Theodore
Modis
Before founding Growth Dynamics in 1994, Theodore Modis worked at Digital Equipment Corporation as the head of a management science consultants group. He has carried out research in particle physics at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN, has taught at both American and European Universities and has authored and co-authored 10 books and over 100 articles in scientific and business journals.
Transcription of the video
Q1
Which domain or aspect of social life will show the most significant positive societal and/or psychological change in response to the pandemic?
My answer is: the work environment. Working from home has proven far more feasible than originally thought. And it’s here to stay, to a large extent anyway.
Q2
What kind of wisdom will people need to capitalize on the positive societal and/or psychological change after the pandemic?
For the second question, the kind of wisdom people will need in order to work from home. My answer is familiarity with computers, teleconferencing, social media, and information technology in general.
Q3
Which domain or aspect of social life will show the most significant negative societal and/or psychological change in response to the pandemic?
My answer is, again, the work environment. And I’m not being witty here. I mean it, because working from home has considerable negative aspects to it, as some of you have found out. There’s an ancient Greek saying “There’s nothing bad without something good in it.” And a modern Greek philosopher enhanced this saying by adding “and good and bad always come in the same amount.” One needs to ponder this for a while to fully appreciate this validity.
Q4
What kind of wisdom will people need to master to overcome major negative societal and/or psychological changes after the pandemic?
For the fourth question, what kind of wisdom people will need to deal with the negative aspects of working from home? My answer is: personal development in the direction of peace of mind, tolerance, internal calmness, with such activities as meditation, yoga, physical exercises, and even praying, depending on one’s predilection.
Q5
What piece of wisdom do people need to make it through the pandemic?
My answer is that one try to live in the present and stop putting all his or her hopes on the vaccine. The vaccine may well come someday, and if not, effective medication will certainly be eventually developed. But by that time, society will have proven that they can handle the virus. The vaccine or the effective medication will put only the final touches on societies winning the battle against COVID-19.
Themes discussed in this interview
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