A Failed System and The New Norm

Almost overnight, the world has come to a halt. Over half of the world’s population are in quarantine, while the rest are experiencing new norms of behavior and being. We are living in unprecedented times. The effects of COVID-19 were unthinkable. According to worldometers.info the virus has reached 195 countries. Today, leaders around the world are forced to make hard and fast decisions to ensure the safety and well-being of their people, stakeholders, and so are the corporate MNCs to their employees, customers, and the wider community. Here are some observations that may be worthy of consideration on three levels: 1. World level, 2. Corporate level and 3. Individual level:

1.The world system:

Within a span of one month after the largescale global devastation at the end of world war two, the United Nations came into being in 1945. It’s central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security. If one is to reflect on this mission and the results since its formation, we have only witnessed the opposite. Lack of peace and by default little security. Hence the UN has failed its mission as the governing body to fulfill this mission and so did the current world system. The evidence speaks for itself, passing through multiple wars and various conflicts that has been going on till this date.

This prompts us to think, that we are in dire need for a new world order that will fulfill such mission or even draft a new mission that will reflect the new reality and needs of the ever and fast growing population explosion on planet earth. History of mankind shows that parties in dispute come to the negotiating table after serious wars or problems that affects all. Well, we are due to draft and think of a new world order that can efficiently organize the sharing and optimization of the shared resources on our planet in a fair manner.

The hegemony of the USA has reached an inflection point clearly after the Chinese dragon have woken up and it is no longer the case that one country leads the world. We are witnessing a duopoly with an unclear outcome racing to dominate the world.

I write this opinion piece in the midst of the global pandemic ‘Covid-19’ that have showed the entire world not only how fragile the system is, but how it failed to respond collectively to a common hidden enemy as various heads of states called it. We have seen a delayed and ineffective response from WHO, while countries and world leaders acted independently and sometimes escalated the blame game such as the case with USA & China. President Trump even went to the extent of calling it the ‘Chinese virus’!

The existing global system have collectively ignored the damage to the global warming threat that is by far and large the most significant threat that humanity can face!

We are heading into a new era where traditional types of warfare are over and have evolved into new kinds of warfare such as Economic, Cyber, AI, Biological, Psychological, not to mention the silent fight over the outer space etc.

2.The corporate system:

Remote work has become mainstream. Companies around the world are encouraging their employees to work from home to prioritize the health and safety of their workforce and communities. In my previous article titled: ‘thriving in a changing world’; I spoke about Generation Z and their attitudes towards work and it was simply put that they prefer to work from anywhere to anyone. They were able to pre-empt the current plight and be ahead of the curve by being resilient, creative and more flexible to adapt to new realities.

If I was to draw a parallel between the Corporate system and the and the World system, we find many similarities in the collective behavior of multinational companies and large corporates. After all, they were founded after the industrialization age and now the technological revolution mirroring the world system one way or another.

The corporate system, showed its fragility by its unpreparedness, lack of a robust crisis management response. This case is evident not only across the aviation sector that was hit first but across other sectors since it is a domino effect e.g. hospitality, retail and all other luxury sectors and maybe at some point reaching the food chain itself.

We are seeing mass lay-offs, shutdowns, salary cuts, in an array of industries that has proved vulnerable to disruption by the virus. The consumer economy at large is at stake and life as we know it after this crisis is over.

HBS professor Michael Watkins explains in an article published on 30 September 2002, titled: “your crisis response plan: the ten effective elements” that corporates inevitably face crises but are not well prepared to deal with them. He says that: “LEADERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PULL COMBINATIONS OF PRE-SET RESPONSE "MODULES" OFF THE SHELF”.

He also offers a full methodology like a checklist of what corporates need to do in this regard starting from scenario-based planning reaching all the way to implementation, measurement and a disciplined post crisis review.

One can observe that we might be heading on a straight collision into “stagflation”. In economics, stagflation, or recession-inflation, is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. This presents a dilemma for both the corporate system and the world system at large that is already burdened in debt.

3.The individual system:

To help navigate the challenges on an individual level, one needs to exercise mental toughness and retain a strong immune system. This is coupled with a higher state of consciousness of connecting with the positive energies around rather than the toxic ones and anything that breeds negativity. After all, social distancing may prove to be a healthy practice given that ‘less can be more’ through surrounding yourself with like-minded people and developing a higher state of self-awareness. A report published in 2006, the world health organization predicts that by 2030, lifestyle related diseases such as smoking, AIDS and mental health related diseases will account for the leading causes of death worldwide.

This projection presents a solid proof that one should maintain a healthy golden formula that goes back to achieving a fine balance of mind, body and spirit. This is your perfect opportunity to carry out introspection, self-evaluation and some reflection as to where you stand from this equation and balance. You may not always get to choose what happens to you, but you always can choose how you respond to life’s events. With a positive mindset, you have a real chance to self-correct and make the most of any adversity by building and practicing resilience. It was Aristotle that said: “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Play your part, take care of yourself and the world will take care of itself.

About the Author:

Paul Boulos is a well-seasoned business growth professional. He is a certified executive business coach, a master educator/trainer with high entrepreneurial drive. He founded Antworks Consulting in partnership with FocalPoint International with the purpose of partnering with clients to help them be the best version of themselves and deliver sustainable business growth & impact. Paul is a curious student of life with continuous learning to remain at the forefront of business excellence.

Prior to establishing his own firm; He accumulated over 20+ years of rich & in-depth business growth experience working in fast-paced, blue-chip global & regional corporations such as Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett; Dentsu, Henry Ford Health System among others. He has three degrees: B.A Liberal Arts | M.A International Affairs | Diploma Strategic Media Management.

Email: paul.boulos@antworksconsultants.com