HAWES-SAUNDERS ANNA KOMPANEK MARGERY KRAUS BEN NELSON DOMINIC REGESTER ANDREW RZEPA AARON SHERINIAN CLARE SHINE LES WILLIAMS TYL VAN TOORN ANDREW WILSON DERRICK WONG PUBLISHER DIPLOMATIC COURIER | MEDAURAS GLOBAL WASHINGTON, DC DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 5

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TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME EDITOR’S NOTE | ANA C. ROLD..............................................................................................................08

ESSAYS THE NEXT NORMAL | DOMINIC REGESTER.......................................................................................12 RITUAL DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROTE | BY AARON SHERINIAN & DONNICA HAWES-SAUNDERS........................................................16 BUILDING A NEW MODEL OF OWNERSHIP THROUGH SYSTEMIC LEADERSHIP | TYL VAN TOORN................................................................................................................22 THE TRUST TURNAROUND: HOW WE REBUILT TRUST DURING THE PANDEMIC | LISA GABLE.....................................................................................................................28 TAKING THE LONG VIEW | CLARE SHINE..........................................................................................32 STRADIVARIUS SUPPLY CHAINS: PRICELESS, FRAGILE, AND TIGHTLY STRUNG | DANTE A. DISPARTE..................................................................................................................36 WALLETS, WELL-BEING,AND THE CORROSION OF THE TRUST ECOSYSTEM | ANDREW RZEPA................................................................................................................44 WELL-BEING POST-PANDEMIC | DERRICK WONG.......................................................................48 WHY A RESET IS NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE HIGHER EDUCATION | BEN NELSON AND DIANA EL-AZAR....................................................................................................54 HOW THE BUSINESS SECTOR FOSTERS TRUST TO LEAD COVID-19 RECOVERY | ANNA KOMPANEK AND ANDREW WILSON.................................................60 ENDING POVERTY STARTS WITH PRICING | PIERRE FERRARI............................................66 HOW BUSINESSES BECOME THE CHANGEMAKERS | MARGERY KRAUS.......................72 TOWARDS REGENERATIVE STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM: WHY WE NEED TRUSTED AND EMPATHETIC LEADERS MORE THAN EVER | ANDREA BONIME-BLANC...........................................................................................................................78 BE LOCALLY DRIVEN | LES WILLIAMS AND ANDRES FRANZETTI.....................................84 LIFE SKILLS FOR THE WIN | KELLY R. BAILEY.................................................................................90 OWN YOUR HEALTH: HOW PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME CAN HELP REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEMS | DANIELLA FOSTER.........................................................................96

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WELCOME A NOTE BY ANA C. ROLD, EDITOR

T

he advent of COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020 and early 2021 in the United States and other affluent nations gave us some—albeit premature and false—hope that we were successfully on the path to curbing the pandemic. Far from it, nine months into the year we find ourselves in an odd place of acceptance, that covid will be with us in some form or another, for a long time into the near future.

We were also quite fast to imagine going “back to normal” or even “back to better” and again, as new variants emerge and more information becomes available on the duration of immunity, we find ourselves having settled for a reality that we will live with uncertainty, risk, and disruption for a long time—possibly forever.

The fact that this was something we are just now coming to terms with is surprising to me. In my formal training as a forecaster and risk specialist, I’ve learned that living with risk and disruption is the norm.

It behooves all of us to learn these behaviors that risk experts practice so that we can not only cope with the current and next emergency, but thrive in the “next normal”.

In this special edition—which concludes our popular “After the Pandemic” series we produced in 2020—we partnered with thought 8 | THE NEXT NORMAL

leaders and experts who are not just practicing crisis management, they are enabling transformational change in the personal and organizational realm. We asked them to reflect on the issues that have dominated our personal, professional, and public spaces. These are the themes we set out to cover.

The first set of essays is collected in this bookazine. The essays have become the foundation for the establishment of a new Diplomatic Courier Channel titled “The Next Normal” where we will continue to cover these themes over the next year and beyond.

RETHINKING TRUST The nature of trust is evolving in this era of pandemic. We are divided about science—even while being hopeful it will save the day. We are uncertain about what is true. Hesitant to put our faith in media or sacrifice some of our freedoms in service to the collective, public good. The speed and extent of the crisis have pulled back the veil to reveal significant fractures in our social systems. What has the pandemic revealed about government models for creating trust with and among citizens? What lessons can we learn from the evolution of trust in public life? How is activism shifting the currency of trust?

How is trust in businesses and brands evolving? In NGOs and public health authorities?

WELL-BEING POST-PANDEMIC How can we model practices of health and celebrate self-care in turbulent times? How can we make the skills of empathy more present for ourselves and our teams, and infuse them into the strategies propelling our projects? We had been conditioned through signals and explicit and implicit boundaries to divide work and home. What happens when those signals fade away? When our homes function as our family residences, our children’s schools, our offices, and our theaters for leisure and entertainment all in one? We need new markers for reestablishing boundaries. Without them, our distinct domains of work and home blur, potentially eroding our health and quality of life.

Beyond maintaining balance, we must find ways to stay emotionally connected. Human beings are inherently social. We crave touch and kinship. We prioritize travel and mobility. We find joy in being together. Emerging protocols will lead us to new forms of social interaction—and social etiquette. How will we make sense of, translate for others, and lead the new social behavior literacy? How will we instill intimacy while we are socially distant?

DE-SCHOOL; RE-SKILL Now more than ever, the ability to come together as a team and adapt to unexpected challenges is essential to our long-term DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 9

well-being, both as an organization and as individuals. Old buzzwords—agility, innovation, resilience—are taking on new resonance.

As we step into this next phase, we will find it helpful to focus not on what we have lost, but on what we have learned; not on what we fear, but what we value. As parents, as families, as partners, as workers—and finally as an organization—we are being compelled to ask ourselves where our priorities lie and what is essential. Whatever your role, now is the time to streamline, to discard what holds you back, and to focus on what matters most. What old thinking must you toss? What new ideas should you embrace? How should you skill up?

RITUALS POST-PANDEMIC Handshakes are no longer an international greeting. Flights are grounded. A plexiglass screen separates friends at bars. The “new normal” feels a bit like a scene out of one of the countless post-apocalyptic science fiction films, portraying a future in which distance is a way of life.

We have adopted new rituals for the short term, some of which likely will become installed in the sociological protocol permanently. How will we reboot basic daily practices we take for granted? How does information flow through informal channels, and how do colleagues stay socially connected without it feeling artificial? How do we retain in isolation all that context, history, and information that used to be distributed in our hallways and through socialization heartbeats?

BEND TIME; LAUNCH LEADERS Sunday is the new Tuesday, 10 a.m. is the new lunchtime, and we are all drowning in the 84-hour workweek. Time feels like one of the most affected elements of our working culture in the new normal.

What are the best practices to manage time in a remote work model? New philosophies are emerging: What are our new thoughts on “presenteeism” as the practice of being there merely for the sake of being there? How can we—as individuals and within the microcultures of teams and departments—make more explicit a philosophy of labor in the new normal? If we aren’t intentional about it, we will mix our signals, conflate rituals, and accidentally drive ourselves into an unhealthy space—simply because we didn’t have a plan.

TAKING THE LONG VIEW The pandemic has made it harder to ignore fractures in society: fragile support systems for those most at risk, systemic racism and gender bias as preexisting conditions, under-resourced platforms for public health, interconnected economic houses of cards, and a perceived absence of leadership at national and international levels. These second-tier storylines during the pandemic—and the hopes people have to change their narrative arcs—have led many to call this moment in history the “great reset.” How will we be 10 | THE NEXT NORMAL

affected by this reset? Where do opportunities lie for us to align our business goals, our contributions to the evolving narrative?

How will we scenario plan, develop simulations, and identify risks and transformation accelerators? What would a “great reset” war room look like as a kind of internal, venture-oriented laboratory for leaning into what comes next?

PRIORITIZE THE WHY The speed of the arrival of a new normal has quickly snapped to grid a language of priorities. As the global economy falls into recession, cuts, reductions, and resource restrictions follow. Regulations regarding what is “essential” and “nonessential” govern how nations manage in times of crisis. But this dichotomy also helps businesses realign against what is “business critical” and what is not. A seemingly easy exercise of drawing up lists can become deceptively difficult if the purpose of the business is unclear.

BE LOCALLY DRIVEN Grounded travel, closed borders, quarantine policies, disrupted supply chains, fear, and mistrust are all shaping a more localized normal.

How might this lay the foundational landscape for managing communication moving forward? Can we draw from other metaphors for reorganizing/relocating (e.g., the “forward operating site” in military operations or diplomacy)?

FROM RESILIENCE TO TRANSFORMATION Business as usual is no longer viable and leaders know it. But change is hard to do. In siloes, individuals and entire industries are trying to solve some of the most pressing challenges for our society. But what can the education sector learn from healthcare? How is cross-industry collaboration creating strange but viable solutions? The future is rational only in hindsight and it will be determined by the convergence of collaboration and knowledge. What ideas are being born now and how can we help them to arrive well? Conversely, what is decaying and how can we help it leave well?

Join us in this multi-media exploration of what transformation will really look like post-pandemic and beyond.

Ana C. Rold Washington, DC September 2021

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THE FRAMES THAT WE USE TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD ARE TOOLS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED, ADAPTED, OR CAST ASIDE AND REPLACED BY NEW FRAMES.

THE NEXT NORMAL DOMINIC REGESTER

THE NEXT NORMAL DOMINIC REGESTER

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he year 2020 may well be remembered as the year in which discussion and action around a great many of the major, early 21st century societal fault lines began to crystalize. Multiple manifestations of social inequality, the struggle against systemic racism, the fight for representation and inclusivity, the rise of populism, challenge to democracy, the learning crisis, and the climate crisis have all been brought into clearer focus, in many ways because of the light shone on them by responses to COVID-19, which was the crisis in front of us all throughout the year. At present it feels as if it is the struggle with these challenges that will define the next decade and beyond for a great many people around the world. How we respond and how successful we are will significantly impact on the quality of a great many lives.

These challenges and how to respond to them are having a polarizing impact on societies at a time when we need to be working together. Finding ways of working across these societal fault lines is proving as big a challenge as addressing any of the other issues. One approach, which may well help, is the subject of a fascinating book that came out in May 2021 called Framers: Human Advantage in Age of Technology and Turmoil

by Kenneth Cukier, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Francis de Véricourt. Throughout the book the authors talk about the importance of mental models. Mental models help us see patterns and create order, they help us imagine how situations will unfold. The book is full of brilliant examples of when and how the ability to apply different mental models, or to reframe a situation or challenge, has led to new way solutions or ways forward.

