Michael D. Moberly, Principal, Founder kpstrat and ‘Business Intangible Asset Blog – Business Intangible Asset Strategies and Risk Mitigator

Business leaders, management teams, boards, and investors are (fiduciarily) obliged to avoid conceiving – characterizing ‘organizational resilience’ as merely a variation of (a.) conventional business contingency – continuity planning, and/or (b.) business insurance which can be purchased. Either-of-which are relevant – apply only if – when a subjectively probable – improbable adverse event, ‘act of nature’, or risk materializes. 

I characterize ‘business organizational resilience’ as being akin to…

• preparing a successive series of viable and proactive + executable steps, responses, and actions, in advance of risk – adverse event materialization.

Experientially, each leader, in their respective capacities will find it strategically prudent, to recognize their business’s valuation, revenue generation capability-capacity, competitiveness, operating culture, brand, reputation, products, services, and the sustainability of each, irrespective of sector or size, is…

• reliant – dependent on various forms, contexts, applications of intellectual, structural, and relationship capital that converge as a business’s operating culture.

Let’s agree about business risk; the vulnerability, probability, and criticality, i.e., potential long term adverse effects to a business, from willful – asymmetric materialization of particular-risks is not improving, e.g.,

• supply chain disruptions, Covid, fluctuations in domestic economic policies, and consumer practices, a sustainable work force across sectors, availability of computer processors, etc.,
  • which most businesses are variously – functionally – operationally reliant and dependent, in
  • ‘collaboration’ with business specific development, introduction, application of ‘mission essential’ intangible assets, i.e.,
• the right intellectual (knowledge, know how), capital, structural (process, procedure)capital, and relationship (association) capital, at
• the right time, in the right way, at the right cost, with same converging as a business’s operating culture.

Respectfully, business leaders are obliged to consider reframing – adjusting – converting their conventional (short term) business contingency – continuity plans to…

• longer term – indeterminate) organization-wide resilience strategies, ala blueprints-by-design, which serve as viable – doable paths for moving forward sustainably…
• apart from merely immediate reactive frustrations and (what if) defensive statements and actions,
• either-of-which effectively undermine – disrupt – devalue business operating culture, thereby leaving leadership with few, if any near term options, other than trying to muddle through.

Important components of ‘organizational resilience’ are for the players to remain collaboratively centered on sustaining – describing – duly considering good-better-best ways to sustain their business’ competitive position for successive stages (the duration) of the materialized risk(s) or adverse event(s). This can include further exploitation of particular – business things intangible which are already present – are embedded but may lie ‘under-the-radar-under-recognized or appreciated features of a business’s operating culture, ala,

• drivers – contributors – influencers of business valuation, revenue generation, competitiveness, brand, reputation, and the relevance + sustainability of each, irrespective of business sector or size.

Of course, to achieve good-better-best states of ‘organizational resilience’, obliges business leaders, management teams, boards, and investors alike, to recognize that, for the foreseeable future, the…

• materialization of risk – adverse events are seldom singular, stand alone, ‘one-off’ events or challenges which await business mitigation and recovery until another risk – adverse event threatens or materializes.

It’s prudent to recognize – consider a large percentage of business risks – adverse events are reasonably foreseeable – anticipatable – projectable.  

This post was inspired by the fine work of Gregg Goble, Howard Fields, and Richard Cocchiara of IBM’s Resilient Business and Infrastructures Solutions unit and the work of Dr. Marc Siegel, ASIS-International.

The ‘Business Intangible Asset Blog’ is experientially-researched, written, and produced by Michael D. Moberly, to provide perspectives, insights, and additional and sometimes alternative perspectives to readers, ala business leaders, management teams, boards, and investors, etc., to aid in identifying, distinguishing, assessing, valuing, safeguarding, and lucratively – competitively utilizing -applying their ‘mission essential’ intangible assets. 

Readers are-encouraged to review and comment on this, and other posts wherein arrays of issues related to business things intangible are authentically and practically conveyed.