21. Civil liberties must be compromised for the greater good
We all give up our freedom to drive on the right side of the road to avoid accidents and deaths. Or stop for pedestrians to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing. Likewise, we have to give up our freedom to keep entire communities safe from COVID-19.
In Hong Kong and Bahrain, people in quarantine were issued with electronic bracelets that track their movements. Drones equipped with cameras hover over some Indian neighbourhoods warning residents they are being watched. Israel has revealed it has secretly been amassing people’s phone data and is tapping that database to find potential coronavirus cases.
22. Welfare systems can take years to build but can be demolished within days
Many Governments have spent decades scaling back on their social welfare programs through austerity measures. But they had to scramble to build new ones on the fly and incurring record amounts of debt just to keep their economies afloat during COVID-19.
This is where 26 million Americans had to file for benefits because their health insurance was tied to employment.
23. Economic efficiencies can cause unintended consequences
The rise of precarious gig-economy jobs and zero-hours contracts have created a mass of workers without access to sick and paid leave.
These economic efficiencies and cost-cutting measures have instead caused huge problems for governments. Many symptomatic workers who are forced to work for their income became carriers of the coronavirus who infected multiple workplaces causing severe cluster outbreaks.
24. Vulnerable communities and groups must be protected
The pandemic has laid bare the inequalities that exist in our society. It is hitting those from disadvantaged or minority backgrounds the hardest.
People in the community who are most at-risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including:
- People 65 years and older with chronic medical conditions.
- People 70 years and older.
- People with compromised immune systems.
- Slums where thousands are crammed together.
25. Don’t forget that people have basic needs to fulfil
Consider people’s basic needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes to mind.
In a pandemic, people desperately need jobs to provide for themselves, to put food on the table. Prolong lockdown forces businesses to close — temporarily or permanently, increases unemployment, and prolongs a recession. These lockdowns significantly impact people’s livelihoods, wellbeing and emotions.
While these lockdowns are public health measures that keep communities safe, people also need to survive financially, emotionally and socially.
Humans are relational beings. Prolong lockdown can cause significant social harm.
26. There will be unintended consequences of any chosen strategy
Restrictions on freedom of movement, quarantine, travel restrictions advisory and authorised measures to reduce transmissions such as school and work closure can cause loneliness, confusion, anger, frustration, boredom, gaining weight and the constant feeling of inadequate information.
While these public health measures are justified to safeguard the best interest of society, they impose a significant burden on individuals. They may also indirectly violate the fundamental human rights of freedom of movement.
The longer-term impact of the coronavirus could reduce the need for office space by 10% to 20%. That’s a massive shift that will change the way cities and towns across the country will look, given that remote working will become a norm for many workers.
This means that workers can live anywhere they choose and businesses can hire anyone who has access to the Internet!
27. It took a crisis to get people to be serious about business continuity
Talk to any business continuity professional pre-COVID and they will tell you that corporate executives are not serious about business continuity planning.
When organisations were hit with COVID in 2020, business continuity suddenly became the number one topic or agenda item at executive and board meetings. Many dusted off their old business continuity plans and found that they were out-of-date and unprepared for COVID-19
28. Be prepared and be self-sufficient
The extent of inter-dependency and fragility have been severely exposed by COVID-19.
There was a global scramble for personal protective equipment and medical supplies. Several countries restricted the exporting of some pharmaceuticals. More than a dozen have imposed bans on selling some food abroad.
Supply chains were also severely disrupted. The reliance on China and the availability of global logistics became single points of failure for many organisations.
Many businesses were not prepared for the massive impact COVID-19 had created. Their business/service continuity plans were useless.
29. COVID-19 is just a sign of a broader risk to come
AON’s research showed that COVID-19 is a sign of a broader risk that is to come in the future, as shown below. It will impact future decision-making.
This will require a significant change in how we think about the future and organise our affairs.
These future events can no longer be labelled as Black Swan events. We need to pay careful attention to these trends now — sooner rather than later.
30. Organisations are cutting jobs and cost
Many organisations are using to the pandemic as an opportunity to restructure themselves and cut cost.
Much of that cost savings will likely come from cutting jobs and adding new ones more slowly. Businesses are looking to invest in new technologies. They are making their products and services more affordable and relevant to changing customer preferences created by COVID-19.
This is where the pandemic has caught up with high-wage jobs. As lower-wage retail and restaurant jobs are slowly coming back, higher-paying jobs are lagging.
Category 2 – Provide strong decisive leadership that builds trust, certainty and confidence
Strong leadership shown during a crisis or emergency is vital for building and maintaining stakeholder trust, certainty and confidence.
McKinsey proclaimed that “ending lockdowns alone won’t restore confidence or growth. Only when the novel coronavirus is under control will economic growth resume.”
We know that the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and its associated health risks have caused many individuals, households, and businesses to opt-out of normal activity — even if no formal restrictions are in place. Eliminating that uncertainty is essential to restart economic growth and to bring life back to normality.
To be confident, McKinsey found that the public needs evidence of the following:
- New case counts are low and testing is sufficiently widespread.
- The number of serious COVID-19 cases that require hospitalisation can be effectively handled by the health system without impairing its capacity to deliver normal medical treatment.
- Communication about health interventions by leaders is credible, consistent, and provided sufficiently in advance to let families and the public and private sectors plan. (my emphasis in bold)
- Public-health measures are delivered effectively and are sufficient to prevent increases in transmission.
