Make Resilience Your Company’s Strategic Advantage培養企業韌性 確立戰略優勢

馬丁·里夫斯等　焦琳/譯

Over the last few years， business leaders have been reminded repeatedly of the interconnectedness and unpredictability of businesses， economies， and societies. Humanitarian disasters have created shockwaves affecting geopolitics， economics， trade， energy， and financial markets. Business reputations， markets， supply chains， and employees have been impacted in unpredicted ways.

過去數年間，商業領袖們反復被提醒，要注意到企業、經濟和社會三者是相互聯系且難以預測的。一系列人道主義災難引發的劇烈震蕩，對地緣政治、經濟、貿易、能源和金融市場造成了影響。商業信譽、市場、供應鏈及雇員也遭受了意想不到的沖擊。

Its not surprising then that resilience—the ability to thrive under change—has risen to the top of many leaders agenda. As we saw with Covid-19， more resilient businesses had better outcomes， and some even emerged as new winners.

因此，企業韌性，即企業面臨變局仍能蓬勃發展的能力，成為許多商界領袖眼中的頭等大事，也就不足為奇了。正如我們在新冠疫情期間所目睹的，越是有韌性的企業，經營業績越亮眼，有些甚至一躍成為市場新贏家。

Yet， history tells us that companies often lose interest in resilience as crises fade. Few companies have systematic-ally codified lessons learned and baked resilience into their organizations.

可惜，歷史經驗告訴我們，一旦危機消退，企業對韌性的關注往往也隨之減少。只有極少數企業系統地整理了經驗教訓，將韌性融入企業發展。

This is because too many organizations hold a narrow view of resilience as mainly ensuring short-term， operational continuity during crises. True resilience is more expansive： Its a companys cap-acity to absorb stress， recover critical functionality， and thrive in new circumstances. Resilience is not merely an operational consideration—its a potential strategic advantage that enables companies to capitalize on opportunities when competitors are least prepared.

這一現象的根源在于，有太多企業對韌性持有狹隘的看法，認為培養韌性無非是為了確保危機中的短期穩定經營。真正的韌性，內涵更為寬泛：它是企業化解壓力、重振關鍵職能、在新形勢下蓬勃發展的能力。韌性不僅是經營層面的考量，也是潛在的戰略優勢，能讓企業在競爭對手尚無準備之際乘機獲利。

In order to build truly resilient organ-izations， leaders first must understand five myths that may be holding them back.

想要建立真正有韌性的企業，領導者務必先了解五個可能阻礙他們成功的認知誤區。

Myth #1： Resilience is mainly a supply chain issue.

誤區1：韌性主要作用于供應鏈。

Reality： Resilience is essential in all key organizational functions.

實際：韌性對所有關鍵組織職能都至關重要。

Disrupted supply chains and shipment delays are conspicuous and immediate， but a sole focus on acute crisis management skews the narrative. When resilience is baked into all key functions， companies can restore functionality and performance much more rapidly and effectively.

供應鏈中斷和貨運延遲的確是一望而知的燃眉之急，可只把精力放在急性危機管理上，未免對韌性有些曲解。若能使韌性融入所有關鍵職能，企業便可更快、更有效地恢復業務和業績。

Myth #2： Resilience is synonymous with risk mitigation.

誤區2：韌性無非是緩解風險。

Reality： Resilience is as much about enabling of upside as protecting against downside risks.

實際：韌性能抵御下行風險，又能激發上升勢頭。

Resilience reduces the immediate impact of crises by enabling companies to anticipate， prepare for， and cushion against shocks. However， resilience also enables companies to respond to crisis in opportunistic ways， thrive in new circumstances， and shape the competitive environment to their advantage.

韌性賦予企業預測沖擊、未雨綢繆和緩沖震蕩的能力，從而降低危機的直接影響。不僅如此，韌性還讓企業在應對危機時能做到隨機應變，在新形勢下蓬勃發展，引導競爭環境朝對自己有利的方向發展。

Myth #3： Resilience is mainly an operational consideration.

誤區3：韌性主要是經營層面的考量。

Reality： Resilience is strategic.

