As seen today, there are 2 most probable scenarios of economic growth likely to unfold as we move forward. One is a drawn-out U-shaped recovery where we will see prolonged quarters of sluggish growth before the upturn. The other scenario could be a faster recovery as the economic activity opens up but with multiple dips as the virus outbreak necessitates regular containment efforts.

As a leader, your primary focus needs to be on the long term rapidly adapting to the new reality. As you consider how to move ahead, you need to think thru what needs to be done in either of the scenarios or possibly different ones. How can you be better prepared? What challenges would you need to mitigate?

This is your opportunity to transform. Here are a set of guiding questions that should help you stick to a clear vision determining how you can win in a highly unpredictable post-pandemic world:

Industry & Customers:

• What trends will be accelerated across the industry affecting your business
• What industry discontinuities will emerge and how can you exploit them
• What would be the sources of growth as the economy recovers - which segments will grow faster
• How can you target areas today where new investments will be coming as MNC’s pull out of China
• How will the customer behaviours and needs change in the new normal
• How can you improve your value proposition across products & services offered

Business Operations:

• How can you create capabilities to step change your Digital presence with the ability to engage, sell and service online
• How can you build a better ecosystem thru partnerships
• How can you redesign production & back-end processes for more automation in order to improve productivity & continuity
• How can you develop a talent roadmap to address the digital imperative
• How can you strengthen your financials – improve cash flow, invest in ‘good costs’
• What IT and other infrastructure development needs to be undertaken