《快速领导者杂志》，2020年9月，作者：彼得·菲斯克

How will the future emerge?….The inspiration oftech. 2020 has been aphenomenal year. If you’rea tech company. But then, you could argue that insome waysevery companyshould be a tech company,instructure and culture.And human too. Sincethe pandemic hit,Apple’s stock price has looked more like the Burj Khalifa,rather thanshowing symptoms ofCovid-19.Since mid-March,it’smarket value doubled injust21 weeks tobecome theworld’s first $2 trillion company, having taken 42 years to reach $1 trillion. WhileTim Cook and team haven’t sustained the relentless productrevolutionsof the Steve Jobs era,they have profited from extending its globalreach, fuelled bycontent and applications. It might seem contradictory, but as society locked-down,andtheglobal economyshrank fasterthan ever before,some companies havethrivedlike never before. Consider the growth bymarket value of thesebusinessesover the first 6 months of 2020: •Amazon.Market cap added = $401.1bn. While the online retailer struggled initially tocope with demand, it spent$4bnenhancing its distribution capacity.•Microsoft.Market cap added = $269.9bn. TheAzurecloud has dominated growth,while user numbers forTeamsand Xbox both mushroomed to over 100 million.•Tesla.Market cap added = $108.4bn. Becoming the world’s most valuable auto makeris not really the story, for Tesla is much more aboutenergy, and specifically batteries.•PayPal.Market cap added = $65.4bn.Online payments grew dramatically with onlineretail,but the real secret was PayPal’s newVenmoapp for peer to peer payments.•Pinduoduo.Market cap added = $55.2bn. 628m people used China’s#2shoppingplatform with agamified, group-based approach to ultra-lowprices(more next month). Tech companies all,but equally retail and communication, gaming and transport, energy andfinance. The rapidconvergenceof sectors, digitalisation of interfaces, and power ofnetworksis everywhere. 2020 has become a year ofdramatic shake-upwhere the growth companies inevery sector realise that the innovative application of new technologies is key to their future.For the many of us, for who the year has not been sophenomenal, the lessons are obvious. Post-pandemicconsumers…new habits,new priorities. As the world begins a slow recovery from the worst of the pandemic, it is clear thatlockdownhas had a profound impact onhowwelive. The fear of contagion, the experience of isolation,andtheeconomic uncertainty that continues, are changingconsumer behavioursfor good. Asnew synaptic pathways take shape in our brains, new habits typically form in around 66 days. Digital behaviours most obviously accelerated–how we work, learn, shop,socialiseand play.Zoom’s daily user base rocketed from 10 million to 200 million in 3 months. Disney’s newstreaming service,Disney+,achieved the same growth in 5 months thatNetflixachieved in 7years.Online shopping grew more in 8 weeks thanthe last10years, telemedicine went from2% to 98% of all initial health appointments in 15 days. The importance ofhealthand wellbeing is set to endure, as we become used tolow-touchexperiences.At the same time, we valuehumanitymore,caring for society,family andneighbours. As a result, our physical shopping behaviours change too.Localproximity, but self-service, less frequent visits,baskets of flourand detergent,rather thanclothes andcosmetics.Sustainabilitybecamea more or less significant issue depending onsafetyand economics. Nestingin our homes, we became more subdued too. Our wanderlusttotravelwas quashedby quarantine, as airlines and hotels have perhaps been worst affected, typically losing 90% oftheir business. Most people lost confidence in usingpublic transport, so roads became morecongested as we slowly ventured out,whilemany city centres haveremainedghost towns. Socialising, except for theinitialyouthful exuberance to party again, has been moremoderated.Many restaurantsstill operateas kitchens for home delivery, fuelling the continued rise ofdelivery companies like Deliveroo andJust Eat, who have added groceries and medicines, in asimilar way to the Asiansuper-apps like Grab and Meituan Dianping. And our love of smallbrands, like craft beers,has givenwaytoatrust in larger,familiarbrands. Rise of“Generation Alpha”…children of the millennials. We are familiar with the differences betweengenerations–from “baby boomers” to “millennials”–and howwedefine (stereotype)age groups most notably by attitudes that are shaped in theirformative years. Their experiences while growing up have a huge influence on their enduringworldviews and values, their preferences for brands, and behaviours in the workplace. The now retired “builder” generation of Jack Welch, who succeeded through “command andcontrol” organisational structures,were not surprisingly most influenced by world wars. The“boomer” generation ofSteve Jobs wasmoreinspired by possibilities, like the moonlanding.Most boardrooms today are largely populated by “Gen X”, more open and collaborative. “Gen Y” (also known as millennials)