Resilience rises as key trait amid interconnected risks
Resilience is emerging as a critical characteristic for organisations in order to protect value and pursue growth amid interconnected risks, according to a new report from Aon.
Its latest Megatrends report underscores resilience as a "strategic advantage" for organisations, especially as trade, technology, weather and workforce pressures become "more closely connected."
It noted that weather can impact physical assets, supply chains and workforce availability. AI investments can affect infrastructure, governance and skills, while shifts in global trade can affect supply, technology access and operating costs.
The report said that the greater opportunity for leadership is to recognise how these risks connect, anticipate where their effects may reach, and make decisions that strengthen the organisation against a range of potential outcomes.
"Resilience is no longer simply about preparing for disruption. It is about giving organisations the flexibility and confidence to keep making decisions when circumstances change," said Kevan Johnston, CEO for Australia at Aon, in a statement.
How to build resilience in organisations
The organisations best positioned for growth will be those that build resilience into their "most consequential decisions and act with confidence" as conditions continue to evolve, according to the report.
"Leaders can strengthen organisational resilience by focusing on the dependencies that matter most by considering how uncertainty and complexity may travel and creating greater flexibility around the choices that matter," the report stated.
According to the report, building resilience also means ensuring that systems are flexible enough to tackle disruption that can carry significant consequences.
"Resilience should also be treated as a strategic input to growth, investment and risk transfer decisions, helping leaders evaluate both the opportunity and the organisation's ability to pursue it," it added.
"The objective is to build an organisation that can move through disruption with greater speed, discipline and confidence, then use that capacity to invest, innovate and compete more effectively."
