When COVID-19 forced the global workforce into working remotely, the first question most of us asked was how can we possibly innovate? That question was quickly followed by how much can we innovate right now?

More than a year and a half into the global pandemic, technology innovation has unleashed a new normal in which everything previously stuck in analog has downshifted to a digital autobahn. Remote high-speed interactions at school, at work and in all elements of society accelerated, and for better or worse, there’s no turning back.

With software engineering and collaborative technology dominating like never before, turning even the most ardent Luddites into digital savants, it’s high time we drop any notion of “new” and simply embrace our normal.

Optionality and redefining ‘normal’

As business leaders consider more opportunities to ignite change, it’s become critical to take a new look at corporate cultures and adopt a mindset of “optionality,” which places more power and control in the hands of employees, for both in-person and remote activities.

Consider the new questions raised by the collaboration platforms embraced early in the pandemic and still heavily used today:
 

• Is work best done in pajamas at the kitchen table?
• Do we put our “real” clothes on and venture back into the office?
• How will answers to both these questions impact our ability to recruit and retain our best talent?

The answers are not necessarily rooted in technology. The fact is, it doesn’t matter if you sit in Paris, France, or Paris, Texas — the best talent doesn’t have to move an inch to fulfill their roles if we remake our culture and provide employees with alternatives that empower them and improve their experience.