Rather than just “getting through it,” these organizations were already resilient through the careful cultivation of skilled staff who were able to keep producing and adapting without constant direction from leadership. Continuous improvement and a learning mindset were part of the company culture already, so having to pivot to accommodate a new set of challenges didn’t immediately derail them. They were built for it.

Getting stronger because of a major shock, disruption, or disaster may seem ambitious, but threats of all sorts are increasing, and mere survival should no longer be our baseline. The skills and capabilities leaders and organizations need are even more essential in an era of increasing natural disasters, non-stop cyber attacks, unpredictable labor markets, and fragile supply chains.

Dr. David Lindstedt, drawing from the work of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, cautions us not to confuse robustness with resilience. Robustness means having contingency plans, strong cybersecurity, proactive emergency management, sufficient insurance, IT disaster recovery capabilities, and solid physical security that allows an organization to absorb shocks and change and then return to the status quo.

Building Resilient Organizations through Change, Chance, and Complexity By David Lindstedt

Resilience is the ability of an organization to change its activities, behaviors, and investments in order to pivot and capitalize on significant change. Resilience is a continuous journey that cultivates deep cross-functional capabilities, ready to drive an organization forward no matter what comes its way.