- Public-health interventions, including those deployed for high-risk and vulnerable populations, do not structurally prevent economic recovery.
Countries that have successfully restored confidence have seen their economic activity returning or begin to return to pre-crisis levels.
The adoption of the near-zero-virus path has built public confidence. Their citizens have responded by resuming economic activity.
Countries that have adopted the balancing-act path found it more challenging to build and sustain public confidence.
Leaders need the courage and humility to first admit the gravity of the challenges at hand. They must select a strategy and implement it ruthlessly. They must also offer a vision, narrative and clarity to overcome these challenges.
31. Success hinged on decisive leadership
Recognising its initial response errors, China showed leadership in tackling COVID-19 within its borders by implementing stringent measures.
Through a combination of widespread testing and contact-tracing, implementing legally enforced physical and social distancing measures, and the use of modern technologies such as automated robot cleaners and facial recognition for contact-mapping, China has successfully slowed the spread of COVID-19 to a halt.
On 19 March 2020, for the first time since the outbreak began in 2019, China reported no locally-transmitted incident cases of COVID-19.
32. Trust is the most valuable asset
Successful strategy execution requires extraordinary public trust in their governments and employers.
In the U.S., we saw how Trump continuously spread disinformation and reassured Americans that COVID-19 was “under control” and that the U.S. was in “great shape”. As a result, 68% of Americans say they don’t trust what Trump says about the coronavirus, according to an ABC News/Ipsos survey,
33. Accountability is critical for building trust
Those making decisions must be accountable.
The data, information, models and the processes by which the decisions are made, and their rationale should be available for scrutiny. Lack of clarity leads to confusion and sows mistrust.
In Melbourne, Australia, it has been reported that no Minister (including the Premier), department heads and senior public servants were accountable for the hotel quarantine program that was initiated at the end of March 2020.
34. Be honest about uncertainties
Leaders who can be honest about the uncertainties and limitations inherent in fighting COVID-19 gains credibility especially when information and evidence are constantly changing or evolving.
This is where Germany’s Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand have been praised for their ability to project empathy and communicate complex ideas.
35. People want certainty and confidence to plan for their future
Humans want to feel safe. They want a sense of control over their lives and well-being.
Fear and uncertainty can leave people feeling stressed, anxious, and powerless over the direction of their lives. It can drain them emotionally.
As McKinsey found, governments must provide sufficient information in advance to let families and the public and private sectors plan.
36. Don’t give false hope to people
Vaccine development is usually a long process. It involves both pre-clinical and clinical testing.
In stark contrast, experts have been estimating that a COVID-19 vaccine may take 12–18 months!
Category 3 – Overcome fear and miscommunication with credible and consistent communications
Effective communication is a key pillar of crisis governance. Being transparent and accurate in relaying information, preparing the public for what is coming next and expressing a degree of empathy can go a long way in ensuring effective communications.
Information can be easily verified and consumed as it is widely available, especially the Internet. Any hint that it is incorrect can only break trust and confidence. When there is trust, citizens will comply with directives. They will act as they are told like self-isolating.
Everyone especially leaders need to pay particular attention to their communication messages and strategies — internally and externally — because words matter especially during a crisis.
- Internally, if a leader provides what he or she thinks is a clear direction, but the team sees it as ambiguous, the likelihood of failure becomes significantly higher.
- Externally, the strategy needs to be focused on managing expectations as well as developing and maintaining public trust and confidence. Even a successful crisis, responses can appear to be a failure if the public has lost faith in the system or its leaders.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has scrapped its advice on how the coronavirus can spread through the air. It had originally posted an update to its COVID-19 guidance webpage which acknowledged the risk that the coronavirus can be transmitted to others through airborne particles that are released by infected people. But in a quiet reversal, CDC has now said that the “draft version of proposed changes to these commendations was posted in error”.
37. Provide information that is true and factual; don’t take people for a ride
Times like these are a breeding ground for conspiracy theories. Communicate the facts and knowledge of the situation. This will overcome attempts at spreading malicious information.
Understand how people will interact with this information after its release.
Be clear about what you know and when you know it. Simple messaging works best.
38. A crisis is a journey of transformation; take people on that journey
Bring people together and reconnect them with a common purpose. Let them know how important they are in fighting COVID-19 and saving lives.
Talk more about what we can control than what we can’t. The crisis has many components that we can’t control.
Like any transformation exercise, the appropriate behavioural change will be critical for long-term success.
39. Provide consistent and credible messages
It’s been widely recognised that public health officials in many countries have made a serious misstep early on in the pandemic. Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment for medical professionals, they discouraged people from wearing face masks. That message created a perception that people didn’t need to wear masks. That communication error made it harder to convince people to wear them later on when they were subsequently found to be an important defence.
Regions that effectively managed the coronavirus transmission had consistent messaging from different levels of government, promoting the simple behaviours needed to reduce transmission. Messages that also provide a rationale for the necessary behavioural changes are most effective.
We also saw how Trump repeatedly contradicted the congressional testimony from the Center for Disease Control, casting doubt on the timing for a vaccine and the effectiveness of masks.
40. Definitions do matter; avoid shifting data
In Australia, the definition of a coronavirus death is someone who was confirmed to have had COVID-19.
In the U.K., hundreds of deaths in aged care homes were not counted as part of the nation’s official coronavirus death toll during the first few months of the outbreak.
Other countries have also been counting coronavirus deaths differently.
Without a consistent definition that could be used globally, number comparisons will be difficult.