Ask a dozen top experts about the economy and you will likely receive 12 differing opinions on where we are headed and the market factors that are driving us there. While knowledge is certainly power, the opinions of even the brightest industry insiders are still speculative. So, it is important to look beyond forecasts and conjecture to something far more essential to the health and longevity of your business. One of the most effective approaches for navigating challenges and uncertainty in any economy is to embrace and foster adaptability throughout your organisation. Thanks to lessons learnt during the pandemic, business owners today are more committed than ever to creating agility and adaptability strategies as essential elements of their business plans. And that’s a smart move. While reliable statistics are scarce, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests the “big pivot” saved many businesses from succumbing to the COVID era.
Pandemic conditions forced business owners to explore innovative solutions on the fly to meet the evolving needs of their customers or simply to stay afloat. It was a hard lesson learnt for all of us, but one that ultimately transformed business-as-usual into something far more creative, kinetic, and enduring.
The following are five strategic ways to increase resiliency, adaptability and versatility throughout your business:
1. Embrace a Culture of Innovation
Maintaining a culture of innovation inspires employees to think bigger and more collaboratively. Employees become more motivated to leverage change creatively and drive continuous improvement. If you want to nurture a culture of innovation in your business, it starts with encouraging strong communication, rewarding cross-functional collaboration, and incentivising exploration.
2. Incorporate Modern Technologies
Among its many advantages, artificial intelligence applications can substantially boost a business’s ability to accelerate data-driven decision-making. This translates to faster, more agile response times. AI can accurately analyse data at lightning speed, which enables business owner’s immediate access to important data like customer preferences and changes in market dynamics. AI is a game-changer for so many aspects of adaptive performance and the technology itself is evolving literally every day.
3. Invest in Employee Development
Employees with enhanced skills provide tremendous value to an organisation, including an increased capacity to internally address changes in market dynamics. Consider implementing a variety of learning opportunities throughout your business including leadership training, mentorship programmes, skills workshops and any other classes that can elevate and empower your team.
4. Build a Resilient Supply Chain
One of the most devastating contributors to organisational collapse during the pandemic was the broken global supply chain that prevented businesses from securing the materials and goods they needed to operate. While the reasons were many, the biggest lesson learnt was the importance of building a broader array of vendors that also vary in location. A diverse supply chain enhances your ability to adapt to changes in market conditions.
5. Leverage Your Customers
Considering customers are the lifeblood of every business, it is shocking how few organisations turn to them for the invaluable insights they possess. But that’s a mistake. By garnering customer feedback, businesses gain hands-on, non-anecdotal insight into evolving preferences and market trends. This information better enables them to adapt their offerings to the current and future wants and needs of their customers, essentially getting a head start on future innovations.
Your ability to pivot your business during times of trouble or in response to changes in the marketplace just might be your key to long-term success. Start fostering a culture of adaptability now and reap the rewards for years to come.