Point of no return

COVID-19 has accelerated the rise of digital innovation, and organisations that adapt to this shift will be better equipped to navigate the unknown waters that lie ahead.

- GREG ORME

There is a joke circulating on social media. It is a fake questionnaire that asks: Who is driving your digital transformation?

Option A: CEO

Option B: CTO

Option C: COVID-19

At the beginning of the pandemic, many organizations went into survival mode. Leaders reported they were frantically shoring up the core business, conserving cash, and minimising risk. They were waiting for more clarity before innovating their business model.1 We have entered a new stage in this unfolding crisis. We are now clear on one thing: clarity is many months, perhaps years, away.

When pilots are mapping out a flight, they always note an important spot on their intended journey. It is when the aircraft does not have sufficient fuel to return to the airfield from which it took off. They call it ‘the point of no return’. Some business managers are still asking: ‘How long before our commercial world gets back to normal?’ I would argue the question is redundant and risky.

The power of technological innovation has been evident in the war against the virus. We are seeing everything from 3D printed ‘handsfree’ door openers, ventilators powered by car windscreen-wiper motors2, and smart face masks with tiny sensors to detect COVID symptoms and fatigue3. These innovations are reminiscent of the Second World War which sparked the invention of the first digital computer, rocket technology, jet engines, pressurized plane cabins, radar—and even super glue and ballpoint pens.4 If necessity is the mother of invention, technology is often the father.