New approaches
Winning new customers, designing offices and cities, and applying for jobs all require new ways of working.
The coronavirus crisis has affected many aspects of business life. One obvious effect has been the increase in the number of people working from home. We covered this topic in depth in the last issue; in this issue, Ken Taylor provides further practical tips (p. 58). Another key area that has been put under the spotlight is the relationship between organizations and their customers. In our cover feature, Bob Dignen argues that it is time for a new
approach to winning and keeping customers. Instead of the traditional method of presenting product features and making last-minute concessions to get a deal, Bob says organizations need to engage in more intimate and honest conversations. This includes challenging customers’ established thinking patterns and destabilizing their current assumptions — food for thought for anyone involved in sales (pp. 34–41). The design of our cities and offices will also be affected by the current crisis. Indeed, as our Global Business article makes clear, “our cities and buildings have always been shaped by disease” (pp. 14–17).
We also look at a key non-coronavirus-related area in which a new approach is needed: how to get your job application past the bots.
Deborah Capras provides tips in our How to... section (see p. 68).