實際：韌性具有戰略性。

Many leaders today undervalue resilience， believing it to be only valuable in a limited and non-recurring set of circumstances. Resilience provides value not only during but also long after a crisis has receded. It can create competitive advantage in several ways， such as：

如今，不少企業領導都低估了韌性的價值，覺得它能發揮作用的情況有限，只是一錘子買賣。其實，韌性的價值不僅體現在危機之中，危機消退后許久，它仍能發揮作用。韌性可通過多種途徑創造競爭優勢，比如：

· Differentiating service through greater reliability

· 以更高的可靠性實現服務的差異化；

· Capitalizing on transient opportun-ities， such as favorable talent and acquisition markets

· 把握轉瞬即逝的時機，如有利的人才市場和收購行情；

· Gaining market share with new offerings fitting new circumstances

· 推出適應市場新形勢的新產品，擴大市場份額。

Myth #4： Resilience is a cost to the business.

誤區4：培養韌性屬于企業成本。

Reality： Resilience is a driver of value.

實際：韌性是價值驅動力。

Resilience provides substantial future benefit if invested preemptively. Building the required operational redundancy， modularity， diversity， and adaptive cap-ability requires embracing a tradeoff against near-term efficiency. Challenges in measuring the long-term value of resili-ence with traditional metrics lead many leaders to make myopic decisions that effectively over-value short-run efficiency.

先人一步為培養韌性投資，未來收益會相當可觀。為構建必需的經營存冗量、模塊性、多樣性和適應性，難免要犧牲短期效率。許多企業領導使用傳統指標難以評估出韌性的長期價值，導致他們作出短視決策，而這些決策恰恰高估了短期效率的價值。

Myth #5： Crises are too infrequent and unique to warrant investment in resilience.

誤區5：危機百年難得一遇，投資韌性并非剛需。

Reality： Companies need resilience to navigate an increasingly volatile world.

實際：國際形勢日益動蕩，企業需要以韌性應對。

Resilience can enable companies to prepare for and respond better to future shocks， whether those be pandemics， geopolitical conflicts， effects of climate change， cybersecurity threats， industry-specific disruptions， or other unpredicted challenges.

韌性使企業有能力做足準備，更好地應對未來的沖擊，無論是疫情、地緣政治沖突、氣候變化影響、網絡安全威脅、行業相關的動蕩，還是其他預料之外的挑戰。

In our increasingly volatile world， exogenous crises may become more frequent， but damage and disadvantage is not inevitable. Leaders must prepare to effectively lead their organization through both stable and unstable periods alike.

國際形勢日益動蕩，外源性危機可能更加頻繁，但危害和不利影響并非不可避免。無論處于穩定期還是動蕩期，領導者都必須做好萬全準備，真正引領企業安全度過。

Building a resilient organization

建設有韌性的企業

In order to build systematic resilience into their organizations， leaders must take seven critical actions.

想要在企業中建立系統性韌性，領導者必須采取七項關鍵行動。

1. Adopt an expanded view of resilience.

1. 拓寬對韌性的認知。

Consider resilience both a strategic opportunity and an operational imperative. Build resilience into each business function by assessing the impact of lost or reduced functionality and adopting a tailored approach to address it.

將韌性看作戰略機遇，也當作經營層面的要事。對失效或低效業務職能的危害進行評估，對癥下藥解決問題，增強各個業務職能的韌性。

2. Recognize and address the tradeoff between long-term resilience and short-term efficiency.

2. 認識到長期韌性和短時效率間存在的矛盾并作出取舍。

Under-investing in efficiency can cause a crippling lack of competitiveness， while under-investing in resilience can cause corporate failure or long-term competitive disadvantage. Leaders cannot justify and calibrate resilience efforts until they address this challenge head on.

企業若在效率方面投入不足，競爭力可能會嚴重受損，而在培養韌性方面投入不足，則可能面臨破產或長期處于競爭劣勢。領導者只有直面這一矛盾，才能證明培養韌性是明智之舉，并調節好投入力度。

3. Shift your mindset.

3. 轉變思維方式。

View crises as inevitable disruptions to be prepared for， managed， and leveraged for competitive opportunity， rather than infrequent one-off events to be defended against ad hoc. Such a shift will help the organization to make proactive and future-oriented decisions during crisis that allow it to thrive in and shape the post-crisis landscape.