There is a common thread that connects many people who are opposed to responses to COVID-19, see diversity and inclusion as a threat, hold racist views, and deny the climate crisis. It has to do with the mental models they use to make sense of the world. Dr Anthony Jackson, vice president for education at the Asia Society has written brilliantly about this in the context of the fight against racism in the USA. Dr. Jackson (conscious of 14 | THE NEXT NORMAL

the risk of oversimplification) makes the case that people can be divided in two camps based on two competing worldviews— on the one hand there are those who subscribe to a dominance paradigm and believe there must always be winners and losers and that there will always be those who have hegemony over others. On a fundamental, evolutionary level this is what defines the struggle for survival. The rest of the world subscribes to what Dr. Jackson calls ‘the egalitarian paradigm’ which recognizes profound differences between people and societies but doesn’t see these differences as legitimizing the dominance of one person or group over another. Different mental models or ways of framing the issue lead to very different conclusions about how to respond.

“AT PRESENT IT FEELS AS IF IT IS THE STRUGGLE WITH THESE CHALLENGES THAT WILL DEFINE THE NEXT DECADE AND BEYOND.” The frames that we use to make sense of the world are tools that can be improved, adapted, or cast aside and replaced by new frames. Framers makes a strong case for the idea that one of our greatest powers as a species is the capacity not to have to choose between bad options, when a problem or situation is reframed completely new options become clear. This kind of mental agility is going to be essential if we are to overcome the enormous challenges that we will all face in the next few decades. Reframing seemingly intractable problems may well prove to be the best chance we have of overcoming the massive differences that have become more visible over the last 18 months and finding new ways of working together to address the biggest crises facing us. ***** About the author: Dominic Regester is responsible for designing and delivering programs on education, and the future of cities for Salzburg Global Seminar. Prior to this he worked on education programmes for the British Council for 14 years, based mainly in South and East Asia. He is a founding member of Karanga - The Global Alliance for Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills, a director of Amal Alliance, and a Contributing Editor to Diplomatic Courier.

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IT IS GOOD TO HAVE OUR FAVORITE RITUALS; THEY GROUND US AND FORTIFY US. BUT NEITHER HUMAN BEINGS NOR BUSINESSES CAN TRULY THRIVE FOREVER ON JUST THE FAMILIAR.

RITUAL DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROTE AARON SHERINIAN & DONNICA HAWES-SAUNDERS

Photo by Carl Kho via Unsplash.

RITUAL DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROTE AARON SHERINIAN & DONNICA HAWES-SAUNDERS

O

ne of the more potent dichotomies of the pandemic era is the understanding that we are both intricately connected as well as on our own. In the face of evolving data and unclear direction, we’ve spent much of the last 18 months relying on instincts—some already well-honed and others we didn’t know we even had.

It is important to acknowledge: this is OK. We are all making it up as we go to some degree. We are all feeling some version of this—in our home, in our community, and in our workplace.

In times such as these, we can find comfort and purpose in the familiar. For many, this means reliance on ritual—whether we call it that or not. Often, though, when people think of ritual, they think of rigidity. Ritual can be something that is done by rote, in many cases without thinking. But here is where opportunity lies, personally and professionally.

Great art instructors will tell you that the most impactful pieces—from painting to poetry, symphonies to cinema—happen when someone both embraces and subverts accepted forms.

The real magic happens when an artist—or, for our purposes, an executive—is open to finding the intersection between the two.

It is the union of what works with what is possible.

The current chaotic environment—maybe more than ever in our lifetimes—gives us license to truly explore what is possible in our companies. Not just the products we deliver, but how we work, how we sell our brand, and how we take responsibility for our impact in the world.

Civil society is clamoring for more than episodic engagement from companies. Brand loyalty goes beyond a favorite taste or a reliable tool. People are committed to their routines—including how they spend their money—but they want the companies that are a part of it to show imagination, authenticity, and commitment in managing their impact on the world.

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Gone are the days when any brand or organization could rest on its reputational laurels. Trust and relevance are constantly being refreshed if they are to remain central to a person’s life.

What does this mean in practice?

Cosmetic change isn’t sufficient. We must address structural challenges that evince a real “not about us without us” mentality and be honest and intentional about the systems that inhibit true equity.

Regarding office hours—that familiar 9 to 5 (to 6, to 7, to 8) slog, the answer is likely somewhere between more remote work and less face time. We know the traditional ways of doing business; the ritual of check-ins, and meetings, and conferences, and global interactions. But are we willing to subvert that paradigm to find a new, 21st century resonance that results in better ROI as well as greater employee satisfaction?

“THE REAL MAGIC HAPPENS WHEN AN ARTIST IS OPEN TO FINDING THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE TWO. IT IS THE UNION OF WHAT WORKS WITH WHAT IS POSSIBLE.” How does our work impact the holistic health of the communities in which we work and where are clients live? Do we invest in an office building or a warehouse somewhere, give money to local schools and art programs, and then do what we want? Or, should we be building true community partnerships that not only benefit those tangential to the company, but also strengthen bottom lines by incorporating a wider swath of ideas about how to do business, and who to do business with?

It is important also to recognize that local Institutions and trusted individuals are even more valuable in an era when everything is huge. We have to find the sweet spot between global scale and human scale. That is the launching ground for innovation as well as customer satisfaction.

You know the phrase “this is how I roll”? It’s another way of saying, “this is what has worked for me, and I’m going to keep on doing it.” Certainly, it’s good to have pride, but when does it become defensive? When is the way we’ve always done business become a hindrance?

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For better or for worse, in many instances the tires have come off how we roll. We can call it just a pit stop and use the old familiar routines to get back in the race. Or, maybe we can take the time to envision not just how to make the car run better, but how to make the machine fly.

It will take more people—and more kinds of people—at the table. It will take a willingness to do two seemingly incompatible things at once—run the business as efficiently as possible while trying and measuring radical new things. And, it will take a more expansive view beyond KPI’s of what we are trying to accomplish as a brand or organization.

It is good to have our favorite rituals; they ground us and fortify us. But neither human beings nor businesses can truly thrive forever on just the familiar. The landscape is littered with brands and organizations that couldn’t adapt. As we venture into this post-pandemic world together, let’s incorporate into the next normal an openness to recognizing the moment we are in and a willingness to meet it with fresh perspective. This is where the real potential lives. **** About the authors: Aaron Sherinian serves as Vice-President for Global Communications Transformation at Philip Morris International. He is working to bring about one of the greatest corporate transformations in history: Moving PMI out of the cigarette business and towards a smoke-free future, offering the millions of people that smoke knowledge of and access to better alternatives to continued cigarette smoking. He recognizes this assignment as the professional challenge of a lifetime—one that he embraces with vigor.

Donnica Hawes-Saunders is recognized as a mission-driven, collaborative relationship builder who delivers transformational results at the intersection of business imperatives and social impact. At Philip Morris International (PMI), Donnica develops and manages global and U.S. public affairs outreach and external communication engagements for the company in civil society as PMI moves out of the cigarette business and towards a smoke-free future.

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BUILDING A NEW MODEL OF OWNERSHIP THROUGH SYSTEMIC LEADERSHIP TYL VAN TOORN

SYSTEMIC LEADERSHIP SERVES EVERYONE, AND AS A RESULT, REQUIRES THE CONTRIBUTION AND COMMITMENT OF EVERY PERSON WITHIN ANY GIVEN SYSTEM.

Photo by Joel Filipe via Unsplash.

BUILDING A NEW MODEL OF OWNERSHIP THROUGH SYSTEMIC LEADERSHIP TYL VAN TOORN

T

hree years ago I went through a basement renovation that didn’t go as planned.

I had signed up for a cosmetic project and instead uncovered a potential massive underground plumbing issue only after I removed the flooring. It wasn’t technically a problem then but it was clear it would be a problem in years to come. And the worse it would get, the more damage the whole house would be subject to. I had a decision to make: rebuild pipes that no one would ever see and cut back the cosmetic renovation to stay within budget, or build an impressive looking suite and pray for the best.

My final decision was influenced by renowned system theorist Stafford Beer who stated: “...the purpose of a system is what it does.” This means that the foundational capacity that allows a building to fulfill its purpose is where the investment needs to be made. No one may notice or care, but the building’s core systems matter more than the wallpaper.

Of course, it would have been easier for me to dismiss this tenet when renovating if I didn’t feel a strong sense of ownership and obligation to do what is best for the long-term. Would I have made the same decision if I was focused on flipping homes?

There are several reasons why we have a culture of decisionmaking that prioritizes pretty countertops over plumbing. Despite the corporate fixation on being supposedly “strategic,” most decision-makers default to short-term, reductive decision-making processes. This is because they are often disincentivized from putting forward solutions to problems we know exist but don’t provide an immediate return on investment. As a result, many of our leaders rarely evidence a sense of genuine ownership over the long-term consequences of their decisions.

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However, in the wake of a global pandemic exacerbated by systemic failures, humanity will need a new normal that focuses on enabling systems to do what they are meant to do.

We need leaders who understand what true ownership means. I call this systemic leadership Systemic leadership ultimately serves everyone, and as a result, requires the contribution and commitment of every person within any given system. To that end, we would benefit from adopting a new understanding of ownership that is less mechanistic and more systemic. That means recognizing that psychological ownership empowers people to carry a deeper sense of responsibility over the health of each part of the system while equally caring for the health of the relationships that flow between these parts.

“OUR CURRENT CHALLENGE IS TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS THAT NURTURE A DEEP SENSE OF COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY AMONG CONCERNED CITIZENS, CIVIC LEADERS, CORPORATE EXECUTIVES, AND EVERYONE IN-BETWEEN, WHILE RECOGNIZING THAT THE VALUE OF TODAY’S GOOD WORK WILL FULLY MANIFEST GENERATIONS DOWN THE LINE.” Getting there requires a paradigm shift that moves from the concept of legal ownership, devoid of collective and long-term accountability, towards true ownership that is based on responsibilities. “We own it so we can do whatever we want with it,” is a common fallacy that confuses unbridled freedom with purposeful responsibility. With an average three-year tenure of many executives in government and the corporate sector, any structural incentive to stay the course in realizing the kind of systemic transformation our institutions require right now, is missing. In other words: no one wants to take the risk of investing into new plumbing if they aren’t incentivized, and especially if it’s faster and easier to install pretty flooring and not pay too much attention to what lies beneath.

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Rather, the kind of transformative ownership I am describing requires an ecological, generative, and generational mindset.

Ecological, in this context, meaning recognizing that the system within which we operate only enjoys health when all of its components are relatively healthy and properly integrated. Generative, meaning a system that is capable of reproducing and selfsustaining its value. Generational, meaning that we recognize that our ownership is tethered to the legacy of our decisions, and is not simply bound to present-day outcomes.

Our current challenge is to create the conditions that nurture a deep sense of collective responsibility among concerned citizens, civic leaders, corporate executives, and everyone in-between, while recognizing that the value of today’s good work will fully manifest generations down the line.

