The future in the present tense

When the 18th Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) International CEO Web Conference was held last year, it was with high hopes that 2021 will be a different scenario, that leaders of the business community will be able to actively join the discussions in topics of common interest that events like this used to generate before this health crisis.

We all thought that by this time, we will all be finally hard at work on getting our operations back on track. We did not foresee that what we initially thought will be a short COVID-19 story will turn into a long novel, with each chapter bringing new twists and turns that keep us all chained to our chairs. But we cannot keep on being just readers of our own story. We need to get up from our couches, take our pens—or in this modern world, our keyboards—and start writing the narrative of our generation, in our words, by our actions. It is about our realities, not some modern-day fiction.

The future might seem indefinable under the present circumstances, but it is way past time to take decisive actions if we are to change what is. The Sept. 14 MAP CEO Conference aimed to be part of the planning process by putting on the discussion table critical issues that we need to consider moving forward; like those that comprise our “we should haves” —thoughts and actions that we brushed aside in the past because we thought we can take our own sweet time to consider. The pandemic made us realize that there is urgency in dealing with the present, if we are to ensure a better future for those who will follow.There are key givens that will drive these plans and actions:

• First, that COVID-19 is going to be a permanent resident; therefore, we need to start taking charge of our lives again, working with what we know, with what we have and with what we can do. It’s why we said the Future in the Present Tense.

Strengthening the health systems, disaster planning, climate change, social impact, gender equality, inclusive growth—these are gut issues that had been part of countless discussions in the past but only managed to advance by very small steps.

• Second, that we cannot ignore how the pandemic changed the way we live, how it added new perspectives and learning how to act in a radically different way from what we were used to. We need to leverage on knowledge and learnings that we keep on gaining every day to try and build back better for the future. Hindsights, insights and foresights—they invite us to reflect and to think about the lessons, because we cannot start a journey to a future that will not include them. It’s asking, “what are we going to do with the experience?”

Acceleration of the transition to digital, the rise of the hybrid workplace, the changing mindset of the workforce, the empowered consumers, societal expectations from business, the emergence of labor as co-equal of capital—these were part of the environmental scanning exercises for strategic planning but used only as FYIs rather than opportunities for innovation. The unpreparedness was glaring when the pandemic made these into major concerns.

An honest self-examination is required as we reflect on these developments and transformations because these insights are valuable to the discernment process that should and will influence our strategies and actions. We now realize that trust and purpose are mission-critical; they are part of the equities for businesses to flourish, the valuable intangibles that are given voluntarily only to those deserving.

• And lastly, that the preceding two givens will mean it is not going to be business as usual because it is now a different business landscape. There are more expectations that will redefine our concept of what makes a successful organization. Along with profit, we are now saying purpose is equally critical to achieve a better bottom line; that trust, not just funds, will be as valuable as equity; and our traditional workforce paradigm needs to transition to recognize their emerging role as partners that contribute as much as the owners’ capital.

All these are happening in concert against the backdrop of this changing, or termed more optimistically, a renewing world. The chaos that unfolds, the territorial conflicts, the ideological differences, the broken supply chain, the realignment of alliances, the geopolitical shifts—the world has reached a level of interconnectedness that a tug on any of these threads creates a rip in the thinning fabric of global cooperation. We need to piece together these strands so that we can at least draw a sketch in the canvass of our future aspirations.

The foresight, no matter how vague they may be, can still provide a glimmer of light that can help us define and act on the collective tomorrow we want to have.

Hindsights, insights, foresights—three perspectives that thought leaders will use as frameworks for the discussions of the issues of our times. They are not meant to be panaceas to the ills, definitely not prescriptions for cure. The ideas shared are vaccines that can at least provide a boost to our systems—and that should we encounter more challenges, we will also have more information that can lessen the severity of the impact on our organizations.

Experience can inform insights, and information, whether related or not, should expand perspective—not narrow the choices. As long as there is acceptance that we are humans constantly learning and evolving, we may struggle but we will continue fighting.

These words from Claire O’Neill are food for thought, given what we are experiencing now: “This is the tipping point year. This is the year, certainly, where the business community got religion.”

Perhaps that should be slightly rephrased to add that hopefully, what we all found and got, is epiphany. INQ

The author is chair of the MAP CEO Conference Committee, vice chair of the MAP Health Committee, president and CEO of Health Solutions Corporation and former undersecretary of the Department of Tourism.