Resilience in the 21st century requires us to meticulously prepare for any contingencies of our increasingly complex world. It is not enough to be reactive. At any moment, institutions, communities, and countries are affected by multiple crises and consequences at all stages — simultaneously. COVID-19 began as a public health issue, quickly growing to encompass and drive a myriad of global social and economic issues. Communities are still reeling from the deaths and infrastructure overhaul brought on by a world afflicted by the pandemic. With little notice, another crisis spread its reach across the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine overlapped with many pandemic-inspired issues — making many things worse for millions. Resilience, as a philosophy, would not just react to these issues as they appear but use the opportunity to build back strength — hopeful for the better.
COVID-19 revealed certain weaknesses in how we do things domestically and globally. In response to the pandemic, the world invested in digitization, hybrid work models, and revamped its supply chains. The resultant new lens we now have to apply towards flexibility will hopefully help create a society better suited to weather a future pandemic or crisis. But crises are crises; they are both similar and unique because there is never one single solution. Often a crisis reveals unknown interdependencies. A crisis in one area might affect an unlinked area across the globe. Further, initial solutions often lead to future problems. The relationship between problem and solution is ever-evolving, and resiliency encompasses an organization's ability to evaluate its goals as problems and solutions flow.
Even with sustainable and inclusive growth, the most vulnerable will face the brunt of a crisis. Income, wealth, ability to relocate, social services, and health, among other factors, determine how well a community might respond to a crisis. The supply chain issues and government stimulus spending have exacerbated inflation, which harms the most vulnerable even more. On a shared planet, we can only grow resiliency if we uplift the most marginalized peoples out of the effects of climate change, refugee crises, wars and an uneven digital divide. Not taking care of the most vulnerable creates future crises. Disengaging a community already on the cusp of violence leads to more eventual crises. Sustainable growth maintains the health of the natural environment. Growth is inclusive when it includes the interests of the wider population.
According to the World Economic Forum, the lack of resilience has a one to five percent effect on GDP growth globally. A lack of vaccinations during the pandemic similarly caused a one percent reduction in growth for developing countries. Extreme weather and inequality across gender, race and income have similar effects on GDP. For institutions focused on digital upscaling, their growth potential looks to be just below five percent going forward into 2030. Resiliency is a financial incentive and imperative. A small boost from resiliency can allow one business to surpass its competition swimmingly down the line.
The success a resilient business has can be mirrored across economies and societies. For governments that aptly protected their constituents with stimulus and effective management of the pandemic, their citizens bounced back more quickly. Societal resilience is harder to measure but has similarly far-reaching repercussions. The World Bank measures gender inequality to cost roughly $160 trillion globally. Women only possess 38% of individual wealth, with women in low-income communities possessing far less than that enjoyed by their affluent counterparts. In the U.S., the median wealth of white households is ten times that of Black and Hispanic households. These disparities impact the U.S. economy heavily, as many of its families do not have enough to even put back into their economy.
The global world is inextricably interconnected. As previously mentioned, keeping public and private sectors completely separate ignores the reality of globalization. Societies need an estimation of what a crisis will do to their infrastructure and they need to prepare accordingly. Not all apparatus use the same language and definition for resilience. As is the case with ESG guidelines, a resilience framework helps leaders see an end goal beyond the bottom line. Resiliency will, without a doubt, mean different things to a business and society. Still, resiliency and wealth generation are not solutions if the most marginalized are not benefitting from them.
One's resiliency "muscle" is built upon preparing, perceiving, and propelling. Rather than reacting defensively to a crisis, you need to invest early. Have safety nets and backup plans already in place. The practice of perceiving is to create methods to track possible disruptions. Run tests, collate data, and extrapolate that data to determine where weaknesses lie. Propelling is the ability to institute changes and roll them out. Safeguards are pointless if the institution cannot pivot and turn its safeguards into the new order.
There are seven themes of resiliency: climate, education, healthcare, sustainable economy, supply chains, digital and financial risk. Climate covers carbon footprints and the issue of feeding humanity. Healthy food and clean water are becoming more complex as droughts and storms grow more severe. This leads to food insecurity and refugee crises. Nearly one-third of all people do not get adequate food. Education and organizational resilience refer to getting all communities the education they need. The flexibility demanded by resiliency requires leadership skills. Organizational resilience strengthens the relationship society has with remote work. Healthcare is a given after the pandemic and will only grow to become a larger issue as the public health emergency is shelved.
Sustainable economic development impacts every theme and should be reflected across the board. A robust supply chain that can react to crises without breaking is also imperative for economic growth. Relying on a single supplier only makes other crises worse. As institutions move to digitize for resiliency's sake, ensuring populations are digitally literate and have trust in these systems is paramount. As the financial and corporate districts are called on to become more responsible for funding these more sustainable measures, we can build a more stable and resilient future.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