To take the long view, and steward a future better than the present, systemic leadership cannot be practiced by a few. Systemic leadership is about looking at information in holistic, generative terms. It is about playing the long-game, together, and recognizing systems as complex, living beings where each of us is tasked with sustaining its health.

While many of us spend time perseverating over what we stand to lose if we shake up the status quo, we must equip the next generation with the courage, fortitude, and honesty required to work on the deeper structural issues we have been ignoring as problems we face become more intertwined and complex.

This remains true for any system, from the highest levels of decision-making infrastructure down to the very nuts and bolts that underpin the purpose of a home’s core plumbing. The power of systemic leadership is that it can be practiced when leading a country, a Fortune 100 company, or a renovation project at home, and it is incumbent upon us to apply its principles to build the future we require. ***** About the author: Tyl van Toorn is the Co-Founder and CEO of Coeuraj, a strategic advisory focused on multi-stakeholder alignment and systemic transformation. He has worked with and across public and private sectors in Europe, Asia, and North America.

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WE DO NOT KNOW THE NATURE OF THE NEXT CHALLENGE, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT A PIONEERING SPIRIT COMBINED WITH INGENUITY AND TRANSPARENT COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRY WILL ENABLE US TO MEET THE NEXT CRISIS HEAD ON.

THE TRUST TURNAROUND HOW WE REBUILT TRUST DURING THE PANDEMIC LISA GABLE

Photo by Zdenek Machacek via Unsplash.

THE TRUST TURNAROUND

HOW WE REBUILT TRUST DURING THE PANDEMIC

T

LISA GABLE

hrough the human tragedy of COVID-19, we learned quickly what we do not know. The virus literally stopped us in our tracks. Trust became elusive. Anxiety, fear, frustration, and confusion whittled away at public trust. People came to understand that governments are not omniscient nor fully prepared for every variable that may arise during a period of crisis. Instead, we saw world leaders as humans who were grappling with limitations of their knowledge as well as a virus that no one seemed to fully understand. Seemingly contradictory statements were seized upon by media. When combined with a frenzy surrounding the U.S. 2020 presidential election and the death of George Floyd, trust continued to erode not only in the U.S., but created doubt in the mind of friends and allies.

Yet slowly during the spring and summer of 2020, we watched massive resources be adapted and adjusted to meet reality. We learned that the definition of a “first responder” is defined not by a job function, but by what is the front line of response during a moment in time. COVID-19 showed us that traditional heroes like soldiers, policemen, doctors, nurses, and firemen aren’t our only “first responders.” Instead, they were grocery store workers, truck drivers, delivery personnel, lab techs, factory workers, and others who stepped up to lead as everyday people put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Thanks to a litany of movies, we feared that society would unravel quickly in large part driven by the need for food. However, thanks to the diligence, creativity, and commitment of unlikely heroes, many in the U.S. ordered online with consumer staples delivered to our doorsteps or curbsides.

As leaders, we study history of warfare, business, and economic fault lines, so that we can garner ideas from those who have gone before us. What to do. What not to do. Policymak30 | THE NEXT NORMAL

ers quickly defined our future scenario planning by building out systems to meet the deficits we discovered during our last challenge. The tendency is to lay blame, which leads to rigidity and locking in to plan to “make sure we don’t do that again.”

However, what we needed and where we saw advances were when governments allowed industry the flexibility to adapt and adjust to the unanticipated. The pharmaceutical industry and scientists collaborated across geographies and disease categories, sharing data and ideas. Consumer product goods manufacturers used novel channels to deliver toilet paper, cleaning materials, and food. Associations and nonprofits stepped up to fill important gaps.

The need for collaboration became even more important for private, patient-centered organizations like FARE, the organization I lead. Our job was to ensure the community we served had the information they needed to make decisions about their health. Our teams served as the trusted voice for patients struggling to find safe and affordable food as well as a provider of credible, medical guidance about COVID-19 and later the vaccines.

Partnerships amongst trusted allies were critical to providing a sense of stability in an unstable world. It was pertinent that doctors who are part of the FARE Clinical Network spend the time understanding the risks of treatment for a specific patient profile, and they did this by working collaboratively with their colleagues at the US National Institute of Health and the Federal Drug Administration. We relied on each other for knowledge and appreciated opportunities to problem solve as we managed complexity.

The extraordinary efforts of ordinary people are demonstrating the ethos of a nation. Our COVID-19 experience may enable us to be more nimble and innovative. If we focus on rebuilding an agile health system, we can allow for real-time adaptation of processes that allow us to be transformational in the moment. We do not know the nature of the next challenge, but we do know that a pioneering spirit combined with ingenuity and transparent collaboration between governments, institutions and industry will enable us to meet the next crisis head on. ***** About the author: Lisa Gable is CEO of FARE, the world’s largest private funder of food allergy research and advocacy and the author of “Turnaround”. She has served as senior advisor to four U.S. Presidents, worked for Governors, Fortune 500s, and public-private partnerships.

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THREE LEVERS OF CHANGE COU FOR PEOPLE, NATURE, AND CLIMATE WE NEED TO SHIFT THE DISCOURS AND OPEN UP AGENCY A

TAKING THE LONG VIEW CLARE SHINE

ULD HELP REWIRE THE ECONOMY E, WITH EQUITY AS THE KEYSTONE. SE, TRANSFORM ORGANIZATIONS, AND TOOLS FOR CHANGE. Photo by Peter Fogden via Unsplash.

TAKING THE LONG VIEW CLARE SHINE

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istorians love to focus on big pivots that emerged from conflict. This renaissance lens teaches us that two world wars led to the collapse of empires, the rise of democracies and superpowers, new international governance, and the belated grant of votes for women. We hear less about how, well before shots were fired, movements for social and economic change were growing fast through radical artistic and scientific innovation, new political voices and campaigns for workers’ rights. It took the disruption of war to convert these demands into reality.

A century later, COVID-19 has generated its own renewal jargon. Slogans like “build back better” have the best of intentions but many fear that recovery efforts will gloss over structural fault lines and tipping points that were already well documented. Global pandemics and zoonotic risk had been high on the World Economic Forum’s watchlist for years. AntiMicrobial Resistance is a disaster-in-waiting. Too often, however, contingency plans gather virtual dust on servers. As a global society, we seem surprised and affronted when the predictable actually happens.

It’s no secret that economic development across the world had repeated the same patterns of spatial and social inequity. That production and consumption models had outstripped planetary boundaries. That clean air and green space were ever-harder for the poor to access. That the climate crisis and water insecurity had already forced people to migrate from their land and homes.

Less tangibly, trust has eroded in today’s institutions and structures of power. Confidence in a better future for new generations has waned. The malaise of weakening social fabric finds a troubling echo in rising polarization. The values and metrics of success are being questioned all the way from schools to boards.

COVID-19—in both its origins and responses—illustrates the perils of short-termism, selective vision, and decline of interna34 | THE NEXT NORMAL

tional solidarity (witness the scale of criticism around the UK’s aid budget reduction). It highlights the grotesquely unequal health outcomes and life chances for the already-vulnerable, even in rich countries. It shows how fast employment and societal gains for women can be reversed.

Yet this 21st century pandemic can indeed spark renewal if we take the long view. We’ve admired the ingenuity and resilience of communities and businesses. We’ve seen that government can move fast and fairly, when it matters. We’ve been powerfully reminded of how essential nature and place are to well-being, health, and our collective imagination.

What would it take for tomorrow’s historians to see COVID-19 as a pivot for regeneration?

“‘NEVER LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE’, SAID WINSTON CHURCHILL. WE DON’T NEED A PHOENIX TO RISE FROM THE COVID ASHES. THIS IS THE TIME FOR REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP THAT MEETS PEOPLE’S ASPIRATIONS AND NEEDS AND DELIVERS POLICIES AND ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE NET ZERO AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.” Three levers of change could help rewire the economy for people, nature, and climate, with equity as the keystone. We need to shift the discourse, transform organizations, and open up agency and tools for change.

Language and stories matter. We currently lack a compelling forward-looking narrative for just transition and systems change.

Conflict imagery dominates messaging on the pandemic, while soft idioms swathe the carbon economy (highlighted when The Guardian changed its climate change lexicon). While “sustainability” can seem vast and abstract, brilliant design is bringing the Sustainable Development Goals into daily life and inspiring creative, tech and policy innovation. Flipping the lens—imagine “health-generating” cities and schools and a “nature positive” economy—can break down barriers and open new horizons, DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 35

provided the language makes sense and helps people see they have a stake and a role in solutions.

Business and finance are key drivers of transformation and resource alignment at scale. Many of the boards, companies, and entrepreneurs we work with at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) are searching for ways to define their new role in society, recognizing that truly sustainable business must be based on very different values and objectives to the traditional models upon which existing organizational components have been optimized. There is a hunger for transition models and new ideas. Leaders want to harness their influence to drive change inside their organizations and within and to whole systems. Governments have a critical role to play now and into the future for private-public collaboration.

Bold policies and incentives now can enable and accelerate capacity to invest and deliver on long-term targets.

Radical openness for the future will involve new forms of participation, agency, and access to tech, tools, and finance. Well before the pandemic, exciting movements were already taking shape and moving from the margins to the center—including the circular economy, local food chains, participatory budgeting, and new forms of active citizenry. As megatrends and digitization rewrite the landscape of jobs and skills (see CLG Europe report), more agile and inclusive forms of decision-making will be vital to competitive sustainability and future stability.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste”, said Winston Churchill.

We don’t need a phoenix to rise from the Covid ashes. This is the time for regenerative leadership that meets people’s aspirations and needs and delivers policies and actions to achieve net zero and the Sustainable Development Goals. Let’s ‘call out tomorrow’ by writing this history of the future. ***** About the Author: Clare Shine is Director and CEO of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). She joined CISL in April from Salzburg Global Seminar, where she served as Vice President and Chief Program Officer for nine years. Clare is a qualified barrister and has worked as an independent environmental lawyer and policy adviser for intergovernmental bodies, governments, business and NGOs, focusing on biodiversity, climate change, coastal and marine systems, public health, governance, trade, equity and rights, and conflict transformation.

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THE FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND TOGETHER WITH BUSINESS RATIONALIZATION OF COSTS, HAS STRETCHED THE LIMITS OF GLOBALIZATION AND JUST-IN-TIME APPROACHES SO THIN, THAT THE WORLD’S SUPPLY CHAINS RESEMBLE A STRADIVARIUS VIOLIN—THEY ARE PRICELESS, FRAGILE, AND TIGHTLY STRUNG.

STRADIVARIUS SUPPLY CHAINS PRICELESS, FRAGILE, AND TIGHTLY STRUNG DANTE A. DISPARTE

Photo by Cameron Venti via Unsplash.

