In the past decade, we discussed (VUCA) mostly at a conceptual level. But now we are experiencing it as our reality.
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us to reconsider how we perceive our world, and the phrase that effectively conveys this reality in a positive manner is the new normal.
The words ‘new’ and ‘normal’ are unique for these times, underpinning the urgency to accept the new. The questions that arise are — What fits into this new paradigm? Is the new normal same or similar, or different for different organizations, sectors, and industries? Is everything out there, and clear? Is my new normal different from yours?
Some trends are identifiable but may not be defined yet.
Leadership is not only about surviving the crisis, but thriving while crafting new business models, fluidity of business enterprises across segments, and resilient and boundary-less supply chains. To create an effective new normal, leaders must ensure to keep business continuity strategies in place, such as an innovative risk management approach, hyper scaling of IT infrastructure, and a flexible organizational structure. The focus should also be on making location agnostic work models and adopting intelligent agents that augment human capabilities. Additionally, organizations must prioritize environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices for sophisticated, sustainability-based management.
Some or all of these will impact not only the projects we choose, but also how we manage them. We need to rethink the role of the project manager in this new normal and consider the new set of challenges that they will be facing.
The PMI South Asia Conference 2021 will be a great platform to bring yourself up to speed with these shifting concepts and the emerging reality.
Muktesh Murthy
