I watched the congressional testimony on Capitol Hill today regarding the pandemic, and listened to the medical experts from NIH/NIAID, CDC, FDA, and the Administration. Their observations got me thinking about the concept of culture change and how much we are hearing about how the pandemic is changing (or going to change) cultural norms and expectations. We all know that the pandemic is having an impact on the field of privacy and how that has been operationalized in the past few years (GDPR, etc.).
Changing a corporate culture so that it is (more) privacy – centric is one thing. Changing a corporate culture as a result of the pandemic and what that is going to mean across many countries is another. Accomplishing both simultaneously is a tall order, but I think it is possible if people remember that change has both technical and interpersonal / humane components.
These times require much more human understanding and flexibility than we are used to. But if people remember what the goal is, and work together, it will get done.
Thoughts?
I believe that this pandemic has triggered something which is way overdue, e.g. the move of the workforce from physical office space to the home. It has forced innovation, and forced organisations to think new. I have found this an exciting time despite the challenges. It is uplifting when something good arises out of something bad.
Jim, thanks for posting! Maybe we now tend to over-estimate long-lasting effects of the pandemic – not because we are bad forecasters but because our generation haven’t faced things like this before. So some take the “hope for the best but prepare for the worst” position. Such reaction is quite understandable. But the truth is nobody really knows how the world will look like in the months/years to come.