STRADIVARIUS SUPPLY CHAINS PRICELESS, FRAGILE, AND TIGHTLY STRUNG DANTE A. DISPARTE

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mages of a mega tanker Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal, an artery for 10% of the world’s trade, is an emblem of the world’s evolving supply chain challenges. Indeed, 2020 with the paralysis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the nationalistic instincts to erect borders and introduce global fractions to trade, commerce, and travel, is only the latest punctuation mark showing how brittle the world’s supply chains really are. The forces of supply and demand together with business rationalization of costs, has stretched the limits of globalization and just-in-time approaches so thin, that the world’s supply chains resemble a Stradivarius violin—they are priceless, fragile, and tightly strung.

Some of the insidious ways this tenuous supply chain has shown strain, includes the fact that for many so-called fortress nations around the world, the production and inventory of comparatively basic supplies was meager. From N95 masks to simple ventilators and life-saving personal protective equipment (PPE), among other essential material to combat the pandemic, the reliance on far-flung production and continuous shipping and air transport routes showed the risks of off shoring.

In the run up of globalization over the last 50 years, the pendulum swung too far afield. As supply chains and foreign direct investment grew around the world, accelerated in the year 2000 by the moniker BRICS—which directed business activity and a fierce investment race to Brazil, Russia, India, and China (along with other emerging economies)—supply chain linkages were stretched even further. Today, the tendency is to skew to ultra-national interests. From blocking or seizing COVID-19 vaccine exports, referred to as vaccine nationalism, to using war 40 | THE NEXT NORMAL

powers for directing companies to manufacture essential materials, it would seem the pandemic combined with other political tendencies are beginning to change the nature of global integration, which will have profound implications on supply chain management. Just as the post-2008 financial crisis world was informed by the lesson “cash is king,” speaking to how chastened corporate treasurers realized the limitations of leverage, so too supply chain leaders have realized the limitations of justin-time, priceless, and tightly strung supply chain linkages. If cash is king, is on-shore or near-shore the kingdom?

While COVID-19 is certainly the global supply chain antagonist of 2020, it is not the only adverse force showing how brittle the world’s supply chains really are. 2020 was another year roiled by record climate change effects that paralyzed many

“THE WORLD IS IN A PERENNIAL GAME OF CYBER RISK WHACKA-MOLE AND SUPPLY CHAINS ARE IN THE CROSSHAIRS.” communities, countries, and global supply chains. An emblem of this is the fact that the first ocean going vessel was able to traverse the Arctic in the winter, showing the prospects of an open ocean sea route in the North Atlantic. While this may be heralded by some as a potential global supply chain advantage, the invariable long-term effects on global coastal communities, along with the accelerating rate of climate change impacts, will negate any gains from a widening berth across once untraversable ice. Indeed, what is transpiring at a global level is also manifestly posing supply chain challenges in a hyper-local environment as well. Here too, preserving cold temperatures matters, as the world’s ability to sound the “all clear” on COVID-19 hinges on our ability to get safe vaccines to the world’s population, which in turn hinges on an incredibly unreliable and unequal cold supply chain.

The other megatrend affecting supply chains is the dueling risks and rewards of cyber threats and digital transformation, in which the rate of connecting everything to the internet continues unchecked. Historically, a proverbial “air gap” between critical infrastructure or relationships was the overarching goal with supply chain management and business continuity planning, especially in the military context, from which the discipline is born.

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When the internet of things (IoT) creates an unknown backdoor to critical infrastructure, meat processing plants, industrial and farming equipment, the true peril is laid bare. Recent examples show how this exposure via internet-connected devices, sensors and the ever-present danger between the keyboard and the chair (low human cyber hygiene) are complicating basic modern economy activities such as keeping the lights on or gas stations running. The world is in a perennial game of cyber risk whack-a-mole and supply chains are in the crosshairs.

In a global economy that is equal parts haves and have nots, always on and digital, versus partially on and analog, supply chain and business continuity is not only about the reliability of transporting goods around the world, but also about the hyperlocal reality of being able to keep the lights on. You can have electricity and no economic growth, but you cannot have economic growth without reliable, low-cost electricity. Here too, the veritable supply chain of electrons is being roiled by a turbulent risk landscape, where the single source of failure infrastructure designed in the 1940s and 50s, built in the 60s and 70s, is looking very feeble in the face of 21st century risks. Shoring up supply chain resilience post-pandemic, will require not only a rethink and recalibration of the limits of globalization, but it will also require strengthening the deeply strained chain of global resilience (and reengagement) one link at a time. ***** About the author: Dante Disparte is the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy for Circle, a leading digital financial services firm building the most trusted treasury and payments infrastructure for the internet, including the fastest growing dollar digital currency, USDC. Prior to joining Circle, Dante served as a founding executive of the Diem Association, leading public policy, communications, membership, and social impact.

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WALLETS, WELLBEING, AND THE CORROSION OF THE TRUST ECOSYSTEM ANDREW RZEPA

WHEN CITIZENS LOSE TRUST, COUNTRIES ALSO LOSE THE WELLBEING BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH LIVING IN A HIGH TRUST SOCIETY.

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash.

WALLETS, WELLBEING, AND THE CORROSION OF THE TRUST ECOSYSTEM

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ANDREW RZEPA

hile much ink is spilled about confidence in individual institutional entities, little attention is given to the concept of institutional trust ecosystems, which include a wider spectrum of organizations within society than generally acknowledged. Trust ecosystems are fragile, and where trust deficits arise, those societies are diminished by reduced adherence to government policy and face significant headwinds to the creation of high well-being, prosperous societies.

As demonstrated in the Wellcome Global Monitor a landmark study across 142 countries and territories carried out by Gallup, globally the rise and fall of trust in individual institutions reflects fluctuations in the levels of trust in a seemingly unrelated basket of other institutions. Trust in scientists, a cohort of society often believed to be insulated from the erosion of trust in traditional state institutions, was found to be significantly negatively impacted when an individual reported lack of confidence in the military, judicial system, or national government. In people’s minds these entities are interconnected, and actions by individuals in one, whether positive or negative, have ramifications for all.

When these trust ecosystems denigrate it has real world consequences. For example there is a strong relationship between trust in scientists and perceived safety of vaccines. In high income countries over four-fifths of respondents with high trust in scientists agree that vaccines are safe, which is reduced to below 50% for those with reported low trust in scientists.

The trust deficit has been exacerbated by state and non-state actors, including the anti-vaccine movement, who use corruption as a central pillar for their arguments to undermine trust not only in vaccines, but in all institutions. The central argument offered by anti-vaxxers is that the cumulative acts of corruption and malfeasance by actors within institutions, means that no institution is worthy of being trusted, “We know that revolving doors between the corporate and political 46 | THE NEXT NORMAL

spheres, the lobbying system, corrupt regulators, the media and judiciary mean that wrongdoing is practically never brought to any semblance of genuine justice.” Given that more than two in three adults worldwide believe that corruption is widespread throughout their government and 70% believe corruption is widespread in businesses in their country, they are tapping into a rich vein of widely held beliefs.

National economic policy and macroeconomics also have an impact on the trust ecosystem. Income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient was found to have a statistically significant effect on trust in scientists with predicted trust in science falling by as much as 20% between low- and high-income inequality countries. Although up to date data is unavailable for large portions of the world, initial research indicates that income inequality has been increased by the fiscal policy response to the pandemic, which will lead to further erosion of public trust. This is particularly pertinent in high income countries where the general public are less accepting of inequality arising due to luck.

When citizens lose trust, countries also lose the well-being benefits associated with living in a high trust society. Relying upon the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll, the United Nations World Happiness Report 2021 shows that believing that it is very likely to have your wallet returned by the police provides twice the positive wellbeing impact as having your income doubled. To put this effect size in perspective, this is a slightly larger positive impact than the equivalent negative effect of being unemployed, one of the most widely recognized drivers of poor well-being.

Despite the importance of trust and the well-being dividend it can produce, trust must not be blindly given. Misplaced trust can be damaging for individuals where institutions use trust in bad faith. As such, interventions are required that can promote critical reasoning while creating the foundation for greater levels of trust. Data from the Wellcome Global Monitor highlights two routes for enhancing levels of trust in science, which could have broader applicability: increased access to communication devices (mobile phones and internet) in addition to increased education. Ultimately to reap the benefits of the trust dividend, leaders need to address corruption and perceptions of corruption in their organizations. It is not sufficient for them to enforce the rules rigorously; they must also abide by the rules they themselves set. ***** About the author: Andrew Rzepa, Partner in Gallup’s London office, leads Gallup’s public sector divisions in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He is responsible for Gallup’s global research programmes in the regions.

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Photo by Christina Wocintech via Unsplash.

WELL-BEING POST-PANDEMIC DERRICK WONG

THE FOUNDATION FOR A PROSPEROUS FUTURE IN A POSTPANDEMIC ECONOMY BEGINS WITH A HOLISTIC FOCUS ON THE QUALITY OF WELLBEING AMONGST THE WORKFORCE MASSES. ONLY THEN WILL SOCIETY BE ABLE TO BUILD RESILIENCY AND STRIVE TOWARD TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE.

WELL-BEING POST-PANDEMIC DERRICK WONG

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he COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the way we operate in society, exposed glaring weaknesses within the healthcare infrastructure, and revealed the lack of preparedness across organizations. The irrefutable interrelation between work and life became acutely clear as households quickly became domains for office work, childcare, and virtual learning. This sudden societal change, buoyed with a prolonged pandemic, launched mental health, health equity, and overall well-being into the forefront of business discussions. As the world forges ahead to a new normal, organizations need to provide a holistic approach to well-being with an emphasis on restructuring caregiving policies, providing flexible work schedules, and delivering consistent, affordable, and sustainable avenues for supporting mental health.

One of the paramount concerns is the startling number of laborers, especially working mothers, who face the unmanageable choice of caring for a child or continuing to work. This issue has soared over the last year, with nearly 2.5 million women having left the labor force since February 2020. Prior to the pandemic, women accounted for more than 50% of the workforce. The ongoing pandemic expunged years of progress, highlighting the inequities within our caregiving system. It is imperative for organizations to provide comprehensive caregiving support to employees, particularly women, if the economy hopes to recover and flourish in a post-pandemic society.

Employers should invest in childcare subsidies as they would in employee benefits. The cost of recruiting and hiring new employees weighed against subsidizing childcare expenses to retain working parents proves its value. Last August, consulting firm Accenture paved the way by introducing a new school-day supervision for children ages six through twelve through a partnership with Bright Horizons. The organization covered 75% of the cost for its employees’ children to follow remote learning curriculums in supervised locations. Employees opting into this 50 | THE NEXT NORMAL

employer benefits program were only responsible for a minimal out-of-pocket cost of $5 an hour; a financial expense that pales in comparison to the burden of juggling both parental and professional responsibilities at one time.

