It is said that “the biggest crisis of our generation” is Climate Change. However, in a few short weeks, it has suddenly at least, for now, become the second biggest crisis of our generation.

I am writing this post on the 20th March 2020 at the end of the most turbulent and disruptive weeks, when many people have lost their lives, others their livelihoods, and probably all of us are worried about our futures.

Despite the warnings from people such as Bill Gates several years ago, the world did not see this coming.

At the end of January 2020, just several weeks ago, the great and the good, represented by world leaders, the top CEO’s, thought leaders, billionaires, activists, and many others met at The World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos, Switzerland. The clear theme of the event was Climate Change, and apart from some notable exceptions, there appeared to be a considerable swing change towards supporting climate change initiatives.

The Corona Virus was already well established and causing havoc in China, but received low key coverage. It was a distant problem. It was somebody else’s problem.

Climate Change is also somebody else’s problem. Until that is, it has an impact on us. That is you and me.

At Davos 2020, the need to do something about Climate Change was gaining acceptance, and significant initiatives were gaining real momentum. Still, now attention has swung to sorting out the immediate problem.

Those people involved in working with strategy or observing the strategy of companies and organisations, see this situation virtually every day. That is a good strategy, the right strategy, the long term strategy, suddenly being sidelined due to an urgent problem which demands priority.

While this is understandable, we must, however, having relegated Climate Change down the pecking order, realise that crisis such as the one we are dealing with, will look small in comparison to the future devastation caused by Climate Change.

In a crisis, we see both the good and the bad in human nature. Focusing on the good, and in particular, the way that people from across the world are, finding positive ways to help other people deal with Covid 19, gives me hope. These people are concerned with the more significant issues that affect all of us.

“The biggest crisis of our generation” is still Climate Change.