By Bodo Grove
Definition
The term resilience originally describes the physical process of the deformation of an object and its subsequent return to its original shape. Resilience derives from the Latin word resilire, meaning “to spring back” or “to rebound.” In English, it is traced to resilience and refers to elasticity or tensile strength. The combination of these linguistic roots reflects the term’s use in physics.
(see Amann, E. G. (2015): Resilienz, 2nd edition, Freiburg, p. 8)
Later, the concept was adopted in psychology, where it stands for the ability to recover despite external circumstances. In other words, resilience is the robustness or elasticity of humans when faced with difficulties, failures, or uncertainties. A resilient person—or a resilient company—can be compared to the human immune system. Resilience may manifest in different ways at various stages of life. It provides protection in situations of strain, crisis, and stress. Therefore, resilience is not a fixed condition but rather a learning process.
(see Amann, E. G. (2015): Resilienz, 2nd edition, Freiburg, p. 6)
Resilience Pathways and “Organisational Burnout”
Internal and external stressors can lead to organisational burnout. To prevent this, resilience must be systematically developed.
Figure 1: “Resilience Pathways and Organizational Burnout” based on: Controlling – Journal for Success-Oriented Corporate Management, 2/2020, p. 37.
Building resilience
When building resilience, managers are required to lead by example and employees to implement it on a daily basis. In addition, the credibility of management is essential for a company’s resilience, which requires authenticity in leadership in all economic cycles. Crises caused by internal or external stressors can be overcome in this way, and new skills should be acquired to build a competitive advantage. If no resilience is present after a crisis, the worst-case scenario is organizational burnout.
Counteracting stressors
To counteract stressors, a company must have various resources at its disposal and integrate new patterns into old processes. The following characteristics and potential are necessary for this:
Figure 2: Own representation “Counteracting stressors”
Characteristics of the “Entrepreneurial Merchant”
For successfully building resilience, the entrepreneurial merchant requires a variety of personal traits. He or she should possess deep and strategic business understanding at every level of the organization, combined with profit-oriented and value-enhancing actions. Furthermore, objectives should be critically reviewed for realism, and the ability to maintain clear, objective differentiation under high pressure is essential. Ultimately, the entrepreneurial merchant needs a comprehensive mindset—one that spans departments and the entire company.
Integration of Resilience into Strategies, Processes, and Tools
The successful integration of new strategies, processes, and tools can be achieved through resilience checks and risk management. Resilience checks are particularly important in the early development phase. Objectives should be clearly defined, incorporated into management approaches, and coordinated with responsible stakeholders. From a process perspective, models must allow for agility during both upswings and downturns. If these initial approaches are consistently pursued, innovation can be driven forward in times of economic crisis through the support of well-developed resilience.
Quick Wins for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Based on these insights, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can adopt practical measures to make their organizations more resilient. Regular self-checks within departments and teams (e.g., jour fixe meetings) or generally applicable guidelines are beneficial, such as professional competence, reliability and efficiency, objectivity, confidentiality, non-solicitation, professional conduct, etc. Additionally, companies should establish a mission and vision that enable the creation of long-term, sustainable partnerships. However, the most important factor in building resilience remains the human resource.
Contact:
Tel. +49 531 180 59 300
mailto:info@i-unit.de
Source:
Company information; Pedell, B., Seidenschwanz, W., Sondermann, H.: Building Resilience Proactively Instead of Driving the Company into Organizational Burnout through Short-Sighted Cost Cutting, in: Controlling – Journal for Performance-Oriented Corporate Management, 2/2020, pp. 36–38.