Flexible work schedules will play an integral part in prioritizing human well-being and providing caregiving support for employees. According to a survey conducted by global nonprofit organization Catalyst, women with childcare responsibilities are 32% less likely to report intentions of leaving their job if they have access to remote work. Additionally, employees are 30% less likely to look for another job in the next year. The future workplace for many organizations will most likely be anywhere and at any time, with the traditional office location acting as an optional center for social interaction, collaboration, and innovation. This increased autonomy to employees will allow them to fit work around the rest of their lives, enhancing their job satisfaction and improving productivity.

“IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE CAREGIVING SUPPORT TO EMPLOYEES, PARTICULARLY WOMEN, IF THE ECONOMY HOPES TO RECOVER AND FLOURISH IN A POST-PANDEMIC SOCIETY.” As the hybrid workplace model continues to emerge as the preferred post-pandemic standard amongst employees, employers will also reap the benefits of this new industry structure, allowing businesses to focus on acquiring the essential skills needed to drive economic growth rather than filling key roles. The hybrid model provides an organization to expand its talent pool beyond local expertise, opening the possibility to obtain skilled professionals on a national or global scale.

A November report from McKinsey & Company revealed 62% of global employees considered mental health issues a top challenge during the pandemic. Even as the pandemic begins to wane in 2021, accessibility and affordability to mental health care remain daunting challenges as many therapists are overbooked and do not accept insurance coverage. Look for the new normal to transition to non-traditional forms of mental DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 51

health treatment. Companies such as CVS are leading the way in trying to fill the gaps in access to mental health by piloting a counseling service in some of its retail stores.

The retail corporation is doing its part to reduce the cost of mental health care by negotiating with insurance companies to cover visits. Walmart Health offers a similar retail service model that provides counseling as well as diagnostic and primary care. Availability to affordable mental health professionals is not only limited to retail corporations. Online counseling services such as Talkspace and BetterHelp are poised to thrive in the post-pandemic world by offering affordable virtual therapy sessions at a significantly lower cost than traditional in-person treatment. Talkspace is even covered by major insurers, including Cigna, Humana, and Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield. Businesses should lean on these accessible and affordable avenues to mental health stability when evaluating their comprehensive employee benefits package in a post-pandemic world.

The future of well-being does not only depend on companies, but on state and federal policies as well. The American Rescue Plan Act is a noteworthy start, but industry, state, and federal leaders need to pave the way for systemic change and activism in healthcare; an industry that should be predicated on providing empathic, emotional connections with consumers coupled with an emphasis on patient outcomes rather than profits. The foundation for a prosperous future in a post-pandemic economy begins with a holistic focus on the quality of well-being amongst the workforce masses. Only then will society be able to build resiliency and strive toward transformational change. ***** About the author: Derrick Wong has more than 12 years of experience in the health insurance industry. He is the head of the employee benefits division at Risk Cooperative where he leads client engagements and designs comprehensive employee benefits strategies to meet client objectives.

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WHY A RESET IS NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE HIGHER EDUCATION BEN NELSON & DIANA EL-AZAR

TRANSFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION GOES FAR DEEPER THAN THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION SHOULD INSTILL ENDURING SKILLS THAT TRANSCEND KNOWN CONTEXTS.

Photo by Jonas Jacobsson via Unsplash.

WHY A RESET IS NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE HIGHER EDUCATION BEN NELSON & DIANA EL-AZAR

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hile in 2020, higher education institutions were wrapping tight bandages—in the forms of online platforms—around their wounds, an awakening was becoming obvious to even the most reluctant of university leaders. The patient did not need a bandage, it needed vital organs surgery.

Much is being discussed about the state of education post-pandemic, and the virtues of in person learning and the vices of online learning, or vice versa, with the majority agreeing that hybrid learning will prevail. This is a marginal discussion as where we teach is hardly the fundamental issue that ails higher education. If university leaders look to the future, and do not now examine and transform what, how, who, and, yes, where they teach, chances are that by the time they do, it will be too late.

While the World Economic Forum coined the term The Great Reset to imply a new start, universities need more fundamental change than that. A reset button may clear your memory but will reload the same programs. Universities need to keep their memory so they learn from it, but transform their curricula, pedagogies and student assessments and the operating model that will go along with it.

The top-tier universities may not feel the need to do so, however, as the reset strategy may yield expected results in terms of campus management, enrollments and international students.

But now is the time to hold these institutions accountable for their very raison d’etre: they are the institutions that are responsible for creating better decision-makers for our governments, our businesses, and our societies.

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Many of us, including these same university leaders, lament the state of affairs we have reached, in terms of populism, lack of ethical leadership, and a broad disregard for science. And yet, we are disinclined to admit that it is our education system, starting from schools all the way to college, that bears the lion’s share of the reasons that led us to this state. And it would be foolish to believe that the future would be any better unless we fundamentally transform that education.

So, the question remains: what should we transform our education system to? If we were to project what kind of education we would need in 2070 or beyond, it seems impossible to identify, as none of us—not even futurists—can predict what the world will look like in 20 let alone 50 years. And while most sectors have the luxury to wait to see how things will pan out, the education sector does not. It must decide now what to teach so that students are productive over the next several decades. And this is why education should be preparing students for exactly

“WHILE MOST SECTORS HAVE THE LUXURY TO WAIT TO SEE HOW THINGS WILL PAN OUT, THE EDUCATION SECTOR DOES NOT. IT MUST DECIDE NOW WHAT TO TEACH SO THAT STUDENTS ARE PRODUCTIVE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DECADES.” that—the unknown, rather than for 21st century jobs and societies. In order to do that, whatever knowledge, skills or behavior, students are learning today should not “expire” within their lifetimes. While easy to state, fewer than a handful of universities today, intentionally teach future-proof skills.

One of the tenets of a “future-proof” education is that of transferability, meaning that a person can transfer knowledge from a known, learned context to another which is unknown and unlearned. This cannot be done by teaching discrete subject matters, as the de facto curriculum in higher education stands today. It can only be achieved by teaching core concepts that transcend particular subjects and known contexts. For example, rather than conveying information, universities should be teaching concepts such as source credibility, plausibility, and correlation vs causation and then deliberately re-contextualizing those DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 57

concepts over and over again. This kind of cross-contextual scaffolded curriculum will allow students to make better decisions, when confronted with new societal, economic, and technological challenges, in whatever form they appear in the future. In addition, if we agree that we want to form better leaders who are fearless decision-makers, our education system should change from a passive, information feeding machine to an institution which relies on active learning, self-directed, and self-motivated study. Rather than treat students as customers, we should transform them into responsible adults, enabled to forge their learning, their careers and futures by giving them the tools and skills to do so.

The ultimate responsibility of a university is to ensure that the education it claims to convey is actually instilled in its students.

Today, universities assess what information students retain in the short-term and grant them certifications for the long-term. It is well known that our ability to retain information decreases drastically over time, as demonstrated by the Ebbinghaus Forgetting curve. The solution to this is to deliberately build intuitions and applied generative ideas in every student. Therefore, not only should we adopt active learning pedagogies that do not rely on memorization, universities should completely transform their curricular, assessment and certification methodologies.

We tend to think of the future from a technological perspective, trying to predict how technology will enable us or hinder our societies.

When it comes to education, technology alone will not solve the issues of quality nor impact. The transformation needed is much more profound and long-term. And a reset button will not be enough.

About the authors:

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Ben Nelson is founder, chairman, and CEO of Minerva which he founded in 2011 with the goal of nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world. Nelson has, since, built Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute into the most selective university in the United States, and has developed a business to share Minerva’s unique approach with other like-minded institutions.

Diana El-Azar is Senior Director of Strategic Communications at Minerva Project. Previously, she spent over 12 years at the World Economic Forum where her last role was heading marketing and outreach, engaging companies in issues such as gender, sustainability or education. Prior to the WEF, she held positions with Reuters in Beirut, London, Paris and New York.

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COMPANIES CAN ACHIEVE TRUST THROUGH RESPONSIBLE AND ETHICAL CONDUCT AND OPERATIONS, SUPPORT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND PUBLICPRIVATE POLICY DIALOGUE, AS WELL AS PARTNERSHIPS TO SHAPE WHAT THE NEXT NORMAL WILL LOOK LIKE.

Photo by Vladimir Kudinov via Unsplash.

HOW THE BUSINESS SECTOR FOSTERS TRUST TO LEAD COVID-19 RECOVERY ANNA KOMPANEK & ANDREW WILSON

HOW THE BUSINESS SECTOR FOSTERS TRUST TO LEAD COVID-19 RECOVERY ANNA KOMPANEK & ANDREW WILSON

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s countries reopen and adjust to the next normal after COVID-19, shoring up societal trust and trust in democratic and market institutions will be crucial to success. People need to know they can count on governments to create the right policy environments for recovery and protect them if the virus flares back up or another crisis hits. They also need to know they can trust the companies they are working for and doing business with.

On that point, at least, business is in a good place coming out of the pandemic. The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer (the annual survey on public trust in business, government, NGOs, and media conducted globally with more than 30,000 respondents) “shows that business is not only the most trusted institution among the four studied, but it is also the only trusted institution with a 61% trust level globally, and the only institution seen as both ethical and competent.” Swift business responses to COVID-19, from pharmaceutical companies developing the vaccine to firms of all sizes accommodating telework and creating safe workplaces, can be in large part credited for this high level of trust. In particular, people seem to trust their employers: Edelman finds 76% do, far ahead of the 61% who trust “business” in general.

This show of confidence gives businesses a unique opportunity to play a constructive role in shaping the post-pandemic recovery. Purposeful private sector leadership is imperative to further build on trust in business and strengthen social trust in democratic and market institutions. Companies around the world can achieve that goal through responsible and ethical conduct and operations, support for local communities, and public-private 62 | THE NEXT NORMAL

policy dialogue, as well as partnerships to shape what the next normal will look like.

Cooperation and Systemic Integrity If businesses act both individually and together, they can help rebuild out of this crisis. An important way they can cooperate is through representative business membership organizations: chambers of commerce, associations, trade groups, and professional societies. Business groups in Ukraine, Lebanon, Kenya, Venezuela, and the U.S. are among those that have submitted COVID-19 response policy proposals and donated services to their governments and communities.

To maintain and further enhance societal trust post-pandemic, businesses must embrace good governance and transparency in their own operations and promote systemic integrity that safeguards a level playing field and an inclusive business en-

“THE NEED TO REINVIGORATE THE ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN KEY SOCIETAL STAKEHOLDERS POINTS BACK TO THE ISSUE OF TRUST: DEMOCRACY AND MARKETS CAN ONLY SUCCEED WHEN THEY CAN BE TRUSTED TO BE TRANSPARENT, INCLUSIVE, AND REPRESENTATIVE.” vironment. Many are already signing on to programs such as the Ethics 1st initiative just launched in Africa. It is a network of businesses with a shared set of compliance requirements and best practices, including anti-corruption measures. This project is attracting the attention of investors and larger multinational companies looking for partners they can trust.

