By Emmanuel Zvada The past two years have proven that the world can change in a short space of time. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many disruptions, recovering and resetting, so that we can thrive, is what matters most. We have witnessed events that have been previously unseen altogether: lockdowns of entire cities, panic in the financial markets, loss of jobs, lack of hospital beds and an ensuing economic crisis. Business leaders need to take a leap of faith by reimagining the future, re-planning their strategies and adopting an entrepreneurial mindset for recovery. Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath will be one of the biggest business challenges of our time. Now that restrictions are being eased in many countries, many organisations are making plans to bring their workforce back to the office, though it’s going to be difficult. Bringing your workforce back to the office is no small task especially when there was a new culture of working from home. Despite uncertainty, reopening of businesses has already begun. In reopening, organisations need to reinvent themselves for a new era of business. Resetting and recovery mode We have all changed the way we operate in the COVID-19 crisis. Some changes were forced on us, others represent the height of innovation in a crisis. There has been a reset of the workforce and work itself, a reset of the employer/employee relationship and a reset of the business ecosystem. As we shift from response to recovery, the key for senior leaders is to make strategic decisions that will lead them to a renewed future. This crisis has created an opportunity for organisations to reset some of their goals and ambitions as they recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Now is the right time to bring together your executive team and use the lessons learnt during COVID-19 to reconfigure your business and operating models for a new reality. Time to digitalise some operations Digital adoption has taken a quantum leap at both the organisational and industry levels. The COVID-19 crisis has brought about change in the way companies in all sectors and regions do business. This crisis has presented the information technology industry with an opportunity to empower businesses with technology as seen during the lockdown where many innovations, digital platforms have been invented. Organisations need to be making informed and faster decisions, focusing on automation, real-time risk assessment and mitigation, continuous value delivery and agile strategy making. And they need to be doing it now as this is already the new normal. There will be no “return to normal” Coronavirus has, to some extent, shaped the way we live and work. Some of the behaviours developed in crisis including wide-scale digital adoption will outlast the pandemic. COVID-19 is leading employers to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of their employees in new ways. Companies can thrive by adopting a positive approach to employee wellbeing, both in and out of work. Wellbeing is now an integral part of the relationship betwee