touchstones of adaptability

Adaptability, the capacity to adjust oneself or one’s organization based on new conditions, is an increasingly important quality in our competitive global workplace. Adaptability as an employee has always been valued and those that are forward-looking and thinking are respected team members, rewarded for their performance. Businesses that are able to take on this personