The New Normal

I hate that term.  I really do.  Who's to say what is "normal".  It is a decidedly relative term.  But we CAN say without any hesitancy that the post-COVID-19 society will represent significant change for the vast majority of people, largely due to the accelerated adoption of existing technologies.

For some of us, we can remember a world without mobil phones.  Activities that we all take for granted today, such as getting immediate directions from where we are to the nearest gas station, were unfathomable.  You had to plan directions BEFORE you left, otherwise suffer the embarrassment of stopping somewhere to ask strangers for directions.  Post COVID, I think we can expect an even more accelerated pace of innovation across virtually every industry and lifestyle.  After all, much of the technology that will usher in "the new normal" already exists, the frameworks are in place, just waiting for business applications and customer adoption.

Prime areas that will be the first movers of new technology innovation include:
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• Online Retail
• Supply Chain/Delivery Resiliency
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Contactless Payments
• Online/Remote Learning
• Remote/Distributed Working
• Electronic Tracking/Tracing
• Medical/Pharmaceutical Research
• ...more

Although these changes will ubiquitous, there will be some industries that will be more impacted than others.  For instance, how will Commercial Real Estate cope with a reduced need for office space?  How will urban communities react when current residents want to "physically distance" from their neighbors in high rise apartments/condo?  How will sports/event auditoriums adapt to welcome attendees while providing a safe, clean experience?  

At this point there are no answers.  There is no proven path forward for everyone to follow.  But just as the introduction of the mobile phone opened up the prospect for revolutionary innovations in every industry over the past 15 years - hardly "normal" - our responses to COVID-19 are likely to be just as revolutionary which will impact virtually every business.