Five mistakes to avoid in 2022

As 2021 draws to a close, and - thanks to Omicron and whatever Covid variants may follow it - 2022 looks to be another year full of disruption, challenge and uncertainty for businesses, leaders everywhere are looking ahead and considering their next move.

No doubt the lessons of the pandemic for business will take time to fully emerge. We don’t yet know who the winners and losers will be, or even if they are the same ones we saw during the early lockdowns and the initial rush to remote working tools and digital platforms.

So as you consider how to move forward, here are five mistakes to avoid in 2022.

Push your people to get ‘back to normal’

Let’s be clear - there is no ‘normal’ to get back to anymore. We are now in the midst of a paradigm shift in how people work, and what employees expect from their employers. Many of the features of the pandemic will stay in some form, and every organisation will have to navigate the path to a new way of working.

Your people need care, and time to adjust. We have all been through tough times and challenges during the pandemic, some more so than others.

As the Great Resignation continues, competition for people will only grow, and companies that truly put the wellbeing of their employees at the heart of their strategy will prosper. The best way to do that is to ask them what they need and co-design the way forward with your people.

Expect your customers to want what they did in 2020

Just as your staff have changed, so too have your customers. They have new needs and expectations of the companies they buy from or work with. Businesses that fail to reassess this relationship and their offer will struggle, those that listen, sense and respond will thrive.

This applies not just to the many impacts of the pandemic, but also to other key trends - notably sustainability - where expectations have moved considerably and irreversibly over recent years. These issues are no longer a sideshow and are a key consideration for every organisation.

Dust off the old strategy

When it comes to strategy context is key. The business environment has been upended by Covid, and every company needs to reconsider its strategy in light of this.

The question of how to design and create an organisation that can thrive in this new business environment is critical. Your old plan just won’t cut it.

At its heart strategy is a design process, where we craft our response to the challenges that stand between us and our vision. Reassess and reprioritise the key challenges and opportunities you face, and make sure that your strategy addresses these directly.

Ignore digital

Whilst digital transformation as a key driver is nothing new, it has rapidly moved from being an important issue for most businesses to an essential one for all.

Rather than a “bolt-on” to how you currently operate, reassess your business model with digital in mind from the start. Not an either/or, but both.

The speedy response of many organisations during Covid to embrace digital opportunities and find new ways of serving their customers should act as a catalyst to laggards. Change can happen quickly where there is clarity and sufficient will.

Stay in reactive mode

Whilst no one could have predicted the Covid-19 pandemic, all leaders are aware that change is perpetual. Too many organisations pay lip service to this challenge, with little thought for how they sense and plan for change, what scenarios could emerge, or design their organisation to manage them.

As a result, many organisations have a business and operating model unsuited and unable to weather change effectively. Designing with change in mind can add resilience. Organisations are not hostages to fortune when it comes to change - large or small. Don’t ignore your own agency in how you design your organisation to cope with shocks as they come.

Don’t wait to see what happens and then react, look at your model now and ask how you can build in resilience and agility.

There is no “getting back to” anything that existed pre-pandemic - we have a chance to rethink how we do things and rebuild in a different way. More resilient, more fluid, more people-centric, more sustainable, more impactful.

2022 is the year that we will see which companies have learned these lessons, and which are ignoring reality and the challenges that still lie ahead.

This article was first published on the Fast Company website in January 2022