COVID-19, and the crisis-upon-crisis that is 2020 in general, has been an amazing forcing function for the future. Any company that had a transformational change on its 10-year roadmap has been forced to consider how to implement those changes in a matter of months.
Read MoreOne silver lining in the COVID-19 crisis: we’re going to make huge advances in virtual medicine—and it’s about time.
I’ve done virtual therapy. My son is doing doctor’s appointments right now via video chat. The technology has been there for a while—with privacy concerns noted and being worked through—but in our experience, it’s the insurance companies that have to catch up.
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The COVID-19 crisis is already dramatically reshaping our economy, at a macro and micro level.
From a macroeconomic standpoint, the next few months will be a culling of the herd. Businesses in some key industries that have invested in digital transformation will come out of this crisis stronger, both from having seen their core revenue streams grow and having seen some of their competitors dry up. We’ll also see some of the biggest players get bigger: Big Tech will consolidate its foothold on American life; Amazon will accelerate its takeover of small businesses around the country.
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I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how I’m feeling, as we watch this slow motion viral apocalypse unfolding. If I’m honest with myself, I’m scared for the future—not just for myself and my family, and the impact an economic crash could have on us, but for my parents and in-laws’ health, for my friends who have been laid off already, and more generally for the impact this is going to have on the most vulnerable around us—and because I don’t know what tomorrow holds, how bad this is truly going to get, I’m constantly anxious.
Read MoreConsider three recent examples of the unintended consequences of scale:
Airbnb is accelerating over-tourism, as rental properties are bought up by investors.
Food delivery apps are creating “ghost kitchens”: restaurants that exist only online.
All of these situations are predictable and preventable.
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