This week marks the first time I found myself speaking in front of a sizable crowd again — 1,500 people at the EY Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, California. It was an interesting insight into our very human desire to connect in person again. It also provided a fascinating peek into the “post-pandemic” world: The event had excellent COVID-19 protocols in place, which made most participants comfortable enough to be together in fairly close contact. Handshakes were the norm, hugs not uncommon.
It was a fascinating peek into our future — a future where we will live with COVID-19 (by following protocols and making sure people are vaccinated) rather than a world after COVID-19.
During the conference, I got to speak to tons of entrepreneurs — many of whom affected by the pandemic; from massively disrupted supply chains to 1,000x growth within 18 months due to demand surges (one company I talked to grew from $1M in revenue pre-pandemic to $1BN today!), COVID-19 did not leave a single company without its battle-scars and stories to tell.
Which brings up a whole array of interesting questions going into the new world — for you, your business, your clients. How will this affect the way you do business in the long run? How will you support your clients? How do you build (more) resilience into your systems? And maybe: How can you turn this into an opportunity?
Entrepreneurs are, by definition, highly adaptable and thrive in times of uncertainty. Now is truly the time to lean in and shine.