A Brave New World

The Covid-19 pandemic is a true test of crisis management. These business leaders share what they’re doing to get their organisations through this.

- Weets Goh

The world will never be the same again. At the time of writing, over two million cases of Covid-19 have been reported worldwide since the first recorded case was revealed in November last year – and industries are reeling from its effects.

In March 2020, the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) – a non-profit, global leadership community comprising over 29,000 chief executives, surveyed over 2,750 respondents across different industries to get a sense of the impact of the virus on businesses. Due to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic, a second survey soon followed in April with 3,534 respondents across 109 countries. The results were largely expected of any global crisis: growth slows or grinds to a halt.

What’s truly significant, though, was the outpouring of strong, inspiring leadership from across the globe that was based on decisive action, clear, open lines of communication and, perhaps most importantly, empathy.

Predictably, in a time of closed borders and social distancing, hospitality is one of the hardest hit industries. Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International, released an emotional video addressing employees on the issue. He displayed vulnerability and honesty while revealing the unprecedented devastation of the pandemic on the company and the measures it will be taking, and ended on a note of hope.