The Post-COVID Consumer

Sometimes it seems as if society has fast-forwarded five years in the last five months: far more of our shopping, work and schooling now happens online, and post-COVID, not everything will go back. In addition, after so much uncertainty, consumers will seek security, safety, trusted relationships and reliable information. At the same time many families and businesses will struggle with limited financial resources. Big challenges--but also an opportunity for bold thinking and new initiatives around services, communication and community.

What Comes After COVID?

The “virtualization” of our world has greatly accelerated. Work from home, telemedicine, virtual shopping, distance learning, socializing, exercise: this trend alone will impact every sector of the economy. But of course, there is much more. Consumers will emerge with a new desire for security and control yet lagging incomes will change what they can afford. The public will continue to seek authoritative information sources, with a new focus on wellness. Management will face questions about localization, automation, staffing and real estate. And this are just a start: the prognosis seems to change daily. What Comes After COVID? is a highly customized presentation. Michael will work with you and your team in advance to pull out the specific topics relevant to your sector. He offers either a virtual keynote with a Q&A, or else a full small-group interactive session.

Management Meets the Future

Post-COVID, managers are facing multiple new challenges: virtual work forces, flattened corporate structures, a new generation of ambitious and cyber-savvy workers, a heightened atmosphere of public scrutiny—not to mention the perennial pressure to do more with less. How are smart managers coping and what’s next to come?

Use the Downturn to Rethink, Restructure, and Thrive

The recovery remains weak, but three key elements will still characterize successful businesses during the remainder of the decade: virtual organization, global vision, and the extended Internet of smart objects and cloud-based intelligence. These new tools may even create entirely new business models. Coming out of this long downturn presents the perfect opportunity to rethink and restructure, using low-cost software tools, to fit the emerging new paradigm.

Your Business in 2028

For this popular speech, Rogers—who is also a best-selling science fiction writer— interviews the client to get a sense of their business, practice or discipline. He then creates a scenario of what their profession or business might be like at the end of the Twenties, and the world they will inhabit. He’s done it for lawyers, health care professionals, transportation companies, financial services companies—and even for beauty salons and weight-loss clinics!

The Virtualization of America

Over the next decade, more and more of our work, what we care about and how we interact with others is going to move into the virtual world, mediated by computers and the Internet. In addition, we’re seeing the rise of a new generation of “digital natives” who are remarkably comfortable with virtual relationships. What will this mean for how our businesses and organizations must grow and evolve in the years to come?