As President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions Nils Jaeger has been tasked with making autonomous driving a reality – and reassuring society of its benefits long term. Undaunted, the avid cyclist is no stranger to uphill struggles.

Five years ago, the expectation was that by 2020 the sight of ‘robotaxis’ and driverless trucks would be a common sight on our streets. Their absence today shows that the tech and transport industries have woken up to the fact that creating autonomous vehicles that can safely deal with mixed traffic, cats, dogs and kids – and hundreds of other variables – is a bigger technical challenge than first thought. But even though expectations have been reset to a more reasonable timeframe, the speed of development is still terrific, and the prize for success is access to a multi-billion dollar market.

“For autonomous driving to take off on-highway we need three things to happen,” says Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “We need to master the technology – especially of perception systems that allow vehicles to travel at high speeds. Secondly, we need society to trust us when we say this new tech is beneficial, and finally we need legislators to adapt laws to give autonomous vehicles access to the highways. It’s a puzzle and we need all the pieces to fall into place.”

While robotaxis are still on the industry’s wish list, the first on-road application for autonomous driving is likely to be in trucking, especially of the hub-to-hub type found in the US’s interstate highway system. “As the Volvo Group is one of the world’s largest truck manufacturers, we are putting a lot of effort into solving this problem and developing a credible offering,” says Jaeger. “The creation of Volvo Autonomous Solutions is a clear statement of intent that we want to be a leader in this field.”

Based at Volvo’s Camp X innovation hub in Gothenburg, Sweden, the 51-year-old Jaeger took up his role in the newly formed Volvo Autonomous Solutions on January 1^st, 2020. Previously spending 17 years of his career in the agricultural equipment sector he is no stranger to automated systems. He witnessed first hand the arrival of autonomous steering systems for tractors and harvesting machines, tech that is now embedded in the sector. 

“I’m absolutely convinced that autonomous solutions are beneficial to society,” he says. “This new industry will provide a lot of value – safety, efficiency, flexibility, sustainability and economic. It is impossible to stop progress – this technology is going to happen – and I firmly believe that it will be a force for good. In fact, if we had been further ahead in our development the impact of Covid-19 would have been less.”

When challenged on fears of autonomous machines taking human operator jobs, Jaeger says: “There are already shortages of drivers in many markets, and human operators will continue to be in demand for many years to come,” says Jaeger. “Far from being a threat, autonomous vehicles will be complimentary, doing jobs more safely than humans can, such as very long distance highway driving, or removing humans from worksite applications in hazardous areas, such as blast furnaces, unstable demolition sites or underground mines. As with the creation of the car or the computer, this technology will for sure be a creator of many new jobs.”

What about the fear that some people have about driverless vehicles being let loose on highways and work sites? “Fear is never a good advisor, so as an industry we need to come together and address those concerns,” says Jaeger. “Not only must autonomous solutions be safe, we must demonstrate it unequivocally to reassure the public. That’s not just product safety, but also protection against cybercrime interference, which we are also working hard on preventing. The irony here is that one of the biggest benefits of this technology is that it will improve safety and reduce harm. There is already a healthy debate going on, and we need to be better at spelling out that key benefit.”

Autonomous vehicles offer more than a like-for-like switch with human operated machines, but rather whole new business models and customer relationships. ‘Transport as a service’ is a growing trend, and tailoring fleets of machines to suit customers’ individual needs is a key element of Volvo Autonomous Solutions’ remit. “We see ourselves as an integrator of emerging technologies to create solutions, bundling hardware and software, and then if necessary, operating it on behalf of the customer,” says Jaeger.

Autonomous vehicles will be a service to wider society. There remains several mountains to climb before reaching the goal of reliable, productive, sustainable and safe autonomous transport solutions. But Jaeger remains undaunted.

“To ensure that it is understood as beneficial to society we need to master the componentry by proving that it is truly safe. We also need to reassure legislators and promote the many benefits by being good stewards of this technology,” he concludes.

The coronavirus crisis is a health emergency, but its long-term impact will be far broader. This pandemic is accelerating change and rewiring society in ways that will define the decades to come. Here are four ways that real leaders can step up.

The coronavirus pandemic is many things —  I’ve spent the past few months working with partners worldwide to investigate how people’s attitudes and aspirations are changing as a result of the crisis. This “people’s survey” holds valuable lessons for those who hope to lead the coronavirus recovery.

The study reveals an overwhelming global desire for change. People in both developed and developing countries see the coronavirus recovery as much more than just a chance to move on from the virus. Nine out of ten people expect fundamental social, environmental, and economic change.

