Editorial: Adapt or die
If the coronavirus pandemic has taught the Central Massachusetts business community anything, it is the need for owners and executives to stay on their toes, don’t panic, act decisively, and take advantage of new opportunities as the landscape shifts. Many businesses have new issues to navigate with their customers, their workforce, their suppliers, and their investors they never would have imagined two years ago.
The sudden shutdown when the pandemic arrived in March 2020 filled businesses with fear, as the unknown nature of the virus and a slamming of the brakes caused a global economic slowdown, where significant layoffs felt inevitable. Luckily, the $792-billion Paycheck Protection Program and other federal government efforts to help businesses stay afloat were introduced quickly enough to stave off a significant number of layoffs as businesses big and small grabbed for that lifeline. Since then, it's been a mixed bag, with many businesses thriving, while others continue to struggle.
Since those early days it has become clear that successful organizations have leaned into the moment and embraced change, and in this edition of WBJ we talk to several of those who made the big pivot. In the cover feature “The evolving world of Christmas tree farms” by Monica Benevides, farmers around Central Massachusetts are figuring out how to meet the new demand for their products, which can take up to 10 years to grow. Their customer base has become younger and more urban, and farms are now offering more of a holiday experience while they prepare for an expanded future. In the “$15M expansion” story by Katherine Hamilton, Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston is fulfilling a plan started six years ago, when the attraction began to experience spiking attendance. The plan centers around a new children’s garden to bring in a new type of customer, those who haven’t gone to gardens on a regular basis. In the “Biotech’s diversity problems” story by Benevides, the life sciences industry isn’t so focused on its customer base, as it is seeking to turn 2020’s diversity, equity, and inclusion pledges into full-blown realities for employees and leaders at their companies. Progress has been painfully slow, although nearly all agree on the need to keep moving forward. Finally, the “Rising from the ashes” story by Sloane M. Perron, highlights people who were laid off during the pandemic or otherwise inspired to go their own way, and are starting new businesses, seeking to have greater control over their professional lives.
The last two years have been a rough ride, and just when we’d like to see the horizon clearing, the choppy seas remain. Surge after surge of the coronavirus are beginning to feel like a Groundhog Day moment, with our exit still unclear. Yet, the pandemic and all its effects have simply heightened a long-held business truth: adapt and innovate, or you’ll become obsolete.
WBJ Web Partners
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