As I was writing my ebook on Strategy During Uncertainty, I started with the concept of Agility – the ability to flex when needed.
And then I thought, the more Agility you have, the less Readiness you need. If I’m flexible enough to eat whatever things in the grocery store are still available, then the store being out of stock on some things doesn’t matter to me.
And then I thought about after a crisis. The more Resilience I have, the less Readiness or Agility I need. If I can get back up after I’ve been knocked down, then I can withstand any kind of challenges.
Of course, the strongest position is to have Readiness, Agility, and Resilience. So, I thought about what it takes to create each of those.
And what I realized is that they are all the same thing – just presenting at different times…before, during, and after.
So if they’re all the same thing, then what is underneath them?
I call the underlying capabilities that enable a company to be flexible…Flex Capacity.
In my Winning The Uncertainty Workbook, I identify (and have you score yourself) on 20 different Flex Capacity strengths, in your:
Markets
Operations
Culture
Leadership
Business/finances
Even if you don’t use my Flex Capacity worksheet, now is a good time to take stock of the assets and traits your company has that make you flexible – and to communicate those to your employees. They’ll be glad to hear how you have the capacity to be strong at every stage of uncertainty – and how they can help build more Flex Capacity.
If you're looking for strategy advice, check out my Winning The Uncertainty Resources.