Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Harvard Business School Working Knowledge

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

By: Frank V. Cespedes
  • Format:Electronic
ShareBar

Abstract

The first task of crisis management is a reasonably accurate view of the current situation and how it might evolve. There are many predictions about so-called “new normal” as a result of the semi-enforced social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus. But most are simply straight-line extrapolations of a few weeks of panic-buying data or sermons about what that person believes should happen in the future. Meanwhile, business managers must make decisions now about how to allocate resources based on assumptions about the future in their markets. This article provides advice about certain customer-management basics in the face of uncertainty.

Keywords

Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Strategic Planning

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V. "Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business." Harvard Business School Working Knowledge (May 4, 2020).
  • Read Now

More from the Author

    • June 2025
    • Faculty Research

    TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions

    By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg
    • March–April 2025
    • European Business Review

    Getting Value from Digital Technologies

    By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel
    • March 27, 2025
    • Harvard Business Review (website)

    How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base

    By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes
More from the Author
  • TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg
  • Getting Value from Digital Technologies By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel
  • How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.