How to ensure corporate resilience

How to ensure corporate resilience: a guide to safeguarding your company and your role as a corporate leader. Corporate resilience is all about response and adaptability. It’s a measure of how good your company is at both, and, more commonly than you might think, it's the difference between success and failure. If the last five years have taught us anything, it’s that corporate resilience is vital. When pressure mounts on your business to respond to an outside shock, your stakeholders will look to you for direction. Let’s dive in: What is corporate resilience? It’s the ability of a company to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions to stay healthy and profitable. Why is corporate resilience important? You don’t need to look far into history to see how vulnerable global markets are to world events. Whether its: Wars or other diplomatic crises Supply chain breakdowns and inflation Disruptive new products that energise competition A pandemic … the result is always the same for businesses: a market shock that forces them to adapt. If they can’t do it or are too slow, their financial viability is at risk. This is why corporate resilience is essential: it enables firms to be ready to tackle the next market shock when (not if) it arrives. What’s the role of the board in corporate resilience? Being on a board is about keen, impactful oversight, which is critical for corporate governance. Done right, you will set a tone of resilience from the top down, embedding the right culture in the levels below asking the right questions when strategic decisions come to you for review. Your experience and skill set should ensure that a company’s strategy incorporates resilience as much as possible. Like many other governance topics, resilience is not a side project; it’s a core principle, and your strategy should reflect that. The best ways to ensure corporate resilience Here are the things you can do as a board member to ensure your company is as resilient as possible Diversify your products, markets and supply chains This offers a company more options for success and, pivotally, gives alternatives if a market shock puts one product or supply chain out of action. Diversification carries risks in itself, so you need to ensure you do it sustainably in a way that doesn’t stretch the company too thin. Robust financial management Maintaining strong liquidity with access to multiple financing sources is important because you never know when your organisation will be under financial strain. Invest in tech or other innovations Firstly, they could bring opportunities to your business that were never possible before. Secondly, refusing to invest in these developments could leave your company vulnerable, especially if “new” becomes “standard” and your business finds itself irrelevant. Leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency and innovate product offerings can help a company quickly adapt to changes in the market environment. Develop agile practices Ensure you and your board work well together. Understand how you will approach decision-making. Implement flexible work processes and frameworks to respond to changing conditions rapidly. Educate, train and empower Regarding resilience, responsibilities always change with the ever-shifting nature of what market shocks could look like. This means that - while it’s important to be skilled at what you do - you should never underestimate the importance of training, CPD, and empowering people with new skills. So, if you see a skills gap that could be solved with dedicated training, even if it's for you, act quickly. What skills should I focus on for corporate resilience The following usually always come in handy. If you’re not 100% confident in your abilities in these areas, consider upskilling now. Risk management Strategic thinking - particularly being able to balance short-term concerns with long-term resilience and growth. Leadership - you need to show confidence in your role and become an example that convinces others. Communication. Even the best leaders can be undone by poor communication skills. In summary Ensuring corporate resilience requires deliberate planning and the development of specific competencies across the organisation. By understanding the board's critical role in leading resilience efforts, implementing strategic practices to mitigate risks, and fostering personal and professional growth in resilience-related skills, you can position your business to survive and thrive in the face of adversity.

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Diploma in Corporate Governance

Certified Corporate Governance Professional

Certified Company Secretary Professional

Certified ESG Professional

ESG Strategy and Governance

Company Secretary

Overview of Corporate Governance

AI Governance

CSRD Reporting

Go Further With Membership

Join the largest global educator of university credit-rated and qualified directors in corporate governance.

University partnership

Attend online and in-person events to get the practical skills and insights you need to make an impact as a leader.

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How to ensure corporate resilience

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