Istoria Group

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What might the post-Covid era look like and what can businesses do now to prepare?

Post-Covid

What might the post-Covid era look like and what can businesses do now to prepare?

Design Insider discusses the post-covid-19 era with Istoria Group’s chairwoman.

Design Insider invited Claire Menzies, Chairwoman, Istoria Group back to join Design Insider Editor, Alys Bryan to discuss what the post-Covid-19 era might look like and what can businesses do now to prepare?

After the webinar there was an opportunity for the audience to ask additional questions ‘offline’. You can see Claire’s responses to those questions asked below. If you’d like to share a question with Claire, please leave a comment below.

Q&A

Question 1

Will we be looking at off-world resources to use – re-use? We now take from this world only and repurpose all the materials we extract / exploit, when these materials run out will we have to go off-world? What would be the alternative if not off-world?

There is still a lot of mileage ‘on-world’. We’re still only at the early stages of scaling up industrial ecology/circular economy tools/approaches such as design for environment, extended producer responsibility, industrial symbiosis, urban mining, material substitution, alternative raw materials, leasing business models, advanced recovery technologies and so on. In addition, the bio-economy is emerging as a source of material replenishment e.g. bioplastics, bio-fuels etc. There is a trend now for Governments to build-in greater resilience in their economies to protect against material scarcity/material security. This trend has been given a boost by the unfortunate Covid 19 and the climate crisis. Similarly, not only are we seeing more investment in these tools but Governments are beginning to take fiscal measures whether they be carrot or stick to push economies in this direction.

Question 2

Will ‘man-made’ become a hackneyed phrase as we look to robotisation?

It may well be but there are some upsides of robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data etc. in terms of efficiency and reducing waste and energy. The best reference point here is Industry 4.0 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/manufacturings-next-act

Question 3

What are some interesting innovations you are seeing to create connections at virtual events (in follow up to your comment on us being tribal beings)?

Without a face-to-face aspect, it’s harder to get buy-in from remote attendees, so you need very careful planning. Make sure virtual events include, for example:

  • Goals to guide your event

  • Compelling messages and a unique story

  • A format emphasising customer experience

  • Professional video design and production

The latter might include:

  • Pre-recorded videos – Giving leads access to your videos on demand and creating an experience that combines brand elements and clear language with a captivating video presentation.

  • Animated education content – Look to produce 2D and 3D content to reduce the production costs found in traditional video. Walk attendees through a product demo or setup process with ease.

  • Live-streaming – Get buy-in for digital events with a bit of FOMO. Remote viewers won’t want to miss out on asking questions in this community format.

  • Virtual event panels and forums – Live-stream from your office or your home – restrictions relevant. Hosting an online group is a great way to engage your audience with a live Q&A session.

Question 4

How do we incentivise the generation of ideas from our personnel? There will always be a reluctance to give away ideas, the fear that they will be used by senior management and progress their careers, but the originator of the idea goes unrewarded?

Sadly, not all companies are prepared to push innovation within their organisations. Changing workplace systems and procedures requires resilience and flexibility, and it’s an unfortunate reality that many people are afraid of or continue to resist change. Encouraging creativity is the key to embracing innovation for any company. Company leadership teams could review the cultural benefits of ‘innovation nurturing’ by opening up safe organisational space to allow innovators across the business to bypass barriers and hierarchies that often sap creativity. One of our ‘Innovation Hub’ teams has in fact created an innovation platform that addresses this directly – https://www.solverboard.com/

watch the full webinar below.

Webinar 1

Design Insider streamed its first live webinar to discuss good business behaviour in the current crisis, creating a caring and profitable business, and sustainability.

Watch it back here.