During these unprecedented times, one group stood out for their contributions to society. Those at the frontlines! Nurses, doctors, grocery store clerks, and manufacturing associates. “Production” associates, as this recent article points out, deserve our appreciation for providing us with the goods and services we need. Arguably risking themselves in the process!

What is the post-Covid 19 workplace going to look like? How will companies thrive? In some ways, it could be a very different world from as recently as 2019; or it could be more of the same as the past decade or two. Or the past century. The march of productivity has been going on for a very long time.

COVID-19 has brought the world to its knees! For most people in the world, daily life has been disrupted in an unprecedented way. Besides the awful toll on human life, job losses, business failures, etc. are now becoming more prevalent. The impact on the global economy has barely begun to be measured.

In most businesses, the one common but fundamental skill that is much needed, yet mostly lacking, is the skill of Problem Solving. Where this becomes rather apparent is within those companies pursuing a continuous improvement journey. It isn’t a stretch to say that all continuous improvement tools/practices are built around some form of problem solving. Ironically, many of these companies have devoted time and resources to the task of training their associates but pervasive success is elusive.