Future Of Change: Preparing For The Possibilities

Our world is transforming more rapidly than ever before. 

Covid-19 has been a seismic event, upending almost every facet of life and the economy. It has accelerated many trends. Businesses have been thrown into one of the most volatile economic climates. They continue to grapple with voluminous change, defining global shifts. Expect more ebb and flow.

Let’s try to understand the evolving business trends. A Crux study titled Future of Change: Preparing for the Possibilities across 18 states, covering 1,250 business leaders, economists and policy experts has interesting insights. 

*Sustainability Embedded. Governance, Agility, Resilience Are Value Drivers

Organisations will be more socially responsible. Sustainability, governance, purpose, and resilience will continue being an asset; command a premium into 2022 and beyond. Most stakeholders especially the employees are increasingly conscious about a healthier, safer world. Consumers will reward honesty and reliability, enhancing brand image, fattening the bottom line. Investors value environmental, governance and sustainability footprint as much as the bottom line.

Sustainability will be embedded in most business ethos and communication.

*Collaboration, Cooperation, Integration, & Shared Values

Economies are taking lessons from the corporations and are collaborating to enable, foster and augment scientific capacity across the globe. The crisis has been a wakeup call, where the scientific community rose to the occasion, responded selflessly and rapidly, defining concrete tasks in the evaluation of therapies and drugs. The trend will accelerate to a more structured cooperation, which will effectively integrate local knowledge with global research.

*Financing Goes Beyond ‘Moneylenders’  

The decentralised finance, aided by increasing digitisation and adaptation will change moneylending. Financiers will need to expand the digital presence, innovate product offering and strengthen customer engagement model to enhance value across every transaction. Similarly, they will focus on high multipliers like cost efficiency, cross-selling, and customer lifecycle. Investment in cybersecurity will be long-term priority.

*E-Com will get Bigger, Widespread

The Crux study articulates that most well-heeled Indians prefer to be ‘served’ online. The marketers see this as an ‘eventuality’, and pivoting market expansion and penetration strategy around ‘online’. Habits are sticky. Adaptation is quicker if it is real, easy, and interactive. ‘Comforting and convenient' interface is converting even the laggards into believers. While brick-and-mortar is not going away, hybrid will accelerate.  

*Agile, Flat, Adaptable

The pandemic has taught businesses that innovators and the agile adapt better. They handle disruption and challenges better, power through obstacles and exploit opportunities effectively.

Digital saved many businesses. Most others were paralysed during the crisis. Two thirds of the top 500 companies (by market cap) believe that the future is linked to the investment and exploitation of cloud, IoT, AI. Manufacturing, retail and others are lubricating logistics; emphasising and improving ‘on-demand’ supply chains etc. Business continuity planning (BCP) leaps out of the lexicon. 

Effective partnerships for efficient ecosystems will be a priority. Nothing is being held back. Competitors are cooperating. Resources like data, supply chain, market, are shared for efficiency gains; even expertise and investment to enhance outcomes.

*Influencers & Marketers; Master & Slave

Aside from creating a surge of interest in e-commerce, the proliferation of tech infra, aided by cheap data has ‘enslaved’ us to social media. The Crux study presents a dismal insight. Teenagers are ‘online’ for half their waking hours, adults too. Cross-generational widening of the digital channels is ballooning the customer base, presents a huge opportunity for digital marketers.

Social media, ‘influencer’ marketing will grow exponentially. 

Everything is on Fingertips. ‘Home Is Office’. School, a Well-Lit Box

The migration of commerce, entertainment, education and socialising online has been rapid and now pervasive. AI innovations are solving the challenges of life and work, including ‘everything on a finger’ telemedicine, app-enabled mobility, remote learning and above all sociability. 

The idea of office is getting eroded; the nature of work itself has changed profoundly. The decadal trickling of episodic, temporary and contingent employment is now mainstream. So is work-from-home. Automated workflows are disrupting jobs; bringing in radical changes in organisational structures; from hierarchical, rigid to more flat and agile. 

The changing nature of work will need a change in the mind-set. Organisations need to brew innovative engagement models, with a humane core. Leadership is more than vision; and must demonstrate and lead with empathy, compassion, and humility.

*Revamping Travel & Mobility, Entertainment, Leisure, Lifestyle

Sharing and socialising has given way to isolation and social distancing. Entertainment, leisure and travel will be very different, with sad tidings. The aviation industry, including its tributaries will shrink. Bankruptcies, layoffs and route optimisation will be common. Business travel may be gone forever, substituted, even replaced by Zoom, and better ‘interface’. People will not travel for events, attraction, and ‘things’, preferring virtualisation instead.

Urban mobility is getting transformed too. Dinner is ‘delivered’ to the tables, movies ‘streamed’ into living rooms. Home may house the ‘work station’. The travel dependent industry, particularly in the services sector,  will need to reinvent business models.

While the agile see this as an opportunity to reassess, restructure and grow, most others have lost the will. 

*Internet Inequality, Widening Exclusion

Over 100 million learners have been ‘sent’ home, signalling the end of schooling for a fifth of these. The poor will be hurt most; rural based girls will be the bigger victims. Chores and care will be thrust on them; some will suffer early and forced marriages. Most students ‘attending’ roll call have limited access to technology, some none, hurting the learning outcomes, and even diminish economic opportunities for a generation. 

Internet ushers in equity, inclusion and empowers people. It is the gateway to e-payment, e-health platforms, and several other essentials. India is, however, ‘adequately but unevenly’ connected, widening the digital divide. 

The pandemic has scarred many for life. The future will see automation and formalisation of the economy. It will diminish employment opportunities, hurt MSMEs, and deepen both economic and social inequalities. 

The government must recognise that the future will be different, even.

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