Why It Is More Likely That An Agile Business Will Weather Turbulent Times?
Agility is becoming the latest business buzzword. With turbulence and uncertainty becoming an integral part of the new normal, companies need to hone their abilities to respond quickly to change.
Today, organisations must think of ways that they can make their processes more flexible. Business leaders — being humans — are wired such that they have difficulty in dealing with uncertainty. When these various sources of uncertainty occur at the same time, aggravating one another, the level of general emotional insecurity rises.
People tend to forecast by generalising recent experience endlessly into the future. Once it becomes uncertain – about whether expected growth will materialise – people can easily become unhinged. When they get information that muddles the view, they tend to react in obvious ways that are not always constructive.
What is Business Agility?
The term ‘business agility’ can be defined as a company’s ability to adapt, as well as respond to, alterations in their immediate competitive environment. If a company is able to consistently identify as well as capture opportunities – no matter the economic climate – then they are effectively agile.
For a small organisation, business agility is related to your ability to adapt, orient and change in a fast-paced, ambiguous and often volatile marketplace. Organisational agility is far less common than it should be in today’s unstable economic climate.
For a business to be agile it must have two things – a stable foundation, and the ability to react swiftly as well as decisively to change.
What Sets An Agile Organisation Apart From Others?
An agile organisation is resilient. As such, can overcome unexpected setbacks and downturns. Simultaneously, it is able to exploit unexpected opportunities. This means that agility is both an insurance against bad times in addition to a pitchfork to make hay when the sun shines. In an agile organisation, transformation and uncertainty are not things to fear. These aspects are seen as creators of opportunities for the company to outperform competitors.
How Should Leaders Manage In The Face Of Uncertainty?
The good news is that we know, from theory and practice, about the right approach and mindset to adapt. Sailors navigating tricky winds, shifting tides, and mercurial weather systems prepare their vessels so they are able to sail on safely and purposefully. Companies can do the same. Rather than simply reacting instinctively and responding to the informational noise detected by their instruments, leaders can move swiftly and proactively to alter their course and chart a new one — and capitalise on dislocations in the market.
Why Is Business Agility Important Right Now?
There are very specific reasons why business agility is important for your company right now. These take a major pattern shift into account as well as the various changes which are taking place across the globe.
- The digital revolution has brought the fundamental requirement to adapt to change that is disrupting. Without agility, an organisation will not be able to compete with new technologies which are being released. Consider AI and machine learning, for instance.
- Disruptive technologies are constantly changing the world as well as the marketplace. Digital transformation, as a cultural imperative, is needed to help companies leverage current strategies, technologies as well as their capacity to change at any given point in time.
- Climate change will slow down global economic growth and will result in a number of challenges for businesses operating in specific areas. Take into account the increase in floods, lack of natural resources, animal species extinctions in addition to the rise in global pandemics.
- As the economy confronts disruption, a mini war for talent is taking place. The victors will be businesses who are able to offer creative and valued individuals both stability and the ability to adapt to change. In other words, agile companies will be in demand.
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