The World After Covid-19

While we struggle to control the spread of COVID-19 and to save lives today, thoughts are also turning to what the world will look like once COVID-19 no longer presents a crisis. While much uncertainty remains about the duration of the current crisis, there is a consensus that COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the world. In more ways than one, our behaviors have probably been changed forever.

At GBSN, we were keen to explore the contours of the world after COVID-19, the world that is emerging as a result of the extraordinary times we are experiencing today. To do so, we reached out to our community to better understand the many ways in which the world after COVID-19 will be different for our key stakeholders including governments, businesses, universities and students.

“Covid-19 was breaking our normal, magnifying long-standing injustices, and pulling the future forward. But what will the new normal look like? What does it mean to “build back better?” What are the implications of accelerating change? In short, what world will we find on the other side of the portal? We conducted the interviews in this volume from April to June 2020 with these questions in mind. We wanted to make sense of the future through the minds of business school deans, who by the nature of their roles must see the world through multiple lenses—business and higher education, theory and practice, global and local. These initial interviewees gave us so much more that we extended the conversations to include business leaders.” 

Dan LeClair

CEO, Global Business School Network

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The World after Covid-19, a collection of insights, views, and experiences published by the Global Business School Network (GBSN) available on Amazon.

eBook and Paperback available.

The book consists of 20 interviews conducted by GBSN CEO Dan LeClair and Board Chairman Soumitra Dutta as the world first went into lockdown in the earlier stages of the global pandemic in 2020. 

The interviews were a reminder that leadership is an intensely human activity, revealing as much about people as it did organizations, economies, and societies. Common themes included: Human––and Humane––Leadership, with responses personal and sometimes emotional as leaders discussed their responsibilities for the health and well-being of their people; Teaching with tech––the acceleration of digital transformation; and Globalization vs turning inward––would the world work together or pull apart, both during and after the crisis? 

Some were confident we are not going back to normal, most certain of long-lasting change, and at least one certain we should be planning for a world with not after Covid-19.

The world after Covid-19 is out now in eBook and Paperback exclusively via amazon.com. All sale royalties will go towards the mission of the Global Business School Network.

Peter Tufano

In a conversation with Dr. Peter Tufano, we discuss how lessons from World War II can aid governments, businesses, education to win the war against COVID-19 and win the peace in the post-COVID world.

Enase Okonedo

In conversation with Soumitra Dutta and Dan LeClair of GBSN, Enase Okonedo discusses the changing equation of businesses and governments with respect to society across the globe, and particularly in Africa.

Jean-François Manzoni

Jean-François Manzoni is the President of IMD, where he also serves as the Nestlé Professor. In conversation with Soumitra Dutta and Dan LeClair of GBSN, he discusses trust in governments, innovation in executive education, and leading in a crisis.

Sangeet Chowfla

Sangeet Chowfla is the President & CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). In conversation with Soumitra Dutta and Dan LeClair of GBSN, he discusses the importance of connectedness and trust, as well as the changing value equation in higher education.

Franz Heukamp

Franz Heukamp is Dean of IESE Business School at the University of Navarra. In conversation with Soumitra Dutta and Dan LeClair of GBSN, he discusses important global trends that the pandemic is accelerating, as well as the increased responsibility of business and business institutions to society.

Erika James

Erika James is Dean of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In conversation with Soumitra Dutta and Dan LeClair of GBSN, she discusses the importance of engagement and outreach when dealing with global crises, as well as the positive developments she has seen during the pandemic.

“… on average, leaders will become more empathetic. And they will have a wider view about the impact on society and what it means for them personally; what it means to the community that they work in and that they serve.”

Ben Lewis

Former CEO and Current Non-Executive Director, River Island, United Kingdom