Business Trends for the Future

“You only have to be right once.” — Drew Houston, Dropbox

We have recently been through one of the most challenging years in recent history. The impact of living through a global pandemic, with the associated shut down of businesses has severely affected many lives.

Yet crises can also spark innovation.The world will never be quite the same, even after the pandemic is brought under control. Life and businesses will go on, but in a vastly different way than before.

One of the most obvious changes is that while it has been challenging to conduct business, teach and learn online, it has become a new norm with a silver lining of benefits. Many employees are happy to continue working from home to save time in traffic, as well as the expense of commuting and parking. Employers are downsizing their physical office spaces if possible, and saving lease costs and utilities.

In an article early in 2021, McKinsey and Company point out some very interesting trends based on Plato’s belief that “necessity is the mother of invention.” These trends include the digitization of just about everything in our working environment, from online customer service, to supply chain reinvention, to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, to general operational workflow.