“Not a moment to lose.” The old adage seems especially relevant in 2020. With little warning, we find ourselves in terra incognita – and we don’t have a roadmap.

In situations like these, it’s natural to look for role models and examples. Successful companies like Tesla, Amazon, Zoom, and Adobe share a common trait: They move fast.

From my perspective, the key to survival is speed. Don’t set your sights on seizing the day – strive instead to seize the moment. This is one of the reasons why we’ve asked Christina “CK” Kerley to speak at our upcoming 2020 HMG Live! New Jersey CIO Executive Leadership Summit on October 14^th. Christina is an acclaimed author, futurist and strategist who will be sharing why speed is essential for business survival, along with how technology executives must go beyond being business enablers and collaborate closely with the executive team to reimagine and reshape the business to survive and thrive.

Adding Christina to our New Jersey CIO Summit agenda is a reflection of how HMG Strategy is differentiating the content and agendas for its events that you can’t get anywhere else. I strongly encourage you to register for this fascinating and topical discussion.

Moments of great disruption are also moments of great opportunity. Now isn’t the time for passivity. There’s a reason why we admire visionary leaders, early adopters and first movers: They reach their goals sooner, which gives them breathing space to prepare for the next round of surprises, and the next round of opportunities. 

Never before has so much changed, so quickly. For today’s companies, the pandemic has created a perplexing paradox: at the same time that COVID has paused their plans, it’s also forced their digital transformations. What used to take years, now takes weeks. Executives who have always moved cautiously now take bold risks. Even customers who have long resisted change are now embracing it. As we struggle collectively to find solutions, change offers all of us a way forward. 

Welcome to survival of the fastest. Businesses are sprinting to reimagine their strategies and reshape their industries. Make no mistake: For many companies, this is a struggle for survival.  They will need to run faster than their competitors, or face the risk of real failure.