Extending the Reach Business alone cannot fix everything. However, companies of all sizes in all geographies must embrace their leadership role and work with stakeholders to drive change and capitalize on the trust the public has placed in them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation offers another example of how the private sector and civil society can collaborate. Through its Civics Forward series, it DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 63

brings together business leaders, educators, and government officials to examine the future of civic education, engagement, and discourse in America. That is helping prepare rising generations to be responsible citizens of a democracy.

The need to reinvigorate the engagement between key societal stakeholders points back to the issue of trust: democracy and markets can only succeed when they can be trusted to be transparent, inclusive, and representative. Of course, what that means in practice may become politicized. Businesses will have to be careful not to get too far ahead of public opinion on controversial issues, but also be careful not to lag. On various social issues in the United States and globally, businesses are already learning how to draw the line between civic engagement and political overreach. These lessons will be important as more businesses step into market leadership roles.

Key Moment for Business As governments are looking to the private sector for solutions to deliver post-pandemic recovery, industries and business associations have a chance to come together and offer constructive input into policy priorities. To help their communities, businesses must be good citizens, providing jobs and economic opportunities while respecting rights and responsibilities.

Once trust is established, it can build on itself and grow quickly.

People return to the same restaurants, banks, and gas stations over and over because they trust the product and service. That makes this a key moment for businesses. By doing good, businesses can do well. They can build more trust, contributing to more robust economies as well as stronger democracies worldwide. ***** About the authors: Anna Kompanek is the Director for Global Programs at the Center for International Private Enterprise. She manages a portfolio of programs in emerging markets that incorporate the organization’s core themes: democratic governance, business advocacy, strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems, anticorruption, and women’s economic empowerment.

Andrew Wilson is the Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), headquartered in Washington, DC. CIPE is home to the Trade Lab, a center of excellence 64 | THE NEXT NORMAL

specializing in trade issues. CIPE also jointly leads the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation with the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Economic Forum. Wilson has extensive experience working with the private sector on development issues in conflict and post-conflict settings, crafting successful business strategies to reduce corruption, encouraging entrepreneurship development, strengthening business advocacy, improving corporate governance standards, and promoting economic reform.

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ENDING POVERTY STARTS WITH PRICING PIERRE FERRARI

PAYING A LITTLE MORE FOR GOODS AND SERVICES NOW WILL SAVE HUMANITY FROM PAYING A MUCH HIGHER PRICE IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS AHEAD AND INCREASE THE RESILIENCE OF BILLIONS TO FUTURE DISASTERS.

Photo by Marissa Eric via Unsplash.

ENDING POVERTY STARTS WITH PRICING PIERRE FERRARI

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s another round of UN meetings concludes, people living in poverty the world over are still counting the cost of the pandemic. While all the talk will inevitably focus on ‘building back better’, the foundation fissures that COVID-19 forced open need new tools, stronger materials, and innovative engineering to fix. If we are serious about doing this, we have to address the lack of viable incomes for billions of people globally.

Poverty is not an accident. It is the outcome of unjust policies, unbalanced markets, disproportionate value distribution, and an overall devaluing of the human condition. It cannot be ‘solved’ with charity alone. The touchstones on which international development rest—philanthropy, input provision, technical assistance, market support—are powerful amplifiers in a functioning system, but they are not the foundation for sustainable livelihoods and dignified lives.

Facilitating this requires economic infrastructure. It means focusing on equitable compensation. Paying a little more for goods and services now will save humanity from paying a much higher price in the months and years ahead and increase the resilience of billions to future disasters.

This is particularly true in agriculture, which represents the primary source of income for the majority of the world’s poorest people. Farmers continue to suffer, with a lack of institutional safeguards. Those responsible for arguably the most essential products on Earth remain trapped in endless, unnecessary poverty cycles. These cycles will not be broken until we address the low prices paid for the highly valuable items that countries like the United States import by the boatload.

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In the Northern Triangle, the migration crisis’s epicenter, there is arguably no crop more important than coffee. Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, together with Mexico, produce about 20% of the world’s Arabica coffee and are significant exporters to the United States. In Guatemala, coffee farming is the largest source of rural employment, representing 40% of the country’s agricultural GDP. However, prices below $1 per pound since mid-2017 have resulted in significantly declining exports and left large parts of the agricultural labor force without work and incomes.

When looking at coffee market prices against migration trends, the numbers track closely. Based on return figures from the International Organization for Migration in 2018, the highest deportation numbers from the United States and Mexico overwhelmingly originated from coffee producing areas of Guatemala.

“DOWNWARD PRICING PRESSURE HAS ALSO HAD SEVERE CONSEQUENCES FOR MILLIONS WHO DEPEND ON COFFEE FOR SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT, WITH WORKERS FORCED TO TAKE SEVERE PAY CUTS, AS FARM OWNERS ARE UNABLE TO PAY DECENT WAGES.” But the problem is not the profitability of the coffee chain, rather how value is distributed among the different actors. The U.S. coffee market is worth around $100 billion. That’s more than five times what all the world’s coffee producing countries earn from the crop combined.

After the liberalization of the global coffee market, producers’ share of coffee’s final retail price fell from 20% to around 7%.

In real terms, the average market price since 2018 is roughly two-thirds less than it was in the 1980s—equivalent to the 1985 minimum wage of $3.35 reduced to $0.83 today. Household income from coffee has been slashed in half, despite global coffee production nearly doubling over this period, and demand increasing significantly. As a result, millions more families now live in poverty.

Such profound lack of profitability has ramifications, among them food insecurity, lack of education and access to healthcare, as well as gender inequality. Downward pricing pressure has also DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 69

had severe consequences for millions who depend on coffee for seasonal employment, with workers forced to take severe pay cuts, as farm owners are unable to pay decent wages. This has directly resulted in a growing number of human rights violations, including child and forced labor.

No amount of aid, or the projects and programs it funds, will change this until there is trade and market reform. These billions of essential workers must be able to earn a living income from the very commodities that fuel our American economy. In the case of coffee, less than a quarter-a-cup extra would enable some 12.5 million smallholder farmers to make a living income.

As the world recovers from a truly global crisis, let’s harness consumer interest in putting their dollars where they do good and tackle the root causes of the problem such as extractive procurement policies. Until we can ensure that the people who produce the products we all know and love are properly compensated, poverty levels will continue to go up, making a dignified life and security in the face of a disaster a mere pipedream for billions of people the world over. ***** About the author: Pierre Ferrari is the President and CEO of global development organization Heifer International. He joined Heifer International in 2010 with more than 40 years of business experience.

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HOW BUSINESSES BECOME THE CHANGEMAKERS MARGERY KRAUS

IN THE PAST, GOVERNMENTS AND NGOS HAVE ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF CRISIS. TODA TO THE GROWING EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOY AND INCREASING DISINFORMATION AND HYPE Photo by Tim Gouw via Unsplash.

E TAKEN THE LEAD IN ADDRESSING THESE AY, THESE LINES HAVE BLURRED, PARTLY DUE YEES, LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT, ER-PARTISANSHIP.UTURE DISASTERS.

HOW BUSINESSES BECOME THE CHANGEMAKERS MARGERY KRAUS

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he pandemic effect revealed a lot. We saw a great capacity for care, sacrifice, and compassion, but it also highlighted the injustice and prejudice entrenched throughout society. It changed how we—as leaders—interact with the world around us, accelerating progress, creating change, and causing action. Whatever your personal experience, the collective mood of awareness and expectations has changed, especially as it relates to business and its role in society. This is a trend that has been evolving but the pandemic put this change on steroids.

Nowhere are these increased expectations more apparent than on a business’s response to social issues. In early 2020, we could have predicted that businesses would respond to the demands for new products caused by the shortage of necessary goods.

What we may not have predicted was the rising demand from consumers and employees for companies to engage on social issues on a fundamental level, using their clout to influence systemic changes in our society for issues such as voting rights, vaccine requirements, and climate action.

Clearly, the world has changed. Every company must address the challenge of when and how to engage on these emotional and politically in an authentic way that aligns with both their business objectives and what matters most to their stakeholders.

Business activism and the changing role of government In the past, governments and NGOs have taken the lead in addressing these issues, especially in times of crisis. Today, these lines have blurred, partly due to the growing expectations of employees, lack of confidence in government, and increasing disinformation and hyper-partisanship.

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Given these changes, business has a significant role as an honest broker, filling the void and being a catalyst for change. Businesses, and their leaders, know how to focus on a problem and organize to get things done. We can use these skills to be a catalyst for global understanding and collaboration, because an organization can only succeed when it operates in a predictable world, and as a steward of resources for the planet’s future.

We must lead on social justice through our organizations’ own performance and practices—and the workforce of the future is demanding it.

“COLLABORATIONS TO CREATE A VACCINE AND EXECUTE A MASS DISTRIBUTION CAMPAIGN COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT. IT TAUGHT US THAT IF WE SET ASIDE DIFFERENCES AND FOCUS ON OUTCOMES, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.” Afterall, the business community has the best motivation of all: a company cannot be successful in a failed world. This message is fueling growth not only in the C-suite, but the Board Room and within the investor community. Business must find a way to make its voice heard as a partner for change and stay at the forefront of addressing these issues through remembering that the companies’ self-interests are aligned with society’s best interests. And as businesses continue to become a trusted partner, they must practice how to engage meaningfully with stakeholders.

The early signs of success The pandemic created an imperative for multi-stakeholder engagements. For example, collaborations to create a vaccine and execute a mass distribution campaign could not have happened without a partnership between business and government. It taught us that if we set aside differences and focus on outcomes, anything is possible.

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our employees push us to establish firm and clear commitments, how can we take what we have learned and embed it as part of our operating models for the future? This question is now facing corporate leadership daily, and leaders must ask when and how to engage in a way that leads to meaningful change.

By staying involved, companies are valued by employees and consumers, but they must demonstrate their commitment through strategic actions. Businesses must think carefully about when to engage and do so in a way that is appropriate for their brand and aligns with their mission and values.

And yet, leaders need to think about what to do when this engagement may not be universally supported or is not directly related to the objectives of the business, but still top of mind for stakeholders. Because lasting change takes time, and requires initial champions that are bold enough to be ahead of the curve.

How to decide to engage on social and political issues?

In post-COVID times, there is no room for reacting to social issues just through a single statement, and speed is vital. The decision to engage needs to be made rapidly—within 18 hours.

Businesses must already understand the expectations of their stakeholders to offer a point of view. One way to do this is to establish channels of communication for employees to meaningfully engage with leadership on these issues, while engaging its philanthropic arm to compound impact.

