On May 26th MassTLC hosted our fifth video conference with a dozen tech CEOs who have been sharing insights—from revenue modeling to safely reopening offices—as they lead their companies through the COVID crisis
Read the summary of our first CEO meeting here
Read the summary of our second CEO meeting here
Read the summary of our third CEO meeting here
Read the summary of our fourth CEO meeting here
In this fifth session, CEOs generally agreed that they are through the initial triage phase of their companies’ pandemic response and are settling into the new normal. This new phase has seen some return of business.
A number of companies are looking at virtual offerings, such as online trainings and workshops. These offerings are not generally driving revenue yet, but there has been good adoption among customers.
For some CEOs, new tools are changing how their teams work, leading in some cases to an acceleration of the design process. While some teams’ work methods and cycles may change permanently, the CEOs think it will be hard to change their basic business models in meaningful ways.
Planning for 2021 is mostly on hold for these CEOs as they focus on ensuring that 2020 is as good as possible. Generally, they are working to position themselves this year for growth in 2021. The rapidly changing environment makes it difficult to plan too far ahead, but investment is needed now for growth next year.
CEOs continue to grapple with how and when to bring employees back to the office, with most allowing employees to decide when they feel comfortable returning. One company has discouraged its leadership team from all returning to the office so that employees do not feel pressured to return as well. With Zoom burnout becoming more prevalent among employees, leaders are trying to find new ways to engage their workers. Most efforts focus on finding fun online team activities.
