Getty ImagesIt will be quite some time before business leaders understand the full impact of COVID-19 on their businesses. Therefore it is imperative, that they understand that there are two aspects to this which would involve–working in a recovery phase in a pre-vaccine environment, in what could roughly be the next one year or two and then working towards realigning or reshaping their company to survive in a post COVID-19 world. Simply put, they have to win and transform to win in the future. This essentially means CEOs in India as well as globally should focus on four priorities going forward.
So, what would it take to win in the new normal?
Overnight, we witnessed the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 presenting to us a new reality wherein CEOs must discern and adapt. We are now seeing this reality being defined by evolving customer needs, uncertainty and a reversal of globalization trends. For most businesses this challenging scenario has meant a dip in revenues and profits. Basis, KPMG in India’s 2020 CEO Outlook only 33 per cent CEOs in India are confident of the growth in their domestic economy and only 42 per cent are optimistic about growth prospects of their company, vis-à-vis 78 per cent and 84 per cent at the beginning of the year, respectively. However, CEOs in India should not look at the declining performance as the new reality.
It will be long haul until a vaccine is widely available—12 months or more from now. As we move forward, winning in this new reality means implementing long term initiatives which enable business continuity and require active management with competitive positions being challenged. CEOs in India though see a massive upside in being farsighted with 89 per cent of them wanting to build on use of digital collaboration and communication tools according to the outlook mentioned above. This indicates that they are willing to do all that it takes to be in a good position to win in the global market.
Four key priorities for CEOs in India
Working towards realising the above four priorities would be imperative to winning and leapfrogging the business in the next one year or two to win the future.
Akhil Bansal is Deputy CEO, KPMG in India.
So, what would it take to win in the new normal?
Overnight, we witnessed the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 presenting to us a new reality wherein CEOs must discern and adapt. We are now seeing this reality being defined by evolving customer needs, uncertainty and a reversal of globalization trends. For most businesses this challenging scenario has meant a dip in revenues and profits. Basis, KPMG in India’s 2020 CEO Outlook only 33 per cent CEOs in India are confident of the growth in their domestic economy and only 42 per cent are optimistic about growth prospects of their company, vis-à-vis 78 per cent and 84 per cent at the beginning of the year, respectively. However, CEOs in India should not look at the declining performance as the new reality.
It will be long haul until a vaccine is widely available—12 months or more from now. As we move forward, winning in this new reality means implementing long term initiatives which enable business continuity and require active management with competitive positions being challenged. CEOs in India though see a massive upside in being farsighted with 89 per cent of them wanting to build on use of digital collaboration and communication tools according to the outlook mentioned above. This indicates that they are willing to do all that it takes to be in a good position to win in the global market.
Four key priorities for CEOs in India
Working towards realising the above four priorities would be imperative to winning and leapfrogging the business in the next one year or two to win the future.
Akhil Bansal is Deputy CEO, KPMG in India.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)