Posted by As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, many individuals and organizations are looking for a crystal ball to find out how exactly the “new normal” will look. The following two articles go a different route and give practical pointers to companies that can be applied today.
Sara Tavel of Benchmark Capital recently published “The Opportunity and Risks for Consumer Startups in a Social Distancing World — A Framework for Consumer Attention.” on Medium.
She uses the well-known glass jar analogy to frame the different activities vying for consumer attention.
In the article, she describes TV and Fortnite as rocks that compete for longer, continuous time-slots. Tiktok and other micro-events are sand, filling smaller chunks of time between the rocks. Finally, there is water, which can overlay the other two. Tavel points out that audio experiences make up the majority of this third category. Podcasts, audiobooks, music, and even Discord are often overlaid on other activities such as gaming, exercise, or chores.
Her point is that slots for rocks are easier to find during the pandemic. However, that might change quickly once the world returns to normal. Her advice to start-ups is to seize the opportunity by focusing on scale now (i.e., customer acquisition) and finding a way to turn their product from rock to either sand or water in the near-term.
McKinsey has been covering the pandemic from a corporate perspective since the start. Partners Kevin Sneader and Shubham Singhal have recently published an article on shaping what the company calls “the next normal” instead of thinking about it.
McKinsey’s advice is organized around four points and gives clear recommendations on what to “start doing” and “stop doing.”
- Remote work is here to stay but will not be ubiquitous.
- There is a need to shift from formal hierarchies to agile networks.
- Supply chains need to be re-designed for resilience and speed instead of cost.
- The focus of investors and management teams should shift from quarterly earnings to long-term capitalism.
If you are interested in what your business can do now to shape its post-pandemic future, these two articles are time well spent.
Nico Eggert 