Suppose you were a blacksmith in 1908, what choice would you have to make towards the future? The demand for horseshoes declined, but there were not yet enough cars for a profitable tire business. What are you doing then? In retrospect, the answer is simple, but in 1908 it was not easy.

The big leading question for many businesses today is how to implement the learnings from the COVID-19-crisis in their culture and operations. Given the dramatic changes we have seen in the fields of employee relations, customer relations and even carbon footprint, it would be a hugely missed opportunity not to seize the momentum and the learnings.

The future of professional services is meaningful, human-centered, and digital. However, there is a difference between the value customers experience and what service providers claim to deliver. In this article, we open the discussion to two fundamental questions. First, we ask why service providers are still struggling to serve their customers meaningful. Second, we elaborate on the resulting change leadership challenge.