The coronavirus recovery leaders will be those that recognize the burgeoning desire for human values, consideration, collaboration, and kindness in the wake of a global health crisis. They will understand that a recovery that merely resuscitates the old economy is a non-starter.

But people lack confidence in leaders to deliver the change they want to see. Almost half of the surveyed people are worried that governments aren’t transparent enough, nor do they think governments are particularly well-functioning. Businesses don’t inspire much confidence either. People think large enterprises are in it only for themselves and part of a system that perpetuates social inequality. And NGOs are seen as less critical to the recovery than other players.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. No one individual, organization, or state can do this alone. Across countries, people expect leaders and organizations to collaborate in an altogether new way to address the issues. To navigate the febrile and complex post-coronavirus world, business leaders should be team players. It’s easier said than done and will require bold, visionary leadership. Leaders in any field, but especially in business, must understand they are operating in a new reality. Our research indicates that there are four fundamental principles to abide by.

Prioritize the social and environmental impact of your organization.

The crisis has accelerated the shift of social and environmental issues from the margins to the center of corporate decision-making and responsibility. Nearly two-thirds of the people we surveyed demanded businesses improve their social and environmental impact. Global food company Danone has taken the lead. On June 26, shareholders voted to legally embed environmental, social, and governance goals in the company’s bylaws. The new legal status means Danone must generate shareholder profit and do so in a way that will benefit the health of customers and the planet.

Be a team player.

Work with your government and communities for the common good. The coronavirus has called time on the era of individualism. We have entered a much more collaborative age. Business leaders have a powerful role to play as a bridge between government and communities. They must be prepared to partner more broadly. There are signs that some are ready for this approach. The World Wide Fund for Nature’s approach to business — forming strategic partnerships with shared goals — is a good example. Business needs to apply its expertise in the fields of policy, relevant to its broader operations, then use its experience and resources to drive and implement change. 

Be agents of equality.

The coronavirus has stoked anger across countries about wealth inequality. Too often, this has been seen as a problem for governments and think tanks. People are clear that business should also be a part of the solution. People are pointing to widening gaps between executive remuneration and median salary and demanding action. These pay gaps are a problem, but the reflex to lower the ceiling risks talent being lost to public businesses. A more significant opportunity would be to raise the floor by driving up median pay and investing in real skills and schemes that provide sustainable support to a broader section of the population.

Make work fairer, safer, and more inclusive.

People worldwide are demanding fair wages and working conditions, and companies and their supply chains are under scrutiny like never before. Recently in the UK, shares in fashion brand BooHoo slumped nearly 20 percent after it was revealed supply chain workers were receiving illegally low wages in unsafe conditions at its factory in Leicester.

Business leaders cannot carry the burden of this recovery alone; much is expected of governments, too. The pandemic has unleashed radical policy thinking to support jobs and economies in the immediate crisis, but more visionary thinking will be required to answer the substantial social and environmental questions that this crisis leaves in its wake. The world is changing before our eyes. It marks a profound social, environmental, and economic shift. These are radical times, and only bold, visionary leaders need apply.

As COVID-19 forces businesses worldwide to reinvent themselves, social entrepreneurs are getting creative to help communities hit hard by the pandemic — from a Ugandan medicine-on-wheels service to upcycled face masks made by vulnerable women in Peru.

While recessions and falling revenue are affecting ethical businesses too, many such companies are proving particularly adept at innovating and finding new opportunities.

“Social innovation is the DNA of social entrepreneurs,” said Vincent Otieno Odhiambo, regional director for Ashoka East Africa, a non-profit working with social enterprises – businesses aiming to do good while making a profit.

“They are accustomed to tackling complex social problems and therefore design innovative solutions that create better conditions of life,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation to mark Social Enterprise Day on Thursday.

Started by Social Enterprise UK, the sector’s trade body in Britain, and held annually on the third Thursday of November, the day aims to highlight the sector’s global impact. The campaign has since expanded to other parts of the world.

With the pandemic taking a heavy toll on vulnerable communities around the world, companies with a social focus are even encouraging some traditional businesses to have a rethink.

“We have seen them tackle perennial challenges ranging from access to healthcare and education, remote working, economic resilience all the way to transparency or fighting fake news,” Otieno Odhiambo said.

‘OUTSIDE THE BOX’

In Asia, social enterprises have turned to making face shields and protective suits for doctors, and linking those who have lost their jobs to careers in sustainable fields.

As movement curbs remain in place across many cities, a surge in online deliveries has led to a mountain of plastic waste, prompting Malaysia’s The Hive Bulk Foods to start collecting discarded packaging for reuse.

