Innovation Inc: Weeks of resilience are still just a prologue to an uncertain reopening
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Joe Williams
Apr 27, 2020, 21:18 IST
Business Insider
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"Resilience."
It's the word that has come up most often in calls over the past few weeks with CEOs, elected officials, IT leaders, and other prominent executives when describing the response to the coronavirus pandemic in the last few weeks.
Almost overnight, companies had to adapt entirely new operating procedures.
And governments and businesses alike — both which are often loath to quickly roll out new tech — have almost immediately made new digital applications available to customers, employees, and citizens without the standard test period.
Now, as mentalities shift from reactive to proactive, all of this resilience will be put to the test.
At this point, the unknowns about the future far outweigh the knowns. But there are already vivid examples of companies and governments adapting quickly to find innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges ahead.
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The three stories below from the past week highlight this spirit of innovation across both the public and private sectors.
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I talked to Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke about how the city is responding to its recent slew of crises — not only the coronavirus but a sudden tornado — and why the city was ahead of the curve for many reasons, not least its commitment to digital equity.
From a Zoom DJ (pictured above) to expanded childcare perks, the steps the parent firm of Angie's List took to transition 3,000 employees to remote work is a standout example of the ingenuity needed to actually improve productivity despite the pandemic upending operations so significantly.
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