Strategic Planning and Management Insights

Going through difficult times is a fact of human life. But the ability to be resilient through the adversity is an admirable and useful quality for anyone to possess. 

Being resilient in the face of adversity allows you to bounce back from the difficult times, it allows you to make courageous choices, connect with others and develop your creativity.

In this blog, I’ll breakdown what exactly resilience is and how you can become more resilient in your daily life and in business! 

Geoffrey Cain is a business advisor, consultant, and author of Samsung Rising. With experience as an Economist correspondent and contributor to both the Wall Street Journal  & Time, Geoffrey brings some exciting overseas expertise in geopolitics and media. 

On this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast we're joined by Michele Wucker, CEO of Gray Rhino & Company and best selling author of The Gray Rhino. Michele has defined a gray rhino as a problem large and obvious staring you down, pointed right at you, and probably about to trample you.

The never ending story of Brexit, American protectionism, and the Yellow Vest movement in France represent rising political risks, impacting organizations around the world. As a consequence, business leaders have to deal with challenging social-political situations and rising political uncertainty in their home markets on top of changing economic conditions regarding employment, finance, growth, and trade. Investment and growth plans have to be continually updated, and recruiting staff can become more difficult, while the cost of inputs like workforce and resources rise. Foreign political developments have the potential to devastate GDP, supply chains, export rate, wages, and more. As an example, the US trade war with China has had a severe effect on business in several countries. 

Image rights owned by Research Optimus, author of this article. 

Small business owners cannot possibly eliminate all of the risks to their business. It’s a fact that highly successful entrepreneurs learn to accept. What we can do is minimise it through proper planning. Having a risk management plan in place will help you steer clear of potential risks before they become a big issue. The best risk management plans include the right tools, proper analytical strategies, and a business impact analysis to keep a keen eye on risks. Start 2018 on the right track by creating a sound risk management plan.

As I talk to various leaders about their experience, I am exposed to many different styles and leaders from many different walks of life. I have a high level of respect for those that I know in the Armed Forces Special Operations. I find they have incredible experiences and have been privileged to work with some of the finest leaders in the world.  I find they share two distinct traits; they constantly searched for ways to improve their themselves and they are active leaders, active in that they are leaders who are constantly improving their teams and are striving to get the most out of them.  These Special Ops leaders create a culture that encourages taking calculated risks by empowering and inspiring their followers.  In my book, I define this style of leadership as, Violent Leadership.         

While it is important to have a sound organizational strategy, a roadmap to success for your organization, it’s also important to have a plan for how to handle emergencies along the way. Crisis communication strategies are similar to scenario planning and risk management, but focused on how to handle both the behind the scenes and external communications when big issues arise.