Next in our top 10 of 2020, OEM’s Stephanie Neil notes that some of the greatest innovations happen during times of disruption.
We’ve learned a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, but one ubiquitous underlying understanding that has resulted from this firsthand experience is that the world can be impacted in a very short period of time. And we—as individuals, as businesses, and as a culture—have to be agile and adept enough to react quickly.
The pandemic is a crisis that caused us to step back and rethink the way we interact and work as it affects public health and the economy. But it also serves as a great reminder that it is during times of disruption that some of the greatest innovations happen. For example, the electric razor, the car radio, and the very important chocolate chip cookie were all developed in the 1930s during the Great Depression. During World War II, the world was introduced to radar technology, penicillin, jet engines, and more.