Before the coronavirus struck, it was already clear that winning the ‘20s would require approaches to business fundamentally different from those of the past. Becoming a bionic company, one that unleashes the full potential of people and technology, was already becoming an imperative. The COVID-19 pandemic seems only to have accelerated the need for this transformation. In order to survive, thrive, and compete successfully, companies now have only two years (or less) to get to where they might otherwise have hoped to be in five.

Of the many pressing demands on leaders, transforming their companies to adopt a new, “bionic” operating model may be the most urgent and will require them to lead in new ways. A lot will change in the world and so must they.

What do leaders really need to do—what really needs to change—as they transform their companies to become bionic in the post-COVID world? We see four imperatives. Leaders must rethink the art of the possible, they must move from managing to enabling, they must harness the full power of technology, and they must translate purpose into action. (See the exhibit.)