To capitalize on stakeholder trust, businesses need a transparent decision-making framework, guiding them on when to proactively engage, and to embed socially conscious practices into their own internal policies daily.

The decision to engage must be at the systematic level, with great deference to stakeholder expectations. The process must be robust and repeatable, with clear reporting activities. Businesses must ensure to understand the nuances of the issue and consider their brand’s history and values. Businesses must ensure they are meaningfully influencing the issue, not just adding noise to the conversation and consider how their stakeholders may follow their lead in participating.

In addition, it is important that a response is not outsized for the issue, so as to not create unrealistic expectations for future engagement. When businesses consider their brand, they must think about what issues they want to be known for tackling and 76 | THE NEXT NORMAL

having a voice in the conversation. They must think about how they can leverage their reputation to push other stakeholders toward progress.

Actionable change cannot happen at only the top or bottom, but solutions must be woven throughout a company’s entire footprint. No matter the issue driving positive global and social impact must be proactive and integrated to build public and stakeholder trust. By meeting stakeholder expectations for proactive social engagement, companies leverage their reputation to impact stakeholders, becoming the ultimate catalysts for change.

While the pandemic has provided us a moment in history to engage and be at the forefront of change, our work as business leaders must be lasting, ready to adapt as societal needs change, and empower all aspects of our business to play a role in shaping a better future. ***** About the author: Margery Kraus is the founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide. Ms. Kraus founded APCO in 1984 and transformed it from a company with one small Washington office to a multinational consulting firm in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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TOWARDS REGENERATIVE STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM

WHY WE NEED TRUSTED AND EMPATHETIC LEADERS MORE THAN EVER ANDREA BONIME-BLANC

Photo by Illiya Vjestica via Unsplash.

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED TRUSTWORTHY, STAKEHOLDER-SAVVY, EMPATHETIC LEADERS LEADING KEY INSTITUTIONS—IN BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, AND SOCIETY—ENGAGED AND FOCUSED ON EFFECTIVE PUBLIC, PRIVATE, SOCIAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND COLLABORATION AT EVERY LEVEL.

TOWARDS REGENERATIVE STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM

WHY WE NEED TRUSTED AND EMPATHETIC LEADERS MORE THAN EVER ANDREA BONIME-BLANC

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hether it is a new normal or a next normal, what comes after the COVID-19 pandemic must be a pivot from the old, tired, and exclusive models of leadership and capitalism (and related systemic corruption) that have prevailed over the past few decades to a more sustainable, ethical, inclusive form of regenerative stakeholder capitalism that addresses some of the critical and even existential global environmental, social, governance, and technological (ESGT) challenges of our times.

And the most critical ingredient to achieve this? Trustworthy, stakeholder-savvy, empathetic leaders leading key institutions—in business, government, and society—engaged and focused on effective public, private, social partnerships, and collaboration at every level.

It is only in this way that we will begin to scratch the surface of some of the deepest challenges of our time—climate, cyber, inequality, health, tech ethics, human rights—because such challenges can only be solved by leaders who are naturally empathetic, inclusive, collaborative, expert, and thus trusted.

Deconstructing the Problem As the annual Edelman Trust Barometer has shown for the past dozen years, stakeholder trust in four key institutions (business, 80 | THE NEXT NORMAL

government, media, and nonprofits) and their leaders has been on a steady decline globally.

It’s not surprising. Studies have found that we don’t always have the best and the brightest serving in leadership roles regardless of sector. Indeed, we often have manipulative, wiliest, and sometimes incompetent in charge instead. In my own work, I have examined research on the characteristics of leaders on a spectrum from sociopathic to altruistic and it is no wonder that trust has plummeted. These studies show that there are substantially more sociopathic and hubristic leaders in leadership positions than in society generally. For example, neurologists estimate that about 4% of the general human population are sociopaths, but further studies have suggested that this percentage may be closer to 18% or more at leadership levels. If we just look around the hallowed halls of top leadership just about anywhere, it could be observed that there are more of the less than desirable persons in positions of power exhibiting sociopathy, narcissism, hubris, authoritarianism, or incompetency.

The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer however, does appear to offer a potential silver lining and opportunity for leaders. On a two-dimensional competency/ethicality grid (see Figure below), business rose above the other three institutions to display a modicum of both competency and ethicality. Meanwhile, NGOs were considered ethical but somewhat less competent while the other two—government and media—were considered both less competent and less ethical.

Reconstructing a Solution If we are going to build a world in which the next pandemic is contained before it becomes one, devastating climate change effects are addressed through aggressive coordinated climate action, cyber-mayhem is prevented through effective cyber resilience and defense collaboration, the erosion of democracy and human rights is met by international pro-democratic alliances, and our global economy moves from wasteful and destructive to sustainable and regenerative, then stakeholders everywhere need to step up to the plate and be counted.

This means that each of us as stakeholders in our communities, workplaces, educational institutions, investments, and local, regional, and national elections (if we are lucky enough to live in democracies) with even a modicum of decision-making or influencing power should use that power to choose, elect, or demand competent, empathetic, inclusive, and stakeholdersavvy leaders.

A good place to start understanding great leadership competencies is to see in the Table below from Gloom to Boom what global CEOs consider to be the top qualities of an effective CEO: all of these including the top quality of all—ethicality and morality—speak to empathy, inclusiveness, and stakeholder savvy.

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“FOR THE PAST DOZEN YEARS, STAKEHOLDER TRUST IN FOUR KEY INSTITUTIONS (BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, MEDIA, AND NONPROFITS) AND THEIR LEADERS HAS BEEN ON A STEADY DECLINE GLOBALLY.” We need to select leaders with emotional intelligence. This means in democracies, electing leaders that listen to and represent stakeholders, like PM Jacinda Ardern from New Zealand. In business, among other things, it means listening to activist shareholders and other key stakeholders (employees, customers, younger generations) before it’s too late. It means choosing leaders that are responsible or enlightened not only as to their core mission and strategy but also when it comes to ESGT issues.

The idea is to go beyond stale leadership and stale capitalism that has prevailed and have leaders—CEOs, board members, government officials, social enterprise leaders—who actually get that social responsibility and value regeneration is part of their job and that being trusted by their key stakeholders is at its core.

It is only these leaders—working together across silos—that will achieve a better, more inclusive, more stakeholder sensitive version of capitalism that will benefit most of the globe. Whether you call it “Stakeholder Capitalism” or “Capitalism with a Human Face” or “Regenerative Stakeholder Capitalism” doesn’t really matter. The point is to integrate the “people” and “planet” part into the “profit” piece to create a next level of sustainability—sustainable regeneration that is savvy to people and planet, providing in the process ample profit. ***** About the author: Andrea Bonime-Blanc, CEO/Founder, GEC Risk Advisory, is a global governance, risk, ESG, and cyber strategist. She is Independent Ethics Advisor to the Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico. She spent two decades in the global corporate c-suite and serves on several boards. She teaches at NYU and her latest book is “Gloom to Boom: How Leaders Transform Risk into Resilience and Value.”

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BE LOCALLY DRIVEN LES WILLIAMS & ANDRES FRANZETTI

GIVEN THAT APPROXIMATELY 150 MILLION GLOBAL CITIZENS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL INTO POVERTY

BY THE END OF 2021, THE NEED FOR PROTECTIONISM MUST BE MET WITH THE FIERCE REALITY THAT EACH NATION IS INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO ONE ANOTHER.

Photo by Arthur Franklin via Unsplash.

BE LOCALLY DRIVEN LES WILLIAMS & ANDRES FRANZETTI

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s 2021 enters its waning months, a somewhat return to normalcy seems to be within reach. For the past one and a half years international borders have shuttered and reopened, travelers struggled with diverse quarantine policies, and the international transfer of goods was delayed due to pandemic-influenced supply chain disruptions. Numerous landmark events have left an indelible mark on the world; military conflicts, 911, the 2008 global economic crises, but the COVID-19 pandemic was unique given its sudden and widespread impact on virtually every human being on the planet.

Situational awareness is a term closely associated with the military, yet the global population could afford to take a page from military operating procedures as countries begin a march towards normalcy. Being aware of one’s surroundings is one aspect of situational awareness, yet being aware of your neighbor’s surroundings is equally as important. The ongoing debate over “vaccine haves vs have nots’, those countries having quick and easy access to COVID-19 vaccines and those who continue to struggle, has introduced the term vaccine nationalism to the global lexicon and the global conscience. Beyond simply vaccines, nationalistic views, or commonly called protectionism, has complicated many aspects of global cooperation and the trend shows no signs of slowing.

Looking towards 2022 and beyond, the narrative surrounding the new normal post-pandemic must change from protectionism, to global cooperation. This means that a large, all-encompassing global alliance must be realized given the increased severity and occurrence of emerging risks such as climate change, cyber-attacks, and pandemics. This does not suggest that current global alliances, such as the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), be dismantled. Rather, a 86 | THE NEXT NORMAL

much larger alliance be formed whose mission underpins these emerging risks impacting all nations regardless of geopolitical status. This alliance must supersede current conflicts, such as when rivals India and Pakistan conducted joint military anti-terrorism exercises in 2018 in the name of diplomacy and protection for all citizens.

Similar to cyber, supply chain risk does not respect international borders and also requires a coordinated response from all nations. The global pandemic, the mid-February Texas Freeze, and the Ever Given morass forced companies to rethink supply chain resiliency and work with their suppliers to

“A LARGE, ALL-ENCOMPASSING GLOBAL ALLIANCE MUST BE REALIZED GIVEN THE INCREASED SEVERITY AND OCCURRENCE OF EMERGING RISKS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, CYBER-ATTACKS, AND PANDEMICS.” keep “buffer” inventory of critical parts in stock. While it is costlier for the global supply chain to keep inventories higher than usual, which is in stark contrast to the just-in-time methodology made popular by Toyota, it is expected that more companies will follow suit. To ease stress on the rising costs associated with buffer inventories and raw materials, governments should intervene with diplomacy that lessens any trading friction. This means revisiting past trade disputes like increased steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the U.S. and the pandemic-driven increase in Chinese tariffs on Australian imports. While hundreds of trade disputes exist between nations, the goal in a post-pandemic world is not to eliminate all of them but for nations to sit down with one another and revisit certain onerous trading terms for the good of the global supply chain. Revisiting supply chain strategies also involves companies rethinking their use of “low cost regions” exclusively; low cost cannot be the main driver in determining how companies choose their supplier relationships given the global emerging risk profile.

Perhaps the most glaring, yet overlooked, economic issue exposed by the pandemic is the global plight of women. Supporting women locally is directly proportional to global prosperity, and communicating this to nations around the world DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 87

is paramount. McKinsey estimates that improving gender equity could add $13 trillion to the global economy, and the pandemic exposed just how critical women are to humanity and global economies. President Biden included caregivers, 87% of whom are women, in his infrastructure proposal showing a commitment to this important link in the economic supply chain. Caregiving allows a vast number of women to return to work because they are freed from caring for members of their family, hence the narrative of caregiving being a critical aspect of U.S. infrastructure.

