New Urgencies and an Old Question
AS I DRAFT THIS NOTE, halfway through 2020, I count three crises so far—a global pandemic, a major economic shock, and, in the United States, a painful national reckoning over systemic racism. These are problems that every institution, including ours, is engaging with. HBR has the ability, and the responsibility, to publish new thinking on these topics—and that’s what we’ve been doing, both in this magazine and online. Three articles in this issue tackle problems arising from the first two crises: “Adapt Your Business to the New Reality” will help you discern which changes in customers’ behavior are permanent and which will fade away. “Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World” is a blueprint for reinventing operations if disruptions to international trade persist. “Joint Ventures and Partnerships in a Downturn” provides…