The new normal after COVID-19; Engineers perspective

Practices and tools that you put in place now to safeguard your employees, customers and clients during the pandemic, will likely and should be part of your strategy to better succeed in the new normal after COVID-19.

In my thirty-six years of engineering management, having experienced and navigated through substantial crises along the way, I have learned some things about human nature that ring true with common insight such as “there are none so blind as those who will not see”. I think that no one should be judged harshly for being focused on day-to-day business operations. But can we see things today that our experience has shown will lead to other things tomorrow? 

How we used to operate

As a business leader, when the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it, such as: 

• Considering advice from others and have done your own due diligence
• Considering the impact and risk of mitigation actions to your employees, customers, clients and to your business
• Made decisions that have serious consequences

When you battle the storm of daily and hourly events, you really have no time for reflection. But when a moment of calm mercifully finds you … I suggest that you take a moment to mark your calendar two weeks hence, with  … “Opportunity – Learn – Build”.

How to adapt to the new normal

When that calendar time arrives, your experience is fresh in mind. My suggestion is to push down any lingering fear and anxiety of “wasted time”. Take time to reflect. Who, through their actions, helped and who did not? Try to understand why. What worked and what fell flat? Try to understand why.

More difficult is, what events appear to have shaped new attitudes and new actions of people around you? Try to understand why. Then jot down ideas of actions you can take to build into your plans. Reset calendar. Opportunity is sometimes disguised as a crisis.

About Jennifer

Jennifer is the CEO of Simplify Supply Chain Solutions. Jennifer discovered supply chain and logistics 15 years ago as an employee herself. Right away, she fell in love with the possibility of making something so intricate into something simple. The camaraderie among the drivers and the delight associated with delivering an unharmed package made Jennifer fall in love with the business. She always focuses on ironing out wrinkles and hitches in the process to make it a smooth ride for customers. As she rose through the ranks of different companies, she noticed there were not many women occupying significant roles in transportation, operations, and supply chain. Jennifer decided to create the change that she wanted to see and as a result, Simplify Supply Chain Solutions was born.