The social enterprise, a zero-waste chain selling products from refugees and local organic farmers, said items like bubble wrap quickly filled up its warehouse. It donates the packaging to other businesses so it can be used again.

“We realised everyone on the planet was also ordering online and that online packaging was delivered with an insane amount of plastic waste, often more plastic waste than the goods delivered,” said founder Claire Sancelot (pictured above).

“We just want to prove that despite the pandemic we can change the business model and move to a more circular economy.”

In Peru’s capital Lima, Valery Zevallos – who founded an ethical fashion brand called Estrafalario that employs poor women, female prisoners and domestic violence survivors – knew she had to adapt as shopping mall sales plunged during lockdown.

She started a new line of handmade face masks made from recycled materials, working with nearly 40 women. So far, they have sold more than 26,000 masks and donated some to community groups and female inmates.

“We had to think out of the box,” said the 30-year-old designer, adding that the company’s online clothes sales have jumped 400% as customers go to its website to buy the masks.

“It’s a win-win. We sell clothes and they earn,” she said.

In Africa, where the pandemic has strained fragile healthcare systems and made it even harder for people to get to medical centres and pharmacies, Uganda’s Kaaro Health started sending its nurses to treat patients at home.

The company, which offers pre-natal check-ups and child immunisations at its solar-powered container clinics, also put its technicians on motorbikes, mounted with refrigerated clinic kits, to collect medical samples and deliver prescriptions.

Across the border in Kenya, CheckUps Medical, which offers remote diagnostic and pharmacy services, has trained motorbike taxi drivers to identify people in need of medication or teleconsultation in remote areas.

‘BUILDING BACK BETTER’

Like other pandemic-hit businesses, social enterprises have struggled financially this year but their swift response could spur big business into more collaborations and a rethink of dominant business models.

“What COVID-19 has shown us is that the massively complicated international supply chains are really fragile when you have a pandemic,” said Tristan Ace, who leads the British Council’s social enterprise programme in Asia.

“One positive outcome that we have seen is corporates starting to incorporate social enterprise in their local areas more, more than just relying on the global supply chains.”

Yet major industry players and governments will have to take the lead – such as changing procurement practices and encouraging more impact investing – as the solutions offered by social enterprises are often small-scale.

“As economies begin to recover, we need to think about the big levers that will support the delivery of positive impact at scale, which should be led by big businesses and governments,” said Louise Aitken from Ākina, a New Zealand consultancy working with social enterprises and corporates.

“This is beyond building back better, it’s actually about building impact into our recovery,” the chief executive said.

By Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi in Kuala Lumpur, Nita Bhalla in Nairobi and Anastasia Moloney in Bogota; Editing by Helen Popper.

In recent years, US manufacturers have taken major steps to make their supply chains more sustainable in an effort to fight climate change. 

Earlier this year, GM appointed its first chief sustainability officer Dane Parker to drive the carmaker and the nation towards an all-electric, zero-emissions future (GM plans to produce 20 new all-electric vehicles by 2023). By adopting the circular economy principles aimed at zero-waste, SC Johnson has already made 94% of its plastic packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable. And Levi Strauss is shaking up the apparel sector, a top contributor to global warming, by committing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions within its own facilities by 90% by 2025.

All these noble sustainability strategies—reducing waste and emissions and switching to renewable energy—aim to “do more with less”, that is create more economic value by polluting less and using fewer natural resources. But this “do less harm” (to the environment) posture is not enough, for three reasons:

First, climate change is worsening, and resources are getting scarcer. This year, Earth Overshoot Day—the point in the year when humanity’s natural resources consumption exceeds the planet’s ability to regenerate—was on August 22, earlier than ever. 

Second, Covid-19 is making racial and socio-economic disparities in America even worse. As a result, values-conscious employees and consumers want US businesses to take a stand against racism and all forms of inequality and positively contribute to society.

Third, US consumers wants companies to go well beyond sustainability and “do more good” to the planet. According to a study by ReGenFriends nearly 80% US consumers prefer “regenerative” brands to “sustainable” brands (they find the term “sustainable” too passive).

What is regeneration? We can learn it from Nature. In her stirring TED talk ‘How trees talk to each other’, Suzanne Simard, a forest ecology professor at University of British Columbia, shows how Nature is generous—a virtue you don’t associate with the cut-throat corporate world. Forest trees magnanimously share information and nutrients with each other using a deep network of soil fungi. 

What if companies reinvented their supply chains and business practices so they function altruistically like a forest? Then they will operate as regenerative businesses that give back 10x and even 100x more to society and the planet than what they take from it.

