WHAT MAKES YOU RUN?

We’re all eager to return to work and examine the actual damage. I wish I have a better way to say this, but I haven’t. We will all deal with the losses – some more than the others. Even if the business remained firm during the lockdown, even if the transactions continued humming online, we would not know for sure what needs to be done until we’re back and running alongside our peers. The one thing we know is that opportunities will materialize as we get a better assessment of the reality.

In an informal poll, we asked business owners and leaders where they thought the new opportunities would be, and how they planned pivot the business to take full advantage of these. The answers are very interesting, not least for the positive attitude of the participants. Although some are eager to build on what was left, the others were undaunted by the prospect of starting over from scratch.

In Focus, we interviewed business owners and managers about their experience dealing with the disruption and dissolution of businesses during the lockdown that came at the height of the pandemic. What we found out was that businesses that had higher tech-driven component, whether it was e-commerce or an ability to operate online and remotely, fared much better. Unfortunately, those that relied on personal delivery of products and services suffered the most.

We know now that work can be accomplished remotely — and well, and that a home office is a smart backup, that tech know-how is no longer just for a few but a necessary skill for all, and that preparedness for any contingency is a must.

I had the good fortune of interviewing Hsing Yao Cheng, Group MD of GuocoLand Singapore, prior to the circuit breaker. A very smart young man, he talked candidly about building a ‘city for the future’, which the up-and-coming GuocoLand development is supposed to be. He touched on several ideas, including the rising need for flexibility in home and office environments. As I wrote the article and went through my notes — from home, while the pandemic raged outside – I remembered what he said and realized that he was quite accurate if not prophetic.

Sooner rather than later, you will haul your disoriented body back to the workplace or the routine or the race. Just try and remember what made you wake up early and eager in the morning in the past years. What made you run? It may have been the finish line, the series of hurdles, the possibility of a victory. Or it may just be the fact that you’re up and running alongside your peers. Remember that there is magic in that, too.

P