Never waste a good crisis

Long before Rahm Emanuel used this expression during the great recession of 2008, Sir Winston Churchill is credited with first saying, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” He said it in the mid-1940s as we were approaching the end of World War ll.

To say that COVID-19 has inflicted incalculable social, economic and structural damage that wars from earlier years could not would be an understatement of the century.

In an earlier blog on working from home, we discussed how companies have leveraged WFH and have delivered strategic customer and shareholder value.

Given that WFH is the new normal, rather the commiserate on its downside, it is topical to look at the potential positives.

Most employees have gotten used to spending 60–120 mins commuting. Saving wasteful commute time, not to mention to fatigue and agony associated with jam packed roads allows employees to spend time on valuable things such as:

• Physical Fitness — Working out, going for a walk, hike or a work out
• Professional Fitness — The additional time that WFH affords due to the commute time saved can be used for a range of professional activities such as:
• Training
• Certification
• Compliance
• Distance learning, Professional Advancement, etc.
• Developing adjacent skills — help professionals gain adjacent capabilities that help them towards career pivots and long-term skills development

Employees and employers have a shared responsibility in this area. Employers need to provide:

• Pertinent and modern tools that combines LMS and LXP
• Relevant and rich content
• Mentorship
• Collaborative learning environment.

Employees need to take ownership of their careers, leverage the assets that employers provide and have a candid discussion with colleagues and managers around areas where they need assistance.

Net..net… While COVID-19 is a cataclysmic natural disaster whose economic and social effects will be felt in every quarter of the globe, visionary organizations and responsible employees can make a pro-active effort to make the best use of the situation.

WFH will surely be a new normal. How we react to us is entirely upto us.

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.