Big Picture: Crisis as a Catalyst for Change
The Covid Pandemic Kicked off a Global Transformation
By Sana Bagersh
Remember the expression “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”? That famous phrase is attributed to Stanford economist Paul Romer but was later used by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and others.
In a 1959 speech, John F. Kennedy famously said: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters: one represents danger, and one represents opportunity.” His translation was refuted, but its intended meaning persists. Then there’s that famous phrase, with a similar meaning (attributed to Plato): “Necessity is the mother of invention”.
Throughout history, there have been many examples of how turmoil and uncertainty have given rise to innovation, bolder leadership, and unbridled entrepreneurship. The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing years have been such a catalyst, and we are still reeling and learning from its disruptions.
Although there have been countless virus outbreaks before, this latest Covid pandemic introduced a response like no other. It necessitated the roll out of a slew of measures in vaccinations, mask-wearing and social distancing that are likely to define the way we manage future threats.
The pandemic disrupted some industries more than others, such as manufacturing and supply chains, but entire sectors such as hospitality, travel, education, healthcare, the workplace, and retail, were also transformed.
The pandemic broke in early 2020, and spread across borders at unprecedented speed, unleashing subsequent variants, and changing the way we live, work and play. More than anything, it stressed the existential need for tighter collaboration between nations.
Hopefully, we will look back at this crisis as one that did not go to waste.
Companies Born Out of Crisis
Looking at the link between crisis and innovation, we can find many companies that have sprung out of meltdowns.
Disney emerged from the great depression of 1929 to satisfy the need for good old-fashioned humor. In doing so it gave us iconic stories and the world’s best-loved cartoon characters.
HP, one of the world’s most enduring computer companies, was established during the 1937-38 recession, by Stanford graduates William Hewlett and David Packard.
Hyatt was launched in 1957, just after another major recession, and has grown to a chain of over 900 hotels.
FedEx was launched in 1971, right after Fred Smith worked on it as part of a school project at Yale university during the 1969-1970 recession.
Then there’s Microsoft, one of the world’s largest companies, which was launched in 1975, on the tail-end of an oil crisis and a massive stock market crash.
Other big names are Google which launched in 1998 and Facebook in 2004, right before the dotcom bubble burst. Both managed to weather economic fluctuations that threw their competitors out of business.
The 2008-2010 recession saw the launch of five of today’s leading economic digital, e-commerce and fintech company startups: Uber, Square, Slack, Venmo and WhatsApp.
Excerpt from the book “What a Leader Should Be” by Sana Bagersh, on Amazon
