The Increased Need for Innovation

The Covid-19 pandemic is a human crisis that is having a profound effect on people and communities around the world. Each and every one of us have been affected in some way or another. In such an environment, many people have asked me if innovation is still relevant or if businesses should just “hunker” down and try to survive.

My belief is that innovation is even more important in times like this. In fact, it will be key to economic recovery, bringing leaders to the forefront. Given the unpredictability of the long-term impacts of Covid-19, the only thing we can say with certainty is that this will drive change. With this change comes the opportunity to work in different ways and deliver new value - not just to adapt, but to thrive.

Many people are innovating already. We are seeing the acceleration of changes that would otherwise have taken a long time to become mainstream – leading to overnight adoption en masse in some cases. For example, I recently heard about a small-town boutique store who up until now only accepted one method of payment – cash. In a matter of days, they have not only evolved to accepting cards, but also other means of digital payments.

These examples are just scratching the surface and nothing compared to what I believe is yet to come. While chatting with Brant Cooper, author of the New York Times bestseller “Lean Innovation,” we discussed how people can respond in the face of a “Black Swan” event like COVID-19. His advice was that these events further underline how innovation is critical for business – a “must have” not a “nice to have” at all times.

A lot of the change being prompted is positive – and leverages technology in new ways. As many employees moved to remote working, we have witnessed new innovations for how people continue to be productive and engage, without meeting physically. In other examples, Robots are being used in the Netherlands to help connect the vulnerable to their loved ones and in Singapore to ensure people are maintaining social distance. Businesses who are not traditionally known for producing medical supplies are using their equipment and skills to fulfill the shortage of PPE. We’re even seeing wedding and graduation ceremonies being conducted online to maintain our routines in spite of the disruption, with creative ideas like virtual simulations in Minecraft, etc.

Entire industries are evolving too. Telemedicine is the new norm for any non-critical health related concern. Overnight banks have enabled mobile check deposits across the board. The increased desire for more contactless behaviour has resulted in adoption of digital finance and contactless payments at a faster rate than ever. With e-commerce gaining such an uplift and with limited distribution and logistics options, perhaps we’ll see a resurgence of robotics in warehouses and a new emphasis on drones and driverless vehicles to plug the gaps for delivery.

On a larger scale, the disruption is exposing flaws in existing systems, that are prompting change too. One would have never imagined the food supply chain breaking down in our modern age. In Belgium, people are being actively encouraged to eat more “frites” to reduce potential waste as potatoes are not being consumed. In the US, there was real fear of the meat supply chain breaking down. Imagine this situation being exacerbated in developing nations where there are billions of people to feed. These changes will lead to more innovation in food supplies - maybe even more options along the lines of the vegetarian “impossible burger” or 3D printing of food items.

Clearly the level of uncertainty facing us is high, but we are adapting at a remarkable rate. None of us have a crystal ball to predict what the future will look like. But, we must rally around the view that change is the only constant and big events like these inevitably drive change. I believe we will look back and see this period as an accelerant to innovation.

I’d love to hear how the new innovation cycle prompted by COVID-19 is influencing you. What are some good innovations you’ve seen or even developed yourself? How has your entrepreneurial spirit been tested? Let me know in the comments below.