Whereas a sustainable firm seeks merely to reduce its ecological footprint, a regenerative company boldly seeks to increase its socio-ecological handprint—as Harvard professor Greg Norris puts it—by restoring the health of individuals, communities and the planet (see graphic below). In doing so, regenerative businesses can achieve greater financial performance and impact than their sustainability-focused peers.  

Excitingly, pioneering US manufacturers like Danone North America, General Mills, Interface, and Patagonia are leading the regenerative revolution in America and worldwide. 

As part of its Climate Take Back mission, whose goal is to reverse global warming, Interface, the world’s leading modular carpet manufacturer, piloted in Australia a “Factory as a Forest” project. In principle, such a virtuous plant would provide freely to its surroundings many positive ecosystem services—such as clean air and energy, potable water, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling—that the local ecosystem it replaces would have provided. Drawing on insights learned from this pilot project, Interface partnered with Biomimicry 3.8 to implement design interventions to make its US factory outside Atlanta, Georgia function more like a high-performing ecosystem. 

Interface is making all its products regenerative too. By 2018, it has made all its products carbon neutral. Now, it’s raising the bar much higher. Earlier this week, Interface launched the world’s first carbon-negative carpet tiles, which sequester more carbon than they create from “cradle to gate”—from raw material extraction through manufacturing—without offsets.

Some vanguard US manufacturers want to regenerate not only the planet, but also the individuals and communities suffering from the Covid-19 and the recession. In doing so, these visionary firms are trailblazing triple regeneration, an integrated strategy to restore, renew, and grow people, places, and the planet (3Ps) in a cohesive and synergistic way.

The food giant Danone is leading triple regeneration with its “One Planet. One Health” initiative. Danone North America is enabling its US farming suppliers to adopt regenerative agriculture, a science-based approach that uses science-based techniques and natural methods like crop rotation to enrich the soil, preserve biodiversity, and enhance animal welfare. By adopting these practices, financially-challenged US farmers can “do better with less”: they can boost yields—hence their revenues—and the long-term value of their land while minimizing emissions and use of toxic fertilizers and precious irrigation water. Regenerative agriculture can revitalize vulnerable US rural communities and reverse climate change by sequestering carbon in the ground. US consumers benefit too as they get to eat nutrients-rich food produced by high-vitality soil. 

The industrial sector account for 22% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. To reverse climate change—a clear and present threat to their long-term survival—US manufacturers must radically reinvent their core business models and end-to-end supply chains. They need to go beyond sustainability and boldly think and act as net-positive regenerative businesses that can do better with less. 

By regenerating people, places, and the planet—just like Interface and Danone North America are doing—US manufacturers could enhance the well-being of millions of people and revitalize thousands of communities. By co-building a carbon-negative regenerative economy, US manufacturers can potentially unlock $26 trillion in financial value and produce over 65 million new green jobs globally by 2030.

CEOs worry about the shape of recovery in 2021: V, U, W, or L? The V-shaped recovery, while most desirable, is out of question according to the Fed and OECD. 

Rather than passively dream about a V-shaped recovery of the whole economy (which is beyond their control) CEOs must proactively lead a Y-shaped transformation of their organization. Such a conscious and deep reinvention will enable their business to achieve sustainable success in the post Covid-19 world. 

95% of companies today operate in survival mode. They are investing all their energy to “pivot”, that is they are tactically adapting their traditional business model to pursue new market opportunities in the Covid-19 world. These firms are unconsciously focused on getting back to “Doing Better”, by changing WHAT they do.

But 5% of businesses, led by visionary CEOs, are leveraging this crisis to evolve into “Being Better” by deeply examining and consciously reinventing their core selves, namely: 

– HOW they see the world—their perspective 

– WHY they exist—their purpose

– WHO they are—their core values and identity

A conscious Y-shaped reinvention expands an organization’s awareness and enables a bigger social and ecological impact as the graphic below explains.

Let me show you how three vanguard companies that make physical products undertook this conscious Y-shaped reinvention in 2020 by audaciously redefining their core identity, purpose, and perspective. 

WHO: Siemens reinvents itself as a business-to-society firm

Joe Kaeser, CEO of the industrial giant Siemens, is reinventing the business-to-business (B2B) firm as a business-to-society (B2S) company. As a B2S firm, Siemens will leverage all of its assets, expertise and partnerships to generate positive social impact in each of the 200 countries in which it operates. For example, in the US, Siemens vies to make a positive impact in six areas that matter: strengthening the US economy, creating jobs and developing skills, driving innovation, sustaining the environment, enhancing quality of life, and securing America’s future.

