“What Is the Next Normal Going to Look Like?”

This roundtable discussion, held virtually in late April, was a departure from the norm—and thus perfectly in keeping with these very strange days. Tory Burch, the fashion designer and retail magnate, joked about dressing up for the video call after living in sweatpants for weeks. Kevin Sneader, the global managing partner at McKinsey & Company, appeared from the kitchen table of his in-laws’ home. Nancy McKinstry and Geoff Martha, the CEOs, respectively, of Wolters Kluwer and Medtronic, both had connection trouble at first, but Chuck Robbins, the CEO of Cisco Systems (which owns Webex, the videoconferencing service), provided impromptu tech support. During an hour-long discussion moderated by HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius, these five executives, who collectively lead a workforce of about 217,000 people worldwide, spoke about how they’ve adjusted to uncertain times, what employees and society expect from them now, and how business will change as the crisis ebbs. What follows are edited excerpts from the conversation.