The World’s Reaction to the Pandemic

and How it is Moving Forward

EMBA BRASIL 2021

November 11, 2021

Prof. Eric Weber

Medical definition of Pandemic

Medical Definition of pandemic (Entry 2 of 2):

an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic
area (as multiple countries or continents) and typically affects
a significant proportion of the population: a pandemic
outbreak of a disease.

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pandemic

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Definition of information overload

Definition of information overload:

A situation in which you receive too much information
at one time and cannot think about it in a clear way
Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/information-overload

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What happens when you combine both of them…

Pandemic + Information Overload

INFODEMIC

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Definition of Infodemic

An infodemic is too much information including

false or misleading information in digital and
physical environments during a disease outbreak.

Source: https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic

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Or in its extended version…
An infodemic is too much information including false or misleading
information in digital and physical environments during a disease
outbreak. It causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can
harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities
and undermines the public health response. An infodemic can
intensify or lengthen outbreaks when people are unsure about what
they need to do to protect their health and the health of people
around them. With growing digitization – an expansion of social
media and internet use – information can spread more
rapidly. This can help to more quickly fill information voids but can
also amplify harmful messages.

Source: https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic

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One of the consequences of an Infodemic

Is a proliferation of false dichotomies or dilemas:

• Two alternatives presented as only options,

yet more exist

• Which implies that you oversimplify complex

situations

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A well know management example (of a false dichotomy):

Alignment Autonomy

What is more important?

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 Alignment versus Autonomy
High

✓
ALIGNMENT

Low

Low High
AUTONOMY
 Some false dichotomies the world has been facing:

Economy and
Health and lives
livelihoods

Indefinite Unlimited
lockdown reopening

Symptomatic Asymptomatic
infection infection

Source: COVID-19 false dichotomies and a comprehensive review of the evidence regarding public health, COVID-19 symptomatology,
SARS-CoV-2 transmission, mask wearing, and reinfection, by Kevin Escandón, Angela L Rasmussen, Isaac I. Bogoch, Eleanor J. Murray,
Karina Escandón, Saskia V. Popescu and Jason Kindrachuk, November 2020
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 Some false dichotomies the world has been facing:

Droplet Aerosol
transmission transmission

Masks for all No masking

SARS-CoV-2
No reinfection
reinfection

Source: COVID-19 false dichotomies and a comprehensive review of the evidence regarding public health, COVID-19 symptomatology,
SARS-CoV-2 transmission, mask wearing, and reinfection, by Kevin Escandón, Angela L Rasmussen, Isaac I. Bogoch, Eleanor J. Murray,
Karina Escandón, Saskia V. Popescu and Jason Kindrachuk, November 2020
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Some false dichotomies the world has been facing:

Get Do not get

Vaccinated Vaccinated

Booster shots No booster shots

Vaccine
No mixing
mixing

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 One example of how these can be false dichotomies:

Economy and
Health and lives
livelihoods

Source: Adapted from Luis Huete’s (IESE Adjunct professor) “El falso dilema de salvar vidas vs. salvar la economía”, May 2020

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 One example of how these can be false dichotomies:
“El falso dilema de salvar vidas vs. salvar la economía”, May 2020

+
Save Lives but Save Lives and
Source: Adapted from Luis Huete’s (IESE Adjunct professor)

not the Economy the Economy

✓
Save lives

Save neither Lives Save the Economy

nor the Economy but not Lives

-
- Save the14Economy +
And then the claims or hopes of “Silver bullets”

Claiming that others have found, or our own

attempt at finding, that simple solution to what
is inherrently a very complex problem…

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 Some recommendations can be perverse…

Masks for all No masking

Source: COVID-19 false dichotomies and a comprehensive review of the evidence regarding public health, COVID-19 symptomatology,
SARS-CoV-2 transmission, mask wearing, and reinfection, by Kevin Escandón, Angela L Rasmussen, Isaac I. Bogoch, Eleanor J. Murray,
Karina Escandón, Saskia V. Popescu and Jason Kindrachuk, November 2020
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But this has distracted many…

But have we not been dealing with information overload,

false dilemas, complexity and uncertainty for the
longest time in business?

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One way of looking at this: Good Ideas attract Talent & Resources

Ideas

Talent Resources

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 One way of looking at this: The virtuous cycle…

Note that:
• Strategy Ideas
• Org. Structure
• Culture
• Mgmt. Systems
• Etc.
Are all implicit in
this model

Talent Resources

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Different emphasis for different situations

Ideas

Talent Resources

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Different emphasis for different situations

Ideas

Talent Resources

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Different emphasis for different situations

Ideas

Talent Resources

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 And maybe two new variables in the equation

Ideas
SPEED OF EXECUTION

WE ARE NOT IN THIS ALONE:

• OUTREACH
• COORDINATION Network Resources
• COLLABORATION
• COOPETITION*

Talent
*cooperation between competing companies

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A recommended read

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An interesting reflection from the book…

“Some judgments are predictive, and some

predictive judgments are verifiable; we will
eventually know whether they were accurate.”

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And the reflection concludes…

“But many judgments, including long-term forecasts and

answers to fictitious questions, are unverifiable. The quality
of such judgments can be assessed only by the quality of the
thought process that produces them.”

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