If Not Now: Then When? Learning from the Pandemic for the Application of the Three-Pillar Model

Abstract

The authors examine the relevance of the Three-Pillar Model regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. They found that the model even works in a global context; it demands a sustainable purpose that takes the global community on a journey that is more turbulent than ever, connecting all available resources. At the same time, we experience the crisis as a pacemaker and trigger for rapid learning, communicating online, organizing ourselves, and questioning the social purpose of organizations. Two practical approaches are presented, which are based on the Three-Pillar Model and can be used in a process that helps understand the complexity of what is happening and draws conclusions for the further development of the “travelling organization.” They support teams in creating an overview which individual, group-related, organizational, and social aspects are relevant and how they can be better connected and what this means in the different phases of a crisis and finally in the “next mode.” All of this requires considerable learning and development work. How can this be done? Are we ready and able to develop? The article offers questions to test this by looking back at the 2008/2009 financial crisis and the discussion about resilience at the time.