The morning of March 16 was a surreal scene out of a movie. A sea of night shift employees surfaced, oblivious to what had just been announced. Meanwhile, agitated exchanges between managers spewing commands replaced the soft clicking of keyboards. One by one, the mighty extruders, boilers and winders shut down to be silenced indefinitely. And as tears fell in between signing COEs, I had to motion to a sympathetic union officer to maintain social distancing.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defined disaster as “a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society… “ The pandemic and the ensuing lockdown are decidedly so. Up until then, the majority of organizations have shrouded themselves in a false sense of security and, subsequently, complacency. The disaster managed to expose glaring vulnerabilities, in our case, as with other “brick and mortars,” the sore lack of digital literacy and digitization in the organization. This elusive challenge has become imperative for business continuity.
“… which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope with using its own resources.” The lockdown caused many establishments to close physically, with consumers shifting focus to “essentials.”
But rather than feel paralyzed, bonafide entrepreneurial thinkers understand that such setbacks are doors to other opportunities. This is the stuff that Strategic Management, albeit crisis edition, is made for—the overarching theme of which is to leverage the way your products, assets, and competencies can be relevant TODAY.
No sooner than two weeks in, companies were pivoting in unprecedented ways. Maybe temporarily, maybe permanently. Think liquor manufacturers producing sanitizers or car engineers retooling ventilator machines. And increasingly, fashion brands assembling PPEs, emerging SME alliances, and going online for just about anything!
Within my personal, professional and academic realm, I had probably manifested the five stages of grief by Kubler-Ross and then some. But what I could never fathom ever was to surrender. This is perhaps borne from my roots in sports. Out of the good and at times, frustrating experiences there, I organized a non-profit whose mission is to promote excellence and convene interdisciplinary approaches to sport development challenges. Not spared, the sport industry and sport professionals are similarly reeling.
My nagging distraction, nay, obsession, was to start conversations online, on how the “community” can navigate around the constraints of the pandemic on their respective practice. But more critical than ever is to reinforce the role of physical education and sports as purveyors of healthy lifestyles and mental well-being. Since the ECQ, I’ve organized 4 Zoom webinars that have garnered more than 50,000 views, a testament of modest mission success, with plans to institutionalize learning sessions later on.
On the other hand, while we purposely need to “stay afloat” during the lockdown, can there be other measures to show where we may have gained in areas beyond the financial standpoint? For instance, how much of your time was used to check on your students or employees? What of your resources has lent a modicum of survival to the front-liners, ambulant vendors, or the mom-and-pop businesses? And have any of your recent undertakings consciously contributed to social or environmental sustainability
Without trivializing the “disaster,” there has never been a more fascinating time of discovery than what we have now. But I cringe a bit whenever I hear of “bouncing back.” I believe the operative term should be “bouncing FORWARD,” which connotes transitioning from a state of tragedy to one of newfound strength and growth.
What we have undergone globally is perhaps the most cathartic reset button ever. That said, it is incumbent that we regroup, reevaluate, and most importantly, repurpose. I do wax nostalgic over how life was so different only a few months ago. But if we happened to miss those crucial teaching points moving forward, then sadly, that will be the biggest disaster.
Geraldine Go-Bernardo manages several family businesses and sportphil.com. She is an adjunct faculty of Strategic Management and Sport Management at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University, where she is also pursuing her doctorate in Business Administration. Her research interests include athlete and sport entrepreneurship and sport governance.
Email: [email protected]
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.