“For some organizations, near term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”

This sounds about right in describing our current situation today with the coronavirus, doesn’t it?

The fact of the matter is, these words were penned 11 years ago by a former managing partner of the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. when the global financial crisis was ravaging the economies of most countries. Almost daily white papers from McKinsey suggest immediate steps businesses must take, recommend strategies that businesses need to weather the economic storm, and ponder about what’s next. They’re no longer talking about the “new” normal. They’re now calling it the “next” normal, which suggests we (all of us) are in for more significant changes more often than many of us are used to.

The authors of the report from which the quotation at the start of this blog was cited recognize “the battle against COVID-19 is one that leaders today must win if we are to find an economically and socially viable path to the next normal.”

The editors of Farm Equipment and other Lessiter Media publications are doing a really good job in a newly launched series where readers (ag equipment dealers and farmers) have been asked to share a journal of their day and how they are navigating business differently (or not) in the current environment. Editors are reaching out to people with a variety of positions within dealerships to see how each role is adapting.  

Nonetheless, I think most of us can’t help but thinking about, if not already planning for, the changes this crisis will bring about in our industry and how we will conduct our businesses afterward.

I have several thoughts on the matter (e.g., increasing customer communication, improving your connection with employees, ramping up for more digital self-service, etc.) But I’d like to know your thoughts about what you see ahead in terms of changes ahead for how you do business. Please take 5 minutes and respond to a very brief survey. I’ll share your thoughts on business after the coronavirus in an upcoming blog.