The disruptions caused by the pandemic should cause all organizations to rethink how they deal with irregular operations and conditions. In a post on the MIT Sloan website, Beth Stackpole describes four ways to boost resilience. The post is at https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/4-ways-to-boost-enterprise-resilience-systems-thinking.
Based on insights from MIT Sloan professors John Carrier and Retsef Levi, this is how companies should apply system thinking to their risk management challenges.
- Assumptions are not infallible - they must be checked in real time to be sure they are still valid.
- Be aware of the "hidden factory" - workarounds not factored into models which increase costs - and don't repeat them.
- Design systems and supply chains for more robust and resilient response to disruptions.
- Deploy technology for simplicity not over-complication.
By anticipating irregularity, organizations will be better prepared when it happens.