Barbara Humpton, CEO of Siemens USA, (pictured at top) told me how, during the Covid-19 crisis, the B2S culture enabled the 50,000 Siemens employees in the US to transform their initial fear and helplessness into positive energy to co-create solutions to fight Covid-19. In early April, as the lockdown was imposed across the US, Humpton exhorted her 50,000 employees: “Don’t focus too much on yourself and your own anxiety. Channel your emotions into resolving pressing local needs in your cities. Let’s examine our existing portfolio of assets and skills and use them to help others.”

The employees heeded Humpton’s call. For instance, Siemens engineers in many US cities used the Siemens 3D printer in their homes to produce hundreds of face masks that they offered to local hospitals. And Siemens teamed up with Medtronic MDT +1.1%, a world leader in medical technology, to co-develop a “digital twin” of a ventilator and made it available as open source on the Internet so that anyone in the world could use it to make their own ventilators to help local Covid-19 patients.

Humpton believes the current crisis will consolidate Siemens’ reinvention and societal commitment as a “business-to-society” company. “We will foster a true ownership culture that drives entrepreneurial spirit, bottom-up initiatives, empowerment and engagement of all employees — all in the service of society,” notes Humpton enthusiastically.

WHY: Danone embraces “triple regeneration” as its purpose

Pioneering firms like Patagonia, General Mills GIS +0.2%, and Interface are taking sustainability to a higher level by embracing the notion of regeneration. Whereas sustainable firms seek to “do less harm” to the planet by reducing their carbon footprint, regenerative businesses vie to “do more good” by consciously widening and deepening their positive impact on society and the environment. According to a ReGenFriends study, nearly 80% of US consumers want brands to go beyond sustainability and commit to regeneration (these consumers find the term sustainable too passive).

The food giant Danone is going one step even further. With its “One Planet. One Health” agenda, Danone is pioneering what I call “triple regeneration”, a holistic approach to restoring, renewing, and growing people, places, and the planet (3Ps) simultaneously in a synergistic way.

For example, in North America, Danone is supporting its farming suppliers’ transition to regenerative agriculture, a science-based approach based on natural methods like crop rotation that enriches the soil, increases biodiversity, boosts yield, and drastically curbs the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and water. Regenerative agriculture reverses climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil. High-vitality soil also produces nutrient-rich foods, which enhances Danone’s consumers’ health. Hence, everybody wins: The struggling farmer communities get to lower their costs, boost their income, and increase the long-term quality and value of their land; the ailing planetary biosphere is revitalized, and the consumers get better nourishment.

In 2018, Danone’s North American had become the world’s largest B Corp certified company, meaning it is legally committed to balancing the fiduciary interests of shareholders with a positive impact on people, communities and the planet. Danone aims to certify its entire global organization as a B Corp by 2025.

On June 26, 2020, Danone shareholders voted unanimously to make it the first listed company in France to adopt the “Entreprise à Mission” (company with a mission) legal framework. This framework allows a for-profit company to embed specific social and environmental goals within its articles of association, allocate resources to them, and set up a new governance model to oversee their progress. Through its mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is formally committed to co-create and share sustainable value for all stakeholders while regenerating people, places, and the planet.

As Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone, notes: “We celebrated our 100th anniversary last year and the sequel needs to be written. The risk is that we fall asleep. We need to reinvent a model for a living enterprise, an economy that serves people, an agriculture that renews the planet’s resources.”

HOW: Eileen Fisher envisions a conscious apparel industry…and wants to lead it

The clothing industry—led by fast fashion—is the second largest polluter in the world. Over the past two decades, the volume of clothes thrown out by Americans has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons. 

Recognizing that fast fashion is killing the planet, the women’s clothing brand Eileen Fisher is pioneering “slow fashion” by introducing fewer but more durable clothes each year. A staunch environmental advocate, Eileen Fisher envisions the rise of a “conscious apparel industry” that it wants to build and lead. A certified B Corp, the brand is a quadruple bottom line company that values the environment, human rights, employee well-being and financial interests as part of conducting business. 

Way back in 1997, Eileen Fisher set up its Department of Social Consciousness (a world first!) that generates awareness and supports women through social initiatives that enhance their well-being and push for gender and radical diversity and pay parity. A staunch advocate of human rights, Eileen Fisher has fostered better working conditions for its subcontractors in emerging nations, paying them wages above the industry average and giving them access to social benefits that improve their livelihood. 

