Jean-Fabrice Lebraty*
Professor
IAE Lyon school of management
Lyon 3 Univversity
*Business Science Institute faculty member
The global health crisis has highlighted a term that has become central to public debate: resilience. In these times of unprecedented upheaval, understanding and integrating resilience concepts is essential for managers and decision-makers. This column explores the different facets of resilience, its implications for organizations and individuals, and the opportunities and risks it presents.
Resilience: Reinsurance Framework and Stagnation Risk
The concept of resilience is not new. It has been used for over fifty years to describe the ability of a system, whether individual, organizational or social, to withstand shocks and return to a state of normal functioning. In the context of the health crisis, resilience offers a reassuring framework, a promise of stability and a return to a certain order.
However, this same resilience can sometimes be perceived in a negative light, particularly when the focus is on resistance to change. In management, this resistance can hinder the adaptation and innovation needed to seize the opportunities that emerge from crises. Indeed, every crisis, however devastating, has positive aspects and opportunities for transformation.
Models of Resilience: Individuals and Organizations
Models of resilience differ according to whether they apply to individuals or organizations. Individual resilience, often associated with the concept of coping, describes the strategies deployed by individuals to cope with difficulties. These strategies can be preventive, manifesting themselves before the shock occurs, or reactive, deployed during or after the crisis.
For organizations, resilience is based on structuring principles such as an obsession with studying past failures, a willingness to understand the complexity of situations rather than oversimplify them, and the ability to anticipate and react rapidly to disruptions. These principles, well studied by researchers such as Karl Weick, are essential if organizations are to not only survive, but thrive in times of crisis.
The Temporal Dimension of Resilience
Resilience cannot be fully understood without taking into account the temporal dimension. The question "How long does it take to become resilient?" is key. The health crisis, which some are even calling a disaster due to its unprecedented scale, has forced billions of people to confine themselves. This unprecedented situation calls for in-depth reflection on the duration and phases of resilience.
In management, the concept of disaster management is becoming increasingly relevant. It goes beyond simple crisis management to include long-term strategies for rebuilding and adapting systems to new realities.
Beyond Resilience: Other Key Concepts
While resilience is fundamental to understanding crisis management, it is important not to overlook other concepts that can enrich our thinking. Non-linearity, for example, underlines the fact that systems can react unpredictably to disturbances, rendering traditional linear models inadequate. Paradigm shift, another key notion, invites us to rethink the rules of the game and consider totally new approaches to contemporary challenges.
Another less talked-about but equally important concept is that of disappearance. Indeed, crisis can lead to the disappearance of certain organizations or even entire companies. This perspective, although often avoided as too pessimistic, deserves to be studied to better understand the dynamics of survival and transformation.
Resilience and disappearance: a creative dialectic
Disappearance, although dreaded, can also be seen in a positive light, particularly in the context of Schumpeter's creative destruction. The demise of certain organizations can pave the way for new structures better adapted to post-crisis realities. This vision is in line with Buddhist philosophy, where disappearance is never definitive, but a step towards rebirth in a new form.
Conclusion: Towards Proactive Resilience
For managers and decision-makers, integrating resilience into organizational strategy is essential. However, this resilience must be proactive and adaptive, capable of seizing the opportunities offered by crises and avoiding stagnation. Adopting a broad vision that includes non-linearity, paradigm shifts and even the possibility of extinction, enables more robust and innovative strategies to be developed.
Resilience should therefore be seen not just as a capacity to resist, but as an ability to evolve and transform crises into opportunities for growth and renewal. This holistic and dynamic approach to resilience is essential if we are to evolve successfully in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.