Given that approximately 150 million global citizens are expected to fall into poverty by the end of 2021, the need for protectionism must be met with the fierce reality that each nation is inextricably linked to one another. As each nation rebuilds locally, a commitment must be made to communicate openly and often with other nations because while a rising tide may lift all boats, a lowering tide can similarly sink an entire fleet. ***** About the authors: Andres Franzetti is CEO of Risk Cooperative. As a multi-lingual, dual-licensed insurance broker and Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Andres specializes in helping multinational organizations address complex risks to increase their overall resiliency and mitigate downside exposures. Considered an industry leader in program development and innovation, he has worked closely with such organizations like the United Nations, Volvo and other Fortune 500 firms as well as leading academic institutions in managing and mitigating enterprise risks.

Les Williams is CRO of Risk Cooperative. A Certified Risk Manager (CRM), leads the organization’s business development and sales initiatives. In 2020 Mr. Williams was recognized by Risk & Insurance as a 2020 Power Broker for Specialty Lines , and he has appeared as a professional contributor in The Institutes’ CPCU online risk management curriculum. Mr. Williams is a member of the Cybersecurity Strategic Council for the Private Directors Association (PDA).

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LIFE SKILLS FOR THE WIN KELLY R. BAILEY

THE FOUNDATION TO BUILDING TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE NEEDS TO INCLUDE THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH OF ALL INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT EMPLOY THEM AND THE SCHOOLS THAT TRAIN THEM.

Photo by Catalin Popnoyd via Unsplash.

LIFE SKILLS FOR THE WIN KELLY R. BAILEY

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bout five years ago I ran myself into complete burnout. I had been working 80 hours a week, traveling three days a week, and trying to parent three children. Both personally and professionally I pushed myself to the limit until I could no longer function.

I quit my job without any other prospects on the horizon, not caring if we went bankrupt because I was so unhappy. I couldn’t get out of bed and take care of myself, let alone my children. My depression and anxiety were so high that I could not see how to move forward.

At the same time, I came to find out that my five-year-old was diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, and high anxiety. I had to start advocating for support at her school, while I was also struggling myself. At first, I focused on my daughter’s grades and making sure that she was still progressing academically. But two years into this process, she was still crying every day before school.

And to be honest, I was crying every day too.

All I could think about was, “Is this just how life is? Am I ever going to be happy? Is my daughter ever going to be happy?”.

I found myself at a crossroads. Would I continue to go through the daily motions or might there be another option? I completely stopped focusing on what I thought the world would see as acceptable. I stopped focusing on financial success, my daughter’s grades, even keeping my house clean. I decided to focus on being happy every day. But, I had no idea how to do that.

Prior to this burnout experience, I had spent my professional career on facilitating skills-based hiring and learning through data and technology. My life’s passion was to help people make better decisions in their lives. It was always about financial success, best return on your educational investment, and moving up the career ladder. No one ever talked about what makes you happy in life.

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Determined to help my daughter find her happy and become a positive influence in her life, I embarked upon a long journey of self-help, personal discovery, and therapy that led me down the rabbit hole of mindset.

Our mindset affects how we think, feel, behave, basically how we react in every life situation. According to Dr. Carol Dweck, we can have either a growth mindset, the belief that we can learn over time, or a fixed mindset, the belief that we are born with what we have. It was clear that my daughter and I, and most individuals we interacted with, maintained a fixed mindset that held us back.

“ACCORDING TO DR. CAROL DWECK, WE CAN HAVE EITHER A GROWTH MINDSET, THE BELIEF THAT WE CAN LEARN OVER TIME, OR A FIXED MINDSET, THE BELIEF THAT WE ARE BORN WITH WHAT WE HAVE.” Learning to develop and maintain a growth mindset was not easy, but what I learned was amazing. The belief that we can grow and change over time not only helps you navigate all life throws at you, but also cultivates the same skills that employers most struggle to find in any industry, in any job, at any level.

Traditionally dubbed ‘soft skills’, these life skills include: emotional intelligence, communication in all forms, creative problem solving, resilience, and empathy.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I started to see the same depression, anxiety, and reactions in others that I was all too familiar with. Individuals and businesses that were determined to hold their course continued to struggle. While those that took the opportunity to thinking creatively and transform, were able to find a successful way forward. It quickly became apparent that for us to move past this moment and thrive in the future, we would need to have the ability to adjust personally, professionally, and even collectively.

Thankfully there are countless examples to learn from. Even before the recent explosion of interest in mental health resources at the individual and organizational level I was tapping into Mel Robbins’ book, The 5 Second Rule, Lewis Howes’ School of DIPLOMATIC COURIER | 93

Greatness resources, Edith Eger’s book, The Gift, Thrive Global with their most recent release of a behavior change technology platform being tested with Accenture, Salesforce, and Walmart, and of course, Skills Baby, where we aspire to bring awareness to and help people grow the skills that they gain throughout their life journey.

The foundation to building transformational change is no longer just about building human capital capacity through upskilling or reskilling but needs to include the mental and emotional health of all individuals, including the culture of the organizations that employ them and the schools that train them. ***** Editor’s Note: The author wishes to thank Michelle Smith for her research support on this piece and her efforts on the Got Skills podcast.

About the author: Kelly Ryan Bailey is an entrepreneur, podcaster, global skills evangelist, social impactor, transformational leader, and mama of three kiddos. For over 17 years she has helped people navigate their education and career by using data and technology to create innovative skills-based hiring and learning solutions for companies, educators, governments, initiatives, and more. Kelly is currently the Global Skills Evangelist at Emsi Burning Glass, the Podcast Host of ‘Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby’, the Founder + CEO of Skills Baby, the Co-Founder of Growth Network Podcasts, and a Founder Member of Equity Cities.

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Photo by Patrick Hendry via Unsplash.

OWN YOUR HEALTH

HOW PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME CAN HELP REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEMS DANIELLA FOSTER

HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN PREVENT DISEASE AND PROACTIVELY TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES IS ONE OF THE KEY WAYS WE CAN REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEMS.

OWN YOUR HEALTH

HOW PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME CAN HELP REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEMS DANIELLA FOSTER

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ne of the most eye-opening transformations that happened during COVID-19 was the increased role of health ownership. Before the pandemic, most people didn’t put the same stock in the care we give ourselves at home to prevent and treat illness. But the pandemic empowered people. The extreme circumstances have shown that people can take more control over their personal health. But they need to be given the right information and access to do this properly.

Helping people understand how they can prevent disease and proactively take care of themselves is one of the key ways we can rebuild health systems.The Center for Workforce Health and Performance in the U.S. believes that if people took care of more of their healthcare needs at home, this could result in $45 billion saved from unneeded doctors’ visits, among other costs. It would also result in an additional 130 million more days worked, which also means more money in someone’s pocket.

Other countries have similar statistics.

Embed Self-Care into Public Policy In conjunction with the World Health Organization, The Global Self-Care Federation* just launched the Self-Care Readiness Index to help countries better understand and create actionable 98 | THE NEXT NORMAL

plans against the four key enablers of self-care: stakeholder support and adoption, consumer and patient empowerment, health policy, and the regulatory environment. In assessing personal health practices and policies across 10 countries, several key themes emerged. First, self-care legislation is common, but disjointed. Numerous government strategies, plans, and programs touch on self-care, but few call it by name or paint a coherent policy vision.

Policies should look at new approaches to behavior change when they are determining future investments in health promotion, prevention, and self-care initiatives. We need to develop a “whole government” approach to self-care. Think multiple arms of government working together to both educate and embed habits—similar to what we saw when it came to hygiene, social distancing, and vaccination through COVID-19, but a sustained effort. Governments don’t need to work alone on this. The collective action developed through multi-stakeholder partnerships—bringing together the private and public sector—can create an even bigger impact.

“IF WE CAN ARM COMMUNITIES WITH THE TOOLS TO TAKE HEALTH OWNERSHIP, WE CAN MAKE A HUGE IMPACT. NOT ONLY CAN WE REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEMS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS APPROACH WILL HELP ALL PEOPLE LEAD BETTER LIVES BECAUSE THEY ARE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO ENJOY THEM. Empower People with Information The second key theme within the Self-Care Readiness Index is that individual empowerment hinges on continued efforts to boost health literacy, having credible, consistent sources of information that’s aligned with healthcare providers. Education is an oftenoverlooked aspect of healthcare, but it is critical. Consider the concerted effort behind the COVID-19 handwashing best practices. The efforts were orchestrated, focused and made simple for people to implement—so they did. There’s lots of information available, but it is not always accurate or beneficial. This needs to change. In order for people to feel empowered, they need to be confident in their ability to take the right actions.

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These programs don’t need to be complicated, but they do need to be targeted to ensure they are reaching people where they are and how they are most receptive to information.

Rethink Where Health Happens One of the ways we can help people take better care of themselves is to rethink where health happens. We’re seeing this happen more and more but we need to continue to think of healthcare outside of clinics, doctors’ offices, and hospitals. It needs to happen in homes, pharmacies, grocery stores, and online—where patients actually are in their daily lives.

There’s still value in traditional healthcare settings, but in many communities, especially underserved ones, people have more access to the local store than a traditional healthcare provider.

Services facilitated by a pharmacist or in-store healthcare provider can often be more affordable and offer 360 solutions— people can get healthcare provider-endorsed recommendations for how to take care of themselves, get prescriptions, and shop for over-the-counter solutions all in one place. In order for this to be successful, policies also need to change to enable access to medical records and the ability to make referrals.

There’s also opportunity for the expansion of digital health.

The pandemic certainly encouraged telehealth, but in order to help create health ownership, this should be expanded to other health services. We’ve already started to see a patient’s home becoming the primary site for medical services. We’ll see this centered on at-home medical devices. For example, diabetes is a chronic condition that currently can be monitored with the help of digital remote-monitoring tools like glucose monitors and activity trackers. A patient can sync their devices to track progress, check their health data in real time, send and receive messages from a nurse, and share progress with their doctor.

This helps address long periods of ongoing care and allows people to take control of their health.

It’s Up to Us In order to rebuild health systems, people need to be empowered to take care of their personal health. It requires the leadership of multiple stakeholders collaborating to do it well, but if we can arm communities with the tools to take health ownership, we can make a huge impact. Not only can we rebuild health systems, but at the end of the day, this is approach will help all people lead better lives because they are healthy enough to enjoy them.

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***** About the author: Daniella Foster is Global Vice President and Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health division. *Disclosure: Bayer is a member of the Global Self-Care Federation and helped develop the Self-Care Readiness Index.

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