Just imagine, not long ago, businesses in many countries found hope for economic recovery, the business world began to rejuvenate and even soccer competitions in several countries have begun to enjoy the roar of the audience's enthusiasm in the stadium. All these economic activities are in danger of returning to their lowest point because of the threat of the Omicron variant — and who knows what other variants will appear in the future.

It seems that even virologists and epidemiologists find it difficult to determine when the pandemic will actually be under control.

Therefore, the most realistic effort at this time for citizens of the world is to try to adapt to the pandemic. The new normal of living standards, including the discipline of wearing masks, vaccinating and implementing a cleaner and healthier lifestyle seems to continue to be an integral part of everyday life.

How should business leaders respond to these conditions?

The best step would be to fundamentally change the business strategic framework to be more adaptive and to do this as quickly as possible because we are racing against time. In any business dictionary, time is money and speed could significantly improve a company's strength and resilience. Accelerating the transformation of business strategies is a necessity. 

This is important so that when there are endless new uproars, for example, the emergence of the next new variants after Omicron, business leaders are not merely reactive by just responding with makeshift moves. They must be capable of more than that; able to anticipate accurately, quickly and precisely when an unfavorable situation occurs.

There are at least three fundamental transformations that I frequently call the "transformation triangle". These three transformations need to immediately become a focus in the process of accelerating strategic transformation by business leaders, namely organizational transformation, digital transformation and cultural transformation.

In a situation that changes frequently and is full of challenges, a decision-making process that is much more agile, faster and reliable — hence organizational transformation — is required. 

Whoever is slow will have a difficult time surviving. So, the sluggish organizational model, with too many structural layers, must be replaced with an organizational structure that is more agile, efficient and supports decision-making speed. 

Decision-making that requires long, multilayered and centralized approval must be transformed to be more decentralized by empowering the leadership ranks horizontally rather than vertically, strengthening decision-making competence in each position, of course, with clear authorization mechanisms, and categorizations for each decision impact magnitude, which can be tailored to the business needs of each company. 

The fast decision-making process will allow the company's speed to change and adapt to unfavorable situations, including if new virus variants emerge and threaten the business world in the future.

Digital transformation matters, as today, holistic digitalization beyond digitization is a necessity. The pandemic has accelerated societal cultural change. Customers are becoming more accustomed to and more comfortable with various digital platforms for transactions, except for certain products and services that must be done offline. 

Digitalization allows for better hygiene in the transaction process because it reduces the possibility of the spread of viruses in human interactions. So, business leaders who are successful in transforming their business will be more likely to survive because digitalized business processes tend to be more adaptable and can be adapted more quickly when needed, including when new virus variants emerge.

Changes in the mindset, behavior, culture and mentality of every element of the company's human beings are the main prerequisites for the success of organizational transformation and digitalization. Organizational transformation and digital transformation will fail miserably if mentality and work culture are not aligned, especially mental readiness to change and adapt. 

In many companies, it is usually this third factor that becomes a major obstacle. Many of them only focus on organizational transformation and digitalization but forget to equip it with the right change management that effectively drives cultural transformation. Imagine, what will happen when a company's business model must change, innovate to anticipate the impact of new virus variants, but its employees are not ready to change? Of course, the business model innovation initiative will fail to achieve its targeted objectives.

To be more agile in adapting to various changes that may occur in the future, including the spread of new coronavirus variants, business leaders must strive for the three transformations in harmony as a transformation triangle. Of course, the scale of transformation for each type and size of business can be different and adjusted in accordance with business needs.

Stay healthy and happy transforming!

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The writer is a strategic management professional and lecturer. He was the country director of a multinational, American Fortune 500 technology company. The views expressed are his own.