Reinventing Our World

We are living through one of those times that subsequent generations will use to separate the "before" from the "after." How we react in the short and medium term will define our World for decades to come, and will be the deciding factor in whether those generations are grateful, or curse us into eternity. We may not know what that New World will look like, but one thing we can know with absolute certainty - nothing will ever be the same again.

If I may go full Aristotle on you, the future which is known cannot be changed, and the future which can be changed cannot be known. So we have a choice. We may choose to use this current crisis as a wake-up call, a reset button, an awakening - all of these metaphors and more have been used in the recent days. A clarion call, leading us through the Valley of Tears towards a more positive future for us all. Maybe. Or we may do the very human thing of pushing hard to have things return to just how they were before, as soon as we think the danger has passed. The former is a choice which we feel can bring anxiety and hard work, and daily uncertainty for a long time. As a result, we may opt for the latter. After all, our current reality has not been that bad, for some of us, at least. Unfortunately, as used as we are to what surrounds us now, wishing to return to this point once the disease has piled through would be a fool's errand. We have left that reality in the past. What surrounds us are the latent images, burnt into our retinas and our memories. There will be no returning.

Being in self-quarantine right now may seem like a temporary measure, to allow the health services to combat the disease more efficiently. A temporary measure which will be turned off, just like you take a plaster off once the cut has healed. What many of us are probably denying is the realisation that will come soon anyway. Before too long, the temporary measures will turn into new ways of behaviour and modes of being. We will just have to adjust to those, and we'd better do it fast. And here's the rub. We usually like what we are used to, and dread the alternatives. The immediate medical worry of today is getting overshadowed by a greater terror of not knowing what this New World will look like once the consequences of the virus have come to the surface in full force.

We really have no idea about how this may play out on a granular level, but be would be correct in assuming that the disease will be, or rather already is, causing a system-level change in most if not all areas of our lives. The most obvious and pressing to the great majority of us is, how we work, how we trade, exchange value and generally make a living. The complex economic system, built up over centuries, with all of its many advantages and equally as many inherent problems, has been called into question overnight. The challenge lies then not in any of us having to adjust how we work, but in all of us needing to do it all at the same time, and fast.

The economic tsunami which will, doubtless, roll over our World in the coming months and years, will upend some industries while giving rise to other, perhaps entirely new ones. I count myself lucky. I'm not a service worker, a healthcare provider, a restauranteur, tourism operator or a transport contractor. I've worked from home for most of my professional life so this is not exactly new to me. I've been a freelancer, or startup founder for the great majority of that time so the unique mix of a privilege of freedom accompanied by a constant gnawing uncertainty is an old sparring partner. Then again, of late, much of my income had been coming from speaking at conferences, running corporate workshops and so on. A tough way to make living at the best of times, and the virus has, of course, cancelled all of my engagements six months hence or more. So it is time to adjust.

Working "virtually" (as opposed to "virtually working") has become the norm for those of us who are able to make the switch. Let us not forget that this is a relatively small number of people, in comparison to the enormity that is humanity. We will need viable solutions for those who are not able to make a living sitting in front of their computer screens.

A large issue stems from demand softening, suddenly, in most of the World's industries. Classical economics would suggest that the market will react by a lowering of prices, which in theory ought to allow demand to grow again. What happens, however, when most of the population have all of a sudden lost not just some of their earning capacity but most of it? Or all? In theory, businesses will then have to charge more, not less, so as to cover their costs. Which will mean that their products and services will be accessible only to a small percentage of people. Will the pandemic, therefore, exacerbate social inequality? Quite possibly.

We'll be addressing those issues, and more, during Boma's 24-hour Global Virtual Summit this coming Monday.

Starting early Europe time, we will be progressing generally westward, with Boma teams running consecutive two-hour programmes. We will hear from more than sixty experts from over twenty countries on every continent, and sessions will be run by teams from New Zealand, Japan, China, India, Poland, Germany, France, Portugal, Brazil, Canada and the US.

Join us live all day Monday. Polish session : 1700-1900 CET (Warsaw time.)

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Full programme at boma.global/covid19.

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