COVID-19 and the collapse of sensemaking.
In our observation, the COVID-19 crisis has challenged many organizations not so much because it was a crisis per se, but because many of us knew and still don't know how to cope with it.
Usually, organizations follow - although paradoxically - the strategy of establishing routines to deal with crises. However, in the case of the COVID-19, it was impossible to establish common procedures because nobody had experienced anything similar before. In a way, people's sensemaking collapsed; and since this happened on a broad scale, it has not even been possible to find orientation looking at how other organizations managed the situation.
Organizations struggle for survival.
Indeed, in a long time organizations have not been forced to look more closely at what they are doing and how to move on than over the past year.
While at first we were all busy introducing new formal structures, for instance for people to work from home, soon organizations started wondering how to even stay relevant in these disruptive times, and how to engage their customers in the future. Even the debate around the real purpose of organizations took a turn: the purpose is to exist. But what does the post-COVID reality look like? And how might organizations ensure their survival and create value in this future?