Prepare for the new abnormal

The Coronavirus pandemic is temporary. It may take another month or another year, but it will be over. Things will return to (a new) normal. However, one thing is assured, there will probably be more such pandemics in our future, and we need to prepare our businesses. But what does that mean, really?

In places where abnormal situations are part of the normal, every business knows how to operate in "normal" and "abnormal" times. For example, in some countries, it snows every few years, so snow is abnormal, but when it does snow, every business knows how to act and what to do. In the southern part of Israel, there are rocket attacks every few weeks or months, and every business knows how to handle these cases. The world does not stop when the abnormal happens, it just shifts into a different mode.

In the post-Coronavirus world, the new abnormal is "Social Distancing", this weird situation where we all must remain in our homes and away from one another. This new situation has totally disrupted the normal flow of business worldwide, however, even after we get back to normal this abnormal situation may occur again and Social Distancing may be needed once more.

What does this mean for businesses? Every business should have a plan for a Social Distancing period and a way to switch modes quickly. Restaurants, for example, should be able to move from on-site to deliveries only and office workers should be able to seamlessly work from home, all with a "switch of a button". Many businesses are already able to do this switch in one form of another, but many are still lagging and should use the next normal period to prepare their Social Distancing alternative.

For me, for instance, Social Distancing simply means moving to online meetings and communications. However, as I work with startups and investors I expect to see more investors being able to invest remotely without meeting founders in "real-life". For investors from other countries, this means being able to trust local representatives more, if it is their CVCs or their investment bankers. For startups, this means being able to better communicate their ideas by remote as well as show that they have a viable business model during Social Distancing periods.

Social Distancing will be the new abnormal, presenting challenges and opportunities for startups and traditional businesses. Every business needs a Social Distancing plan that considers how that business will continue to operate when no humans interact. It may mean leveraging cutting-edge tech such as drones and robotics, or simply ensuring all their data and operations are securely stored on the cloud and always accessible. Do you know what your Social Distancing plan is?

Picture credit: Photo by ???? Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash