Interview Phil Crowley.
Philip P. Crowley, is a dedicated attorney who has been handling legal matters for pharmaceutical, biomedical, medical devices, information technology and other technology companies for over 30 years. He has also spent nearly 25 years on the board of trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology, with substantial involvement in the oversight of academic innovation and entrepreneurship.
Talking Points from Phil Crowley
on Coronavirus and the New Digital Age:
The COVID crisis has caused virtually unparalleled peril—but at the same time an opportunity to learn new ways of interacting with one another.
How the Coronavirus Has Ushered in
a New Digital Age
It has (1) reduced the reluctance of those who are put off by technology to use much that is available, and (2) increased the tendencies of those who like and use technology to find additional and better ways to use what is available. I characterize the changes to virtual from face-to-face as coming primarily in four categories:
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- Tele-meeting: conducting business and meeting
- Tele-medicine: increased focus on delivering basic diagnosis and some treatment
- Tele-education: distance learning for K through 12 and Universities
- Tele-worship: remaining connected with our faith communities
The Biggest Changes for
Companies and Employees
- Companies will be driven to increase capabilities in tele-meeting to limit the effects of future disruptions AND to save money on real estate by employing more “hoteling” solutions to workers who really only need to be at a formal office occasionally. For employees, a greater willingness by employers to accept remote working arrangements. Any changes that reduced cost and maintained or increased efficiency should remain once this health crisis is over, i.e., remote working arrangements, tele-medicine solutions.
- Conservative organizations have been forced to adopt new technology methods to continue to operate. Before this crisis, they could stubbornly insist on face-to-face meetings. When meetings involve significant travel, the businesses incurred avoidable costs.
- Being forced to adapt to survive, the question will be whether business people’s actual experience with these methods will develop a familiarity that will breed increased adoption—and concomitant changes in the way business is conducted even after the crisis has passed.
How Companies and People Are
Handling This New Digital Age
- Tech companies and tech universities are handling this better than the average. The companies and their work forces are familiar with technology and exist in businesses where constant learning and adaption to change are a part of the work process. Millennials seem to be best positioned to use their familiarity with technology to find new ways to make it continue to work for them after the epidemic.
Changes That Could Disappear
Once the COVID-19 Crisis Is Over
- Changes at organizations that remain resistant to change or where face-to-face interaction is a necessary part of the business or institutional practice will likely revert to traditional business habits.
The future of Education
- In the educational area forward-thinking schools, MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Stevens Institute of Technology, have dedicated significant efforts to making coursework available online. Other schools without established platforms will be challenged to deliver their products, while restrictions on gatherings are in place. The situation is a challenge even for schools with established programs.
- For instance, how do you conduct laboratory courses over the Internet? Right now, no one has an answer. When an answer is found, how will STEM education respond?
- There are many unanswered questions but I see a Darwinian principle that could be at work. The institutions that are most adaptable are the ones that will survive and thrive in the new reality.
Implications for the Future
- You may want to dig in on Telemedicine – The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact permits physicians in a majority of state across the country. Once a deficiency in access becomes more widely appreciated, health entrepreneurs will find some innovative ways to deliver basic health services—and there will be public demand for it.
Available for Interviews: Phil Crowley.
Philip P. Crowley is an attorney for over 30 years who is passionate about helping grow technology companies seize opportunities and avoid expensive legal mistakes as they make ideas come to fruition. Mr. Crowley has also spent nearly 25 years on the board of trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology, with substantial involvement in the oversight of academic innovation and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Partner at the Law Office of Philip P. Crowley, LLC. Visit Phil Crowley on the web at www.CrowleyLawLLC.com
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