A Tech Boardroom's response to the pandemic, a Point of View!

Since the last Quarter of 2019, the world has been thrown into a spin and speculation by the pandemic COVID19. While there is no way to tell exactly what the economic damage from the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will be, the is yet an unsaid consensus amongst the economists that it shall leave a negative impact on the global economy. The initial estimates suggested that the most major economies would loose about 2.9% of the GDP over 2020, this forecast was already recalibrated to a GDP loss of 4.5 percent. To put this number in perspective, global GDP was estimated at around 87.55 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019 – meaning that a 4.5 percent drop in economic growth amounts to almost 3.94 trillion U.S. dollars in lost economic output. The global markets fell rapidly but recovery has been as agile. There is a loss of demand in some sectors and some have been immensely benefitted too. Despite the clear danger that the global economy is in, there are also reasons to be hopeful that this worst-case scenario can be avoided. Governments have learned from previous crises that the effects of a demand-driven recession can be countered with government spending. Consequently, many governments are increasing their provision of monetary welfare to citizens, and ensuring businesses have access to the funds needed to keep their staff employed throughout the pandemic. Also, a crisis-induced movement to online activities (working from home, purchasing goods online, contacting family, etc.) can be observed. It gives an opportunity for IT Solution Providers to increase their market shares. There has been tremendous surge in the Cloud Adoption across geographies and sectors, the needle of investment on Innovation as shifted towards making solutions more agile, easily and quickly consumable, & given rise to more of Pay-as-you-go kind of models. All said and done, the markets have corrected and the economic health is on the right track of improvement. Few industries like IT/ITES, Healthcare, Transportation & Logistics, CPG, Education & Manufacturing definitely are seemingly the front runners in contributing towards this economic resurgence.

In such a scenario what should a Tech Company' board room and top management, do amidst all this speculation, correction and actualisation play?

Having worked closely with many technology growth hackers, having engaged closely with many such entrepreneurs, CEOs, leaders and in multiple discussions from time to time, during the last Six Quarters, I have sensed the anxiety, and also the uncertainty towards the way of the world, the possible impact to the current & future business. There is a need felt, towards consolidation at multiple levels and on multiple tracks. Yes, its hard to say what is the right step and what shall make us succeed? Through this 'Point of View', its an attempt to share a perspective!

In my conversations with numerous industry leaders, there is mixed view point on what should be the best recipe to get over the pandemic infused downturn, or to capitalise on the possible opportunity?

There is a definite strategy in motion, as far as Global Large Enterprises are concerned, and that's where the SMBs are looking forward to advice coming from these industry leaders!
    

Bill Gates, CEO and founder of Microsoft “If we make the right decisions now—informed by science, data and the experience of medical professionals—we can save lives and get the country back to work.” (source) As Bill Gates, in one of interactions, suggests that there is a tremendous opportunity for us to do more, its time to be empathetic and its time to Innovate faster than ever!

Quoting Warren Buffet – CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, he talks about the Optimism. ""If you stick around long enough you'll see everything in markets, and it took me to 89 years of age to throw this one into the experience" (source)

IBM's 10th CEO, Arvind Krishna, makes a very pertinent remark where he says, “When we look at the usage of AI and cloud, I think it is especially going to accelerate also not just us, but how our clients are going to go on their digital transformations. And I believe this crisis is only going to accelerate that as we go over the next few months.” (source)

Bob Swan – CEO of Intel, impresses upon, how remote work, which was so far limited to Tech backend teams, has suddenly evolved for most of the industries. And, this is a major evolution that this century has seen so far. Quoting him in an interaction, “Today, we are witnessing what will surely be remembered as a historic deployment of remote work and digital access to services across every domain, including medicine, education, government, entertainment and more. In the coming weeks and months, services will be further digitized as the creativity of a massive work-from-home population gets rolling.” (source)

And, there are many more such dialogues where there is a unanimous view on the need to Innovate at every level, not limited to technology domain. Its pertinent to maintain EMPATHY towards the workforce, as that shall help the organization reach the other side of the wave. 'DIGITAL' will not only remain the subject of discussion but shall be need of the hour for every enterprise. CLOUD & EDGE shall lead to defining a new Version of "Enterprise Landscape Maturity".

That's indeed a big question and possibly there is, not one answer to it. However, there is definitely a TOOL KIT for Businesses, be defined, to be used as a guiding principle: 1. Do not panic, the worst is over. We have enough learnings (if you have survived, so far) to be implied to create a much better and evolved Enterprise. Its time to not invest your energies into, "What is NOT possible, but What is possible!" - INNOVATE & be AGILE! 2. You can't do it alone. "Collaboration is the Key", for e.g. 2 arch rivals, Apple & Google, have collaborated, to create a new technology for IOS and Android phones, that relies on Bluetooth wireless radio technology to help phones communicate with one another, ultimately warning users about people they've come in contact with who are infected with the coronavirus. So yes, COLLABORATION is the KEY to coexist and contribute to a better tomorrow. 3. Hold on to what you have built, and by this I mean, your Talent! The same talent that you have bred or helped evolve, to stick around, 'coz you are going to need them, when there shall be a sudden surge, which isn't too far away! If you still can't help the temptation, 'Redeploy' ! Yes, one more important aspect here is to 'Upskill' your resources with the change that you are going to drive, to make them future ready! 4. For some, Investors are bit restless. I believe, there you should go back to the drawing board, do your SWOT, put all your Bets together and collaborate with your investors too. An investor wants Value, Value will get defined through Innovation, Collaboration, Talent, Ecosystem & Customer stickiness. Have you thought of Inclusion of your customers into your Innovation agenda? If not yet, then I believe, its time! 5. When the going gets tough, the first possible casualty is 'Ethics'. Though we may find our own versions and work arounds circumstantially defined, but sticking to your CODE itself, will, may not propel your business exponentially, but definitely provide the necessary sustainability. 6. Generally, such situations lead to a much slower decision making, the focus shifts from Maximizing resources to cutting resources (costs). Businesses need to understand that its not the Direct Cost that is painful, but not being able to MAXIMIZE on the investment and not being able to Scale PRODUCTIVITY, that is the root cause of the strain on every Dollar invested. Thus, 'improving productivity at all levels is extremely critical' & sp

Quoting McKinsey, "Speed is the Key to Success of the Businesses, in this as well as post this Era!

Getting RESULTS: R: Reimagine, rethink and reshape E: Empathy towards internal & external stakeholders S: Speed is of utmost importance U: Upgrade business models, digital maturity, resources and upskill your talent L: Leadership agility is critical where decision making has to be quicker and a Plan B always ready T: Outcomes need to be more crisply visualized and should Tangible. At the same time, its critical to be able to evolve these with the volatility of the business scenario. S: The final 'S' aims at creating sustainable business models, innovate on products & solutions, create extraordinary Partnerships & create longer term engagements

I am hopeful that organizations, who adopt this model, shall be better positioned to emerge out victorious, on the other side of the Curve and shall be able to surf the wave with Ease, getting the desired "RESULTS"