I am seeing more and more companies adding “resiliency” and its kissing cousin “agility,” to their list of leadership competencies. And it makes sense.

Business today is more complex, unpredictable, and decision making is usually ambiguous at best. Organizations cannot afford to stand still while they gather all the information required to make a decision. Sometimes you have to move and then pick up the pieces to see if you’ve won or lost.

Consider the transformation that has happened in the airline industry during this millennium. After 9/11 the reality of terrorism created a seismic shift in how they conducted their business. Next came consolidation of all the big airlines followed by a shift to “fees for value” where every extra dollar was squeezed out of the consumer shifting customer expectations of what flying should be. Like it or not, we’ve adjusted to baggage fees, paying for seats with more space, and anteing up for little boxes of cheese. The industry was on its knees 8 years ago and their response was to recreate their business model. Today the airline industry is thriving with profits three times what they were 8 years ago.

Necessity may be the mother of invention but resilience and agility are her best tools for creating new pathways to success. We’ll take a further look at building your personal and organizational agility next week.

Update on Resilience Advantage

A colleague told me he was ordering a dozen copies of The Resilience Advantage for his friends and coworkers. If you are interested in ordering some for your team, send me an email at [email protected]. I have a special offer for you and your organization.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2016