ABSTRACT

A must-read in the wake of COVID-19, this book unpacks the nature of resilient organizations and how they prepare for unpredictable, complex, and profound change.

Organizations that do not adapt and evolve die. To date, however, it has not been at all clear how to build a resilient organization. That puts us all in the unenviable position of trying to ready our organizations for an increasingly uncertain future without the proper guidance to do it. This book introduces 14 elements of resilience that consistently emerge in organizations that have thrived amid adversity and volatility. Resilience is not about determination, grit, cybersecurity, or teams of resilient individuals; resilience, it turns out, is often confused with robustness. Readers will discover how resilient organizations build and employ a distinctive combination of crews, capital, culture, and leadership—and, crucially—how to adapt these combinations for their own organization.

Senior business leaders, consultants, entrepreneurs, students, and professionals will appreciate this book’s practical, approachable, and engaging guidance, including insights by leaders from Health Care for the Homeless, The Ohio State University, NBCUniversal, retail stores, and more.

chapter |5 pages

Introduction

Fumbling for Resilience

chapter Chapter 1|7 pages

An Introduction to Crews

chapter Chapter 2|11 pages

The Nature of Crews

chapter Chapter 3|10 pages

Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs

chapter Chapter 4|5 pages

Contrarians and Red Teams

chapter Chapter 5|5 pages

The Recurrence of Crews

chapter Chapter 6|4 pages

An Introduction to Capital

chapter Chapter 7|11 pages

Resource Capital

chapter Chapter 8|9 pages

Relationship Capital

chapter Chapter 9|14 pages

Information Capital

chapter Chapter 10|4 pages

Capital Combined

chapter Chapter 11|2 pages

Transition to an Interlude

chapter Chapter 12|9 pages

The Cynefin® Sense-Making Framework

chapter Chapter 13|8 pages

Antifragile

chapter Chapter 14|5 pages

An Introduction to a Culture of Experimentation

chapter Chapter 15|9 pages

A Reality-Seeking Culture

chapter Chapter 16|10 pages

A Safe-to-Fail Culture of Experimentation

chapter Chapter 17|8 pages

A Culture of Dissimilar Individuals

chapter Chapter 18|9 pages

An Introduction to Exponential Leadership

chapter Chapter 19|7 pages

Situational Leaders

chapter Chapter 20|8 pages

Purposeful Leaders

chapter Chapter 21|3 pages

Loss-Aware Leaders

chapter Chapter 22|7 pages

Empowering Leaders

chapter Chapter 23|11 pages

Caring Leaders

chapter Chapter 24|13 pages

Conclusion

The Resilient Organization and the Chief Resilience Officer

chapter Chapter 25|5 pages

Epilogue

What Is Organizational Resilience?