要將危機視為不可避免的動蕩，要做好準備、從容應對并把握好競爭機會，而不是將其看作一次性偶發事件，臨時加以防御。這一思維轉變有助于企業在危機期間積極主動地作出前瞻性決策，如此一來，企業能夠塑造危機后的市場格局，并在其中蓬勃發展。

4. Measure resilience.

4. 評估企業韌性。

Introduce business metrics that meas-ure flexibility and responsiveness to shift the focus beyond short-term performance optimization and reorient to long-term growth potential.

針對企業的靈活性和響應能力，引入商業指標，從而將著力點從短期業績優化轉移到挖掘長期增長潛力上。

5. Operationalize resilience.

5. 把韌性建設落到實處。

Build resilience across multiple timescales by applying seven key principles.

踐行七大關鍵原則，在多個階段培養韌性。

Prudence： Develop early warning systems to spot shifts and utilize contingency planning1 and war gaming to prepare intellectually and behaviorally for these possible futures.

謹慎行事：開發早期預警系統以發現變局發生的苗頭，利用應急規劃和模擬競爭，從思想和行動兩方面做好準備，以應對未來可能出現的問題。

Redundancy： Maintain the right amount of absorptive capacity in the form of extra buffers （cash， inventory） or extra functionality （suppliers， manufacturing facilities）.

適量存冗：設立額外緩沖（現金、庫存）或額外的職能機構（供應商、制造廠），以保證適當的風險化解能力。

Diversity： Invest in heterogeneity of key business elements （products， business models， ways of thinking） to make it possible to react to unexpected change and avoid correlated responses across a system， which can lead to total system failure.

風險分散：對關鍵業務要素（產品、商業模式、思維方式）進行差異化投資，以便及時應對意外之變，避免內部出現連帶反應從而拖垮整個企業。

Modularity： Loosely linked， separated modules （subsidiaries， plants， teams） can act like circuit breakers to help prevent the collapse of a system when one element is stressed.

各司其職：各模塊（子公司、工廠、團隊）之間聯系松散，相對獨立，就如同斷路器，防止一毀俱毀。

Embeddedness： Align your companys goals and activities with those of broader economic or social systems of which youre a part. This will strengthen relationships with employees， customers， governments， and partners that can be relied on during crisis.

借力而行：在目標和行動層面，保證企業與其所處的更廣泛的經濟或社會體系協調一致。此舉可加強企業與雇員、客戶、政府及合作伙伴間的聯系。危機來臨時，各方聯系都是可借之力。

Adaptiveness： Plan dynamically and reallocate capital as circumstances change.

靈活應變：動態規劃，因勢而變進行資本重新分配。

Imagination： Beyond adaptation， seek to be the driver rather than the victim of change by proactively reimagin-ing businesses and shaping business environments.

主動求變：不僅要適應變化，還要主動求變，積極重塑企業和營商環境，而非甘愿淪為變局的犧牲品。

6. Model leadership behaviors.

6. 打造企業領導行為規范。

Systematically adopting resilience requires a cultural shift. The over-fixation on short-run efficiency， engrained through business education， workplace culture， backward-looking metrics， and misaligned incentives， can be hard to overcome. Leaders must reinforce the change by being a vocal champion for resilience and institutionalizing the learning from recent crises.

全方位培養韌性需要企業文化的轉變。企業過度追求短時效率的弊病因商業教育、職場文化、回顧性衡量指標和錯位的激勵措施變得根深蒂固，難以拔除。企業領導必須大力主張培養韌性，將從近期危機中吸取的經驗教訓融入企業制度，推動企業文化轉變。

7. Contribute to improving the resilience of the societal systems on which your businesses depend.

7. 助力企業賴以生存的社會體系提升韌性。

Business needs to play a role in larger issues beyond traditional corporate boundaries. Leaders should look to reduce the volatility and fragility of the systems and societies on which they depend， reinforcing the social fabric through efforts like reducing polarization， optimizing for both societal and business value， and reimagining business models for sustainability.

企業需要跳出傳統邊界，為更高層面的問題貢獻力量。領導者應致力于降低企業所依存的制度和社會的波動性和脆弱性，強化社會結構。具體做法包括減輕兩極分化、優化社會和企業價值、重構商業模式以實現可持續發展。

Businesses must act now to institutionalize resilience before the lessons of crises fade， leaving them unprepared for the next ones.

企業必須立即采取行動，實現韌性制度化，以免一場場危機帶來的教訓被淡忘，以致下一場危機來臨時毫無準備。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者；單位：中國海洋大學）