The impact of COVID-19 is disruptive to the way we live, work, collaborate and experience the hidden powers of the collective. Based on dozens of discussions with business leaders, scale-up founders and investors, I will share five trending topics that I expect to unfold during the next quarters:

  1. Appreciation of the role of the public sector
  2. The time horizon of short-term versus long-term planning is contracting
  3. Run-rate: the new KPI
  4. Agile supply chains & omni channel distribution channels
  5. Resilient ecosystem strategies

I. Appreciation of the role of the public sector

Across the world we see an appreciation of the role of the public sector as a key stakeholder in the economy. Government funded research programs have incubated almost all break through innovations in technology and healthcare. The 2018 financial crisis and the current Corona crisis make apparent the role of the public sector as the ‘spender of last resort’ for the economy, our health and society. A recommended read is ‘The Value of Everything’ by Mariana Mazzucato. 

II. The time horizon of short-term versus long-term planing is contracting

The time horizon of short-term planning versus long-term planing is contracting. Today, the notion of  short-term is expressed in terms of days or weeks. As the notion of long-term is only a few months out, the company purpose and vision will become even more important to set direction. 

III. Run-rate: the new KPI

Most start-ups are used to constantly monitor their cash run-rate. How many months can we survive without new customer sign-ups or new additional funding? The Corona crisis makes clear that run-way needs to become a KPI for all business leaders across sectors. The key drivers of run-way are liquidity and agility (of cost structure and business models).

IV. Agile supply chains & omni channel distribution channels

All business leaders will re-assess their operating models. The trade wars and the Corona crisis have made business leaders aware of the importance of agile supply chains and omni channel distribution channels. This requires full cloud adoption, and partnerships at scale with platform companies that enable rapid supply chain configuration, both geographically as well as technologically. Industry 4.0 will see a new momentum.

Smart business leaders will use todays momentum to invest or acquire in scale-ups to enable agility in their operating models. It will help scale-ups to survive in the short-term and to future proof the core business in the long-term.

V. Resilient ecosystem strategies

So far emerging ecosystems have been looked at from an innovation perspective. However, don’t be surprised to see that post-Corona, businesses that have fully adopted ecosystem strategies, not only turned out to be more resilient, but also managed to turn the tables in their favour. See my article ‘Ecosystem Models: how to participate, create and capture value in new ecosystems‘ on h17.co