Make Resilience Your Company’s Strategic Advantage培养企业韧性 确立战略优势

马丁·里夫斯等　焦琳/译

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.

过去数年间，商业领袖们反复被提醒，要注意到企业、经济和社会三者是相互联系且难以预测的。一系列人道主义灾难引发的剧烈震荡，对地缘政治、经济、贸易、能源和金融市场造成了影响。商业信誉、市场、供应链及雇员也遭受了意想不到的冲击。

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，企业韧性，即企业面临变局仍能蓬勃发展的能力，成为许多商界领袖眼中的头等大事，也就不足为奇了。正如我们在新冠疫情期间所目睹的，越是有韧性的企业，经营业绩越亮眼，有些甚至一跃成为市场新赢家。

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，历史经验告诉我们，一旦危机消退，企业对韧性的关注往往也随之减少。只有极少数企业系统地整理了经验教训，将韧性融入企业发展。

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.

这一现象的根源在于，有太多企业对韧性持有狭隘的看法，认为培养韧性无非是为了确保危机中的短期稳定经营。真正的韧性，内涵更为宽泛：它是企业化解压力、重振关键职能、在新形势下蓬勃发展的能力。韧性不仅是经营层面的考量，也是潜在的战略优势，能让企业在竞争对手尚无准备之际乘机获利。

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

想要建立真正有韧性的企业，领导者务必先了解五个可能阻碍他们成功的认知误区。

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

误区1：韧性主要作用于供应链。

Reality： Resilience is essential in all key organizational functions.

实际：韧性对所有关键组织职能都至关重要。

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.

供应链中断和货运延迟的确是一望而知的燃眉之急，可只把精力放在急性危機管理上，未免对韧性有些曲解。若能使韧性融入所有关键职能，企业便可更快、更有效地恢复业务和业绩。

Myth #2： Resilience is synonymous with risk mitigation.

误区2：韧性无非是缓解风险。

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

实际：韧性能抵御下行风险，又能激发上升势头。

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.

韧性赋予企业预测冲击、未雨绸缪和缓冲震荡的能力，从而降低危机的直接影响。不仅如此，韧性还让企业在应对危机时能做到随机应变，在新形势下蓬勃发展，引导竞争环境朝对自己有利的方向发展。

Myth #3： Resilience is mainly an operational consideration.

误区3：韧性主要是经营层面的考量。

Reality： Resilience is strategic.

实际：韧性具有战略性。

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，不少企业领导都低估了韧性的价值，觉得它能发挥作用的情况有限，只是一锤子买卖。其实，韧性的价值不仅体现在危机之中，危机消退后许久，它仍能发挥作用。韧性可通过多种途径创造竞争优势，比如：

· Differentiating service through greater reliability

· 以更高的可靠性实现服务的差异化；

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

· 把握转瞬即逝的时机，如有利的人才市场和收购行情；

· Gaining market share with new offerings fitting new circumstances

· 推出适应市场新形势的新产品，扩大市场份额。

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

误区4：培养韧性属于企业成本。

Reality： Resilience is a driver of value.

实际：韧性是价值驱动力。

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.

先人一步為培养韧性投资，未来收益会相当可观。为构建必需的经营存冗量、模块性、多样性和适应性，难免要牺牲短期效率。许多企业领导使用传统指标难以评估出韧性的长期价值，导致他们作出短视决策，而这些决策恰恰高估了短期效率的价值。

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

误区5：危机百年难得一遇，投资韧性并非刚需。

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

实际：国际形势日益动荡，企业需要以韧性应对。

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.

韧性使企业有能力做足准备，更好地应对未来的冲击，无论是疫情、地缘政治冲突、气候变化影响、网络安全威胁、行业相关的动荡，还是其他预料之外的挑战。

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.

国际形势日益动荡，外源性危机可能更加频繁，但危害和不利影响并非不可避免。无论处于稳定期还是动荡期，领导者都必须做好万全准备，真正引领企业安全度过。

Building a resilient organization

建设有韧性的企业

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

想要在企业中建立系统性韧性，领导者必须采取七项关键行动。

1. Adopt an expanded view of resilience.

1. 拓宽对韧性的认知。

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.

将韧性看作战略机遇，也当作经营层面的要事。对失效或低效业务职能的危害进行评估，对症下药解决问题，增强各个业务职能的韧性。

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

2. 認识到长期韧性和短时效率间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.

企业若在效率方面投入不足，竞争力可能会严重受损，而在培养韧性方面投入不足，则可能面临破产或长期处于竞争劣势。领导者只有直面这一矛盾，才能证明培养韧性是明智之举，并调节好投入力度。

3. Shift your mindset.

3. 转变思维方式。

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.

要将危机视为不可避免的动荡，要做好准备、从容应对并把握好竞争机会，而不是将其看作一次性偶发事件，临时加以防御。这一思维转变有助于企业在危机期间积极主动地作出前瞻性决策，如此一来，企业能够塑造危机后的市场格局，并在其中蓬勃发展。

4. Measure resilience.

4. 评估企业韧性。

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.

针对企业的灵活性和响应能力，引入商业指标，从而将着力点从短期业绩优化转移到挖掘长期增长潜力上。

5. Operationalize resilience.

5. 把韧性建设落到实处。

Build resilience across multiple timescales by applying seven key principles.

践行七大关键原则，在多个阶段培养韧性。

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

谨慎行事：开发早期预警系统以发现变局发生的苗头，利用应急规划和模拟竞争，从思想和行动两方面做好准备，以应对未来可能出现的问题。

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

适量存冗：设立额外缓冲（现金、库存）或额外的职能机构（供应商、制造厂），以保证适当的风险化解能力。

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.

风险分散：对关键业务要素（产品、商业模式、思维方式）进行差异化投资，以便及时应对意外之变，避免内部出现连带反应从而拖垮整个企业。

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.

各司其职：各模块（子公司、工厂、团队）之间联系松散，相对独立，就如同断路器，防止一毁俱毁。

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：在目标和行动层面，保证企业与其所处的更广泛的经济或社会体系协调一致。此举可加强企业与雇员、客户、政府及合作伙伴间的联系。危机来临时，各方联系都是可借之力。

Adaptiveness： Plan dynamically and reallocate capital as circumstances change.

灵活应变：动态规划，因势而变进行资本重新分配。

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

主动求变：不仅要适应变化，还要主动求变，积极重塑企业和营商环境，而非甘愿沦为变局的牺牲品。

6. Model leadership behaviors.

6. 打造企業领导行为规范。

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.

全方位培养韧性需要企业文化的转变。企业过度追求短时效率的弊病因商业教育、职场文化、回顾性衡量指标和错位的激励措施变得根深蒂固，难以拔除。企业领导必须大力主张培养韧性，将从近期危机中吸取的经验教训融入企业制度，推动企业文化转变。

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

7. 助力企业赖以生存的社会体系提升韧性。

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.

企业需要跳出传统边界，为更高层面的问题贡献力量。领导者应致力于降低企业所依存的制度和社会的波动性和脆弱性，强化社会结构。具体做法包括减轻两极分化、优化社会和企业价值、重构商业模式以实现可持续发展。

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

企业必须立即采取行动，实现韧性制度化，以免一场场危机带来的教训被淡忘，以致下一场危机来临时毫无准备。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者；单位：中国海洋大学）