Return to work as the pandemic hopefully nears the end is more than just a unique challenge to be resolved. There are consequential decision to be made.

Workers deemed throughout to be essential employees aside, the rest of the work force now has their new individual normals that they have become quite accustomed to. Hard to go back from here, the organization and administration of a work force is forever changed and in something not normal resides the best solutions.

I am sure of very few things, but there isn’t a practical and singular solution that is best suited for an entire work force returning to the workplace. Transformative change best happens one employee at a time if the goal is for the organization to thrive and to continue to evolve both economically and ecologically. The top end of employees are needed now more than ever for most businesses, be careful with a solution for all of them.

Big and dumb consistency for all will damage the performance of a culture to great ends. Agile and rationale with no bias other than for performance down to the individual level for mutual value (employee, organization, consumer) will win out in the short, mid, and long-term.

We’ll find out soon enough, but as Peter Drucker noted many years ago, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If you mind the culture well, you may then get the opportunity to mind the business with the best of them.

“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” — Peter Drucker —

MITM