Today's dilemmas. The new COVID-19 Survival Guide shows HR the way how to take care of them

The Corona virus has 'turned the world upside down' as we say in the Netherlands and this at a time that is already quite uncertain for many of us. This is due to the speed of and the concurrence with all kinds of developments in the fields of technology, environment, politics, economy and society. There is so much going on and in so many areas that it is not easy to oversee and interpret the implications of all these developments. However, history shows that the only thing that is certain is that things will be different in the future. I expect that this future will be different because I believe that all these developments are pointing shifts towards transition to a 'new time or era'. Times of Transition are by definition uncertain.

Such a transition offers opportunities and those who can leverage them will often benefit. There is also another side. Not everyone will be able to navigate through this transition and manage what is going on and what the consequences will be. For them, the uncertainty is, to put it mildly, 'uncomfortable' and often threatening. As a result, they cling to their familiar past or to their value orientation. The tendency towards conservatism in many countries is therefore not surprising. As already indicated, history shows that holding on to the past or going back to it will not offer a way out.

The current situation is reminiscent of a statement by the American writer Marilyn Ferguson: "It is not so much that we are afraid of what is to come or that we are so attached to the past. It's like in the trapeze, it's the moment in between that we fear". It's the art of letting go. This requires trust in what is to come. If there is too much uncertainty or no clear perspective, this will be lacking.

However, technological progress in particular is unstoppable, even if it initially leads to the decline of large groups in society. We must prevent this happening from the mid and longer term.

The Corona virus outbreak has affected many and put them in survival mode. This crisis has also illustrated that solutions for the better are possible if we show solidarity, maintain social distance and join forces. The ‘Lockdown’ has also raised many questions. Now that the first wave has been ‘captured’ in the Netherlands, the obvious question comes: "How to proceed? do we really want to return to the way it was before the lockdown. Is 'back-to-normal' the way to go? To what extent should we continue to rely on the ‘old’ and ‘trusted’ and when should we prepare for a second wave and/or set up for a remote economy? Should we... could we... do we want to.....

Whichever the discussions, scientific and otherwise, in the coming months we will have join forces for recovery from the ‘Corona dip’. i.e. in the context of ‘transition’ and in a direction which offers a hopeful perspective for all. It is about more than just economics. I hope that the Corona pandemic encourages everybody to realize that happiness requires more than earning more money. Personal health and wellbeing, a healthy living and working environment are key elements for a happy life.

Some people may feel that it is now the time to accelerate the transition to a new era and that we should start to invest in enabling our economies to future proof our globe to ensure a sustainable future and a healthier place to live. For this, we should start investing in the digital transformation of services, industry and education and in the transition to a more sustainable economy, supply chains, energy supply, mobility, and so on.

In this setting, it has been a great pleasure to collaborate with Fons Trompenaars and his team over the past few months. This resulted in a new book, the Covid-19 Survival Guide, dilemmas and solutions. 

We believe that this book will really help to understand the problems we are facing in the COVID-19 crisis en the importance of being able to deal with the many dilemma’s. In times of crisis everyone is faced with dilemmas which should be combined rather then going for a compromise. Those who are able to tackle them successfully will likely be more successful in taking the steps towards the post COVID-19 time in which we will experience new ways of life and working .

It is for this reason that David Ulrich, one of the leading publicists and researchers in the field of HRM, introduced the "Paradox Navigator" as a key HR competence. His research shows that it has a very strong relationship with the performance of an organization. We are grateful for his forward to our work.

To support further, the OECD has recently indicated that ‘reconciliation of tensions and dilemmas’ is one of the three ‘transformative competences’ that must be taught to young people in order to shape a better future.

 In the book we guide the way to combine dilemmas for a sustainable outcome. The guidance we are offering is based on scientifically proven research . Throughout the guide, an overview is the dilemmas of the Corona crisis, how they are handled globally and some tips. To do so, we've used The Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s research of over 30 years and our Covid-19 Resilience Test which has been exclusively developed for this purpose. (Please do the test yourself!!)

Reading the e-book, we hope you will feel that you are provided with a better understanding of how combining a dilemma will lead to more sustainable results.  

A successful approach for crisis recovery is to reconcile rather than choosing between two desired states. We are all able to do so. Over the years we have been experiencing that the results are usually both surprising and effective.

The English version of the e-book is available on Amazon.com. If you prefer to read it in French, it's possible as well.

The Dutch edition is available on Kobo.com or BOL.com and requires using the Kobo Desktop or smartphone app. Also on Kobo, you can find the the Spanish and Portugese editions and other languages will be following soon.

The required apps for reading are free to download on Amazon.com and Kobo.com

 NB This Blog is an English Transcript from the Dutch blog in which I announced the Dutch COVID-19 Route Kaart.