Warren Buffett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.” but what happens when the tide comes back in?

The pandemic has certainly caught many of us with our pants down if we had any on in the first place. Now that we are returning to a new way of working: we must be deliberate about what are we expecting, things to return to normal, a new normal?

The challenge we face is that not only do we need to adapt to a new way of running an organization and adopt a new are flexible mindset, but we also need to adapt to shifting consumer demands. The pandemic has proved an accelerant for changes that were already underway. It brought us closer to a digital world, but it also gave customers a taste of products that made have taken many more years to diffuse into society. As a result, we must adapt to many shifting forces. This is a challenge, but as humankind has shown since our first days on the planet, we are resilient, we are innovative, and we are adaptable.

Some organisations benefitted hugely from the changes while others were obliterated, but for many, their victories lead to their defeats.

When the tide goes out again, will you be ready? It depends on how you react when the tide is in.