Related Expertise: Business Transformation
By Mai-Britt Poulsen, Joe Davis, and Lars Fæste
Everyone is scrambling to come to terms with the outbreak of COVID-19. That includes business leaders, of course. In the past days, we’ve heard from CEOs about the questions they’re asking and the steps they’re taking. We recommend a set of immediate actions as well as a set of critical questions that CEOs should ask about something difficult but important to address right now: how to plan for what comes after.
The COVID-19 outbreak is an unprecedented situation for governments, companies, and societies. Business leaders should respond promptly and with urgency. This is a key moment for leaders to step up and do what’s right to protect people, customers, and the company. CEOs should:
Those immediate steps are urgent—but they are not enough. CEOs also need to plan for what happens after the outbreak. The world will be very different post-COVID-19. What are the key changes, and how do you position your company for that altered reality? Here are the main questions you should ask to establish your longer-term imperatives:
Right now, none of us can say what the future holds. But by acting urgently, making the right immediate moves, and asking the critical long-term questions—and doing that all the time, for the duration of the outbreak—you and your organization will be better prepared for whatever comes. We urge you to take a leadership perspective and seize this moment of truth.
BCG TURN is a special unit of BCG that helps CEOs and business leaders deliver rapid, visible, and sustainable step-change improvement in business performance while strengthening their organizations and positioning them to win in the years ahead. BCG TURN helps organizations change their trajectories by turning their upside potential into radical performance gains. The BCG TURN team consists of transformation practitioners and battle-tested experts with a proven track record in large-scale transformation. BCG TURN is invested in the sustainable success of clients, with a focus on performance acceleration and a commitment to value delivered.
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