BUSINESS INSIGHTS
CHARTING A NEW COURSE: BUILDING ULTRA-RESILIENCE FOR THE AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
As businesses worldwide grapple with unprecedented unpredictability and rapid changes in the global market, traditional resilience strategies are struggling to keep up with volatile markets and sudden policy shifts. Ultra-resilience is a transformative approach designed to help businesses not just survive, but thrive in this era of rapid change, offering a fresh framework for rethinking forecasting, supply chains, product strategies and organisational structures. Dieter Halfar, Partner at Elixirr, discusses what ultra-resilience truly means and how this approach positions businesses better than conventional transformation methods.
The global business landscape has shifted beneath our feet. Trade tensions, policy shifts and political changes are increasingly shaping the way companies operate, making some traditional strategies less effective. The days when businesses could confidently set long-term plans have given way to an environment where adaptability is key.
Against this backdrop, the IMF’ s latest outlook underscores a sobering reality: growth is slowing, and the old rules no longer apply. For businesses, this isn’ t just a warning, it’ s a call to action. The organisations that will survive and thrive are those willing to rethink resilience from the ground up.
From traditional resilience to ultra-resilience
For decades, resilience in business meant having contingency plans and buffers, a few alternative suppliers, some excess inventory and a crisis protocol filed away for emergencies. These measures worked in a world where change was gradual, giving companies time to react and adjust course.
But today’ s disruptions don’ t unfold over quarters or years, they hit in days or even hours. Sudden tariffs, regulatory changes or supply chain shocks can upend plans overnight. Traditional approaches, built on assumptions of gradual change and stable environments, leave organisations exposed.
True resilience now demands an entirely new approach, a kind of corporate toughness that’ s not just reactive, but deeply proactive. This is where‘ ultraresilience’ plays a key role.
The anatomy of ultra-resilience
Ultra-resilience is more than just a buzzword. It’ s a comprehensive strategy that rewires how organisations operate at every level. Instead of depending on slow, top-down decision-making, ultraresilient companies push authority outwards, empowering teams closer to the action to make rapid decisions. This decentralisation is key: when conditions shift unexpectedly, waiting for approval from the top can cost valuable time.
Equally important is the ability to harness real-time data. Static forecasts and longterm predictions are increasingly unreliable. Instead, ultra-resilient organisations invest
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