Since 2015, aiming to become one of the world’s most sustainable clothing companies, Eileen Fisher has stepped up efforts to sustainably source organic and regenerative fibers and is phasing out chemical dyes. To fight climate change and save resources, it has dramatically reduced the use of water and energy in production and curbed emissions in transportation. 

Eileen Fisher incentivizes its clients to bring back their old clothes which are then “upcycled” into beautiful new products using the talent of young designers. It has collected 1.4 million garments since launching its take-back program in 2009.

Rather than rest on its laurels, in 2020, Eileen Fisher decided to set the bar even higher on sustainability. With its Horizon 2030 vision, it aspires to become a regenerative business that has a significantly positive impact on people, places, and the planet. For instance, through its Supporting Women in Environmental Justice grants, it wants to empower women to become climate leaders in their communities. It will support regenerative farming—like Danone does—and build transparent supply chains that deliver full traceability. And it intends to get more partners to switch to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production and shipping of its garments by 25% by 2025, against a 2017 baseline.

Rather than mindlessly react to the crisis or tactically adapt their business activities, wise leaders at visionary firms like Siemens, Danone, and Eileen Fisher are consciously and deeply reinventing their organization’s core being. By boldly redefining who they are, why they exist, and how they perceive and impact the world, these vanguard firms are positioning themselves for durable success in the post-Covid-19 world. CEOs must learn from these pioneers and lead a Y-shaped transformation without delay.

From office workers to students, Americans facing colder weather and more time inside have a pressing question: How can they keep safe amid a pandemic that scientists say thrives in indoor settings?

The search for answers has prompted a new look at what architects and their buildings can do to help, both now and in the future.

“The built environment is a first line of defense in a pandemic – it makes the difference between whether you get a disease that will kill you or not,” said Rachel Gutter, president of the International WELL Building Institute.

“That’s a real shift in how we think about buildings,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Gutter and her colleagues oversee a global set of standards for buildings aimed at promoting the health of their occupants.

Some 4,900 projects in more than 60 countries are currently at some stage in the voluntary WELL certification process.

In September, the institute launched a major update that includes coronavirus-specific changes that it began piloting this summer, the result of work by about 600 public health officials, government officials, designers and more.

Last month, a group of U.S. scientists warned in an open letter published in the medical journal Science that infected aerosols – small droplets and particles – lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission.

The letter called on public health officials to highlight the importance of moving activities outdoors and improving indoor air, along with wearing masks and social distancing.

“COVID-19’s favorite season is winter – like the seasonal flu, this virus loves the cold,” Gutter said.

“Indoor air quality considerations will be of even greater importance in regions of the world that are preparing for winter.”

The changes to the WELL recommendations highlight the need to limit touch as people move through a building, safely disinfect surfaces and more, in particular boosting indoor air quality, Gutter said.

Interest in the coronavirus guidance has been enormous, and implementation has been “lightning fast”, she said, adding that about 350 million square feet (32.5 million square meters) of space has been newly registered with the institute since June.

Other building certification systems have rolled out new guidance, too, including LEED – or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – which focuses on environmental impact and has been widely adopted across the globe.

“The pandemic has really shone a spotlight on, ‘What is my indoor air quality like, and why does that matter?'” said Melissa Baker, senior vice president of LEED development at the U.S. Green Building Council, which oversees the system.

“These are the questions that tenants will be asking their landlords now.”

HEALTHIER INDOORS

Months into the pandemic, designers are tracking changes in how people interact with buildings and trying to see how they can help make the indoors healthier, said Rachel Minnery, a senior director with the American Institute of Architects.

“Here we are, almost every building except your home is considered unsafe,” she said.

“What role can the built environment play … so hopefully we’re not in quarantine for the next two years?”

Design tweaks could start with a user’s entry into a building, Minnery noted, through vestibules and queuing areas to facilitate temperature checks or social distancing.

Architects are also incorporating one-way doors and hallways, spreading workstations farther apart, deploying touchless technologies and upgrading air-filtration systems, she added.

The demands are forcing designers to learn about a range of new issues.

“I’m not an epidemiologist – I’m an architect,” said Jenine Kotob, who works just outside Washington with Hord Coplan Macht (HCM), a national firm.

When the pandemic hit, Kotob and her colleagues started participating in emergency workshops with public health experts.

“They defined for us a baseline of understanding, the knowledge base that any architect now needs to be aware of: how infectious diseases are transferred,” she said.

In a survey of real estate experts around the world released by the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Urban Land Institute in October, 90% of respondents said certification of healthy offices will likely rise in coming years.

EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

The pandemic is also shifting thinking in terms of how buildings can help with the way communities function more broadly, from wellbeing to work.

