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The new year always bring new hope and a new perspective. It is as if we are all bright and eager to start the year with a clean slate. For some, the new year also inspires them start a business.

In its latest Philippine Economic Update, the World Bank said the country’s economy could contract by as much as 8.1 percent this year. Although the figure was an unfortunate downward revision from its earlier projection in October, it was still better than the government’s forecast of a 8.5-percent to 9.5-percent GDP contraction. The latest forecast came on the back of expectations that the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact would worsen, lockdown measures, and the country’s first recession since 1991.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most disruptive world events of the last century. Its impact is surprisingly greater than that of SARS in 2003, or Ebola in 2014. The effects of our response have been unprecedented. We have seen cultural organizations receive zero visitors, religious institutions shut off mass gatherings, the entertainment industry canceled big events, and educational institutions made hard decisions to carry out online classes.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the general community quarantine, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) recently announced that mall-wide Christmas sales would be allowed this year in an effort to boost consumer spending and help our limping economy recover. Even with the huge 11.11 and 12.12 sales of top e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee, retailers must prepare for the expected surge in spending at both brick-and-mortar stores and shopping websites as Christmas approaches. Filipinos will be scrambling to buy gifts for their friends and loved ones, as well as food, outfits and other needs for their festivities.

During this unprecedented time, a credible board that balances providing support to management while challenging it to make the best decisions is a necessity. As there is no sufficient historical experience that management can readily draw upon that can help it navigate current conditions, the board’s capabilities would especially shine through during this challenging time.

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which resulted to self-isolation and economic uncertainty, is possibly changing the way people avail of products and services. Businesses face the risk of becoming irrelevant to their customers if the former fails to understand changing consumer behavior and priorities brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is very critical to understand the customers’ side. Mid-market businesses need to assess whether they are still on the right track to understand and meet customers’ changing needs.

Eight months. That is how long it has been already since I started working at home because of the pandemic. Days had gone by rather quickly. It has been eight months as well since being with my family every day. Three months ago, I wrote about how we can be better at working from home when our family is also there. One of the things I mentioned was to give as much respect, patience and understanding to those who are living with us since they are essentially our current “officemates.”

One day, we will go back to our pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) lives, but it will take a while even after the discovery of a vaccine. As we try to bring back “normalcy” in our society, we sense that our way of living, working and learning will never be the same.