While it feels like the #CoronavirusOutbreak is to blame for large scale shifts in work, business, education & society, most have been happening in slow motion for some time. They are just accelerated in the face of a a crisis. Here are a few examples:
1. Work from home, remote work & distributed teams. This gradual trend is now experiencing a massive litmus test. It's impt to know that not every job can be done remotely, and not every employee has the ability to work from home. We're about to find out when place matters most.
2. Distance learning. For years, institutions of higher learning have been preparing for the coursework to go virtual, and the networking to be the reason you attend a particular school.
3. Global economy. We've been seeing signs of a slowdown for some time. Yes, a potential pandemic might exacerbate the situation, but it was coming.
4. Aging population. Thanks to 20th c investments in science and medicine, there are more people over 65 in the world than under 5. Problem is, we have invested very little in protecting this population.
5. Infodemics. In the digital age, it's hard to know what to read or what to believe. It took an outbreak for big tech to give up ad space for ground truth to protect the public. 
6. Mental health, anxiety, and loneliness. We have been living with a loneliness epidemic for some time. We are likely to see an uptick as social distancing becomes our first defense.
7. Commercial real estate. With the rise, and then fall, of WeWork, CEOs have spent the past decade navigating facilities options. Mandatory WFH will accelerate the rate at which we rethink when place matters. And for the CFO, whether you want that office on the books.
8. Retail. Hit by Amazon on one side and increased rents on the other. Result: empty storefronts. In some cases, we see the food-truckification of retail: A bike repair shop becomes a mobile bike repair truck. Curious if an outbreak swings back to local shopping, or not.
9. Labor rights. Labor is having a moment. Protests, walkouts & unions are everywhere. This has been happening for some time, but in the face of a pandemic, labor has a big proof point. Is any company really going to dial back on common sense paid sick days going forward?
10. Healthcare. It has been a long slough to ensure that every American has affordable healthcare. And it's still far from perfect. Today we are paying that price, both personally and as a system. This may be the tipping point for better healthcare for all.
End/ I'd also like to note that when I started this thread, we were in a crisis, and by the end, a pandemic. Indeed, nothing is sudden, there's always subsurface activity if you know to look for it.