“The thing that’s different about COVID is we’re focusing not only on physical wellness but also emotional wellbeing,” said Donald Powell, a partner at the BOKA Powell architecture firm based in Texas.

“That’s the hurdle all corporations have to cross before employees will come back to the workplace.”

In response to client queries on how to entice workers back to the office, Powell said he and his colleagues are considering on-site child care and even classrooms, aimed at parents who are home-schooling and want to come back to work.

Schools have been a high-profile point of contention throughout the pandemic, and a growing number in the United States are contemplating how to open back up.

“Without school buildings able to come back online during the pandemic, the longer we stretch it out, the longer we will see repercussions to our society,” said HCM’s Kotob.

She and her colleagues are being asked to repurpose cafeterias, libraries and other large gathering spaces to create multiple smaller classrooms, all while adhering to local regulations and social distancing guidance, she said.

The need for these changes has underscored the chronic underfunding of public schools, Kotob noted.

U.S. elementary facilities face a shortfall of $38 billion a year, according to advocacy group [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition.

Pending legislation would provide $5 billion for emergency school repairs as part of a pandemic relief package, which could go toward improving sanitation and upgrading air-filtration systems, for example.

“What we’ve seen in the pandemic is there are specific issues that have gone unaddressed for so long – air quality, overcrowded conditions, access to the outdoors – that can’t be tabled any longer,” said Kotob.

That kind of thinking is prompting broader recognition of the notion of health as a human right and its links with buildings, said Gutter at the International WELL Building Institute.

“Many of us have now been cooped up in our homes for months, so we’re much more tuned in to these impacts on our health,” she said.

“The way we build affordable housing, construct our schools – what would happen if we embraced the notion that these could enhance rather than take away from our health and wellbeing?”

By Carey L. Biron @clbtea, Editing by Jumana Farouky and Zoe Tabary.

An all too common theme within work environments are the mounds of work that people have on their plates at any given time. If this is something you’re experiencing, you’re not alone! It’s a systemic issue that spans industries around the globe. Here are the steps to gain control and become a more effective leader.

In this article, I’ll break down:

1. The effects of an overflowing plate of work
2. The desired state that we should aspire toward
3. The formula that will help you right-size your workload and get closer to your desired state of control.

The adverse effects of an overflowing plate

How did we even get to this point? It usually starts when multiple deliverables are weighted the same in terms of value and urgency, leading to a sense of a lack of control over commitments.

Because it is impossible to complete everything with the same level of urgency, a general feeling of failure sets in; quality is compromised, and speed to completion is reduced.

What does the desired state look like?

We all long for a life where we feel in control, deliver high-quality work, add value to the world around us, and feel fulfilled. The question is: what can we do to lean more into this desired state and regain greater control? 

The 3-step formula to help you right-size your workload

Frequently, employees struggling with work overload also tend to work in environments that overuse meetings and place a high value on tasks. Recognizing that part of the issue could be the environment itself, I’ll share a formula that will stand on its own and one that may also help to advance the DNA of your organization.

Step 1: Prioritization

Ruthless prioritization is the first step toward regaining control. One technique that we use is a 3×3 matrix that compares High vs. Medium vs. Low Value against Urgency. Here are the steps to make this work:

1. Be clear on your definition of value. 
2. Next, take it a step further and discuss how you would define High vs. Medium vs. Low Value. 

Urgency means: The speed at which the value that you hope to gain will diminish if you do not work on it now. As you can see, it controls bias and motivation.

1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for Urgency.
2. Make an inventory of the work on your plate.
3. Map each item on your list(s) to the various sections on the matrix. Scrutinize where you rank these work items. Whether you are creating a physical representation of this exercise in your office or using a collaboration tool. Once you plot your work, your matrix may look something like the chart below. 
4. One recommendation that I always offer clients is to take the necessary steps to eliminate the “low” and “very low” items from their plates. 

(I have colored the “very high” items differently from the rest – this is to make a point that I’ll drive home in the Visualization step).

Step 2: Visualization

1. Start by creating a board with four columns and entitle each: Backlog, Next, To Do, and Done. This exercise may be done physically or virtually.
2. In the Backlog column, add your Very High, High, and Medium work items.
3. Once everything is in your backlog, move the highest priority items into the “Next” column. (Remember how I color-coded the “very high” items differently from the others? This helps illustrate that these items will be prioritized and worked on first, before anything else.) 
4. Now here is where the most significant mindset shift happens: Move only ONE of the items from your “Next” column into your “To Do” column. This will be the item that you will focus on immediately. At this point, your board may look like this: 

Reducing your Work in Progress (or WIP) to one feels uncomfortable and counterintuitive, in part because further work decomposition may need to be done. Here’s the reality:

• Multitasking is not real. 
• Dividing your time and attention across multiple items results in lower throughput and a higher lead time to completion.
• The collateral damage to a higher Work In Progress (WIP) is always some combination of poor quality, longer lead times, stakeholder disappointments, etc. 
• Lowering your WIP wherever possible results in higher throughput, faster lead times, a huge shift in focus, and a gratifying sense of completion.

Step 3: Conservation

To keep this system alive, establish policies, and cadences for yourself. Are there any items that can supersede anything in your existing hierarchy? How often will you review and prioritize your work? How frequently will you replenish your backlog? Getting clear on questions like these will help keep you grounded, focused, in control, and keep your system intact.

Bonus Step 4: Find time to Pause, Reflect, and Celebrate!

Breathe it in and celebrate your hard work with your team. Let me walk you through a couple of widespread scenarios I’ve seen with large, complex, matrixed organizations, and also some smaller, more straightforward businesses.

Common Scenario #1: “Dart Board Prioritization”

I worked with a large technology team charged with building an application to help facilitate the sign-up process for clients.

Our Client’s reality at the time we were asked to support:

• The build was taking much longer than expected and quickly exceeded the budget.
• Every feature seemed to be of equal importance, so the team built what they could when they could.
• The business partners were not appropriately involved in the process.
• With all the work seeming to be of equal value and a lack of business partner support to represent user needs adequately, the team seemed to defer to a “dartboard” approach to prioritization.

Here’s how we implemented the steps above to help the team regain traction:

To start:

• We brought the necessary business, technology, and other stakeholders together to create the right blend of talent and perspective needed to move forward in a customer-centered direction.
• We clearly understood the “why” behind the need to build the application in the first place. What problem were we hoping to solve for the end-user?
• We collaboratively mapped the application from beginning to end and broke the elements of the map into smaller increments that could be built and delivered independently of each another.

Then:

• We asked the cross-functional team to collaboratively prioritize the increments of value from the perspective of what they felt the customer needed the most. (Side note: A laser focus on the customer is a great way to help keep bias, self-interest, and ulterior motive at bay, which can adversely affect the creative process and outcome). 
• We built a physical board, and the increments of value were placed in order of priority in the backlog; we reduced the WIP to the lowest possible number
• We included a couple of helpful policies and cadences. Examples include: 1) Cross-functional team members were asked to huddle together at least 2x per week. 2) Re-prioritization of work would require the input from the full cross-functional team

The quick wins:

• Customer-centered prioritization sessions were happening collaboratively with, with both technology business expertise
• A clear line of sight to which features would be released next, in order of priority
• A deeper level of understanding across team members. Through technology we gained a clear understanding of end-user needs, and the business had a new appreciation for the technical intricacies involved in building each feature.
• A clean flow of work and value delivered faster to the customer.

Common Scenario #2: “The ‘Impulsiastic’ Leader”

I worked with an organization whose teams were stretched too thin. Although there were several factors at play, one significant factor was their “Impulsiastic” leader.

Our client’s reality at the time we were asked to support:

“Impulsiastic” is a word that I came up with to describe a leader who is both Impulsive with their asks and enthusiastic about seeing their asks come to fruition. 

At first glance, this may seem to be benign. But look a little closer, and you’ll notice that impulsiastic leaders tend to cause chaos and confusion for the people who report to them. Because they are excited about an idea or a direction, they are quick to add the associated work to their teams’ plates. Because the direction is coming from a leader, teams assume a change in priority, so they shift their attention accordingly. The result: tired, deflated teams who feel like they’re caught in a hamster wheel, moving at a rapid pace with no change in position.

Here were our recommendations to the team:

• To visually represent all of their work (using an electronic solution for their distributed team). Using the simple format above, they would showcase the work in flight and add the work not yet started to the backlog.
• Then, invite their leaders to review the board with them in detail. (Note: Teams tend to feel a sense of trepidation at first – but the shared understanding that comes out of this exercise is well worth it.) Introduce leaders to the benefits of reducing the “work in progress.”
• Either in that same session or a second session, use the prioritization method above to re-establish priority and re-balance the workload.
• Update the board to reflect the newly aligned-upon prioritization.
• Establish a daily stand-up and bi-weekly prioritization review cadence and invite your leaders to attend the sessions as often as they can.
• For the impulsiastic leaders: create the following policies: All “new” ideas or work items will be added to the backlog. These new items will be reviewed during the prioritization sessions. Any business-critical items should be brought to stand-ups for discussion.