Business experts and analysts are constantly studying the market, attempting to predict upcoming trends, patterns, failures, and successes. Few, however, could have possibly foreseen what was in store for the business market in 2020, the year the COVID-19 virus was officially declared a global pandemic.

The pandemic has fundamentally and, perhaps, irrevocably, changed the world we live in. Countless companies were forced to adapt, seemingly overnight, and to shift their activities to the virtual realm. Stocks soared and plummeted depending on the new needs of a world that was almost completely under lockdown.

Despite undergoing such significant change in such a short amount of time, the business world witnessed the success of several different models and ventures. According to Forbes, industries such as cleaning services, delivery services, grocery stores, healthcare providers, and many more saw a substantial increase in demand for their services or products.

As more and more people were forced to stay home from offices, schools, and universities due to lockdown and quarantine, many turned to online shopping as a way of procuring their necessities. According to data released in 2020 by IBM’s U.S. Retail index, the pandemic has accelerated the shift from traditional brick-and-mortar stores to e-commerce shopping by about 5 years, a rate that is completely unprecedented.

Due to the sheer number of brick-and-mortar stores and brands facing closure, many companies are attempting to take their businesses online. Due to the pandemic’s impact on consumer behavior and preferences, businesses need to adapt, adjust, and evolve in order to be able to survive and grow. Among the best practices recommended include adopting an omni-channel business approach, investing in automated supply chain and delivery solutions, implementing loyalty programs to retain customers, and listening to customers and adapting to their changing needs.

Adaptability is a key ingredient among many in ensuring the resilience of a business model. Here are five important principles, suggested by experts, for ensuring a long-lasting system:

• Encouraging diversity and plurality: It is important to foster an environment that is varied in background, cognitive abilities, and ideas. The more diverse a business’ employees are, the more capable it will be of producing multiple ways of thinking, managing, and dealing with different situations
• Introducing modular structures: A modular organization or business can work in smaller chunks as opposed to a single unit, which can allow certain parts of the business to fall without the entire organization sinking completely
• Learning to adapt: Adaptability demonstrates a business’ capacity to analyze changes and adjust processes and structures to reflect those changes
• Exercising caution: If something could plausibly happen, then businesses should develop contingency plans when/if it does. Continuously exercising a degree of caution is an important way of safeguarding a business against sudden changes.
• Being aware of the bigger picture: It is important to be continuously aware of how a company or business aligns with broader systems and contexts, such as supply chains, business ecosystems, societies, and natural ecosystems. This creates an awareness of who the company serves and why and prevents it from finding itself in sudden opposition to wider communities

Attempting to predict what the future will bring is not easy; there’s no telling what may happen with 100% certainty. What businesses can do, however, to withstand change and adversity, is learn to listen to their customers, adapt to their needs, and strive to serve the communities they are a part of.