The Covid-19 outbreak has exposed the thin margins on which much of global business runs. Highly indebted companies, working from lean inventory, supported by just-in-time supply chains and staffed by short-term contractors, have borne the brunt of the sudden blow. They will now suffer the rolling, longer-term impact of its unpredictable consequences. Too late, many executives and owners have realised that by pursuing the holy grail of ever greater efficiency, they sacrificed robustness, resilience and effectiveness. In many cases, they will turn out to have sacrificed the business itself.
新型冠狀病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠狀病毒?。┮咔楸┞冻觯S多全球性企業以微薄的利潤運營。那些負債累累的企業原本依靠精益庫存，準時(JIT)的供應鏈和短期合同工運行，面對這一突然打擊，這些企業首當其沖。它們現在將遭受疫情的種種不可預測后果的周期性、更長期的影響。許多高管和企業所有者后知后覺地意識到，為了追求更高的效率，他們犧牲了穩健、韌性和有效性。在許多情況下，他們實際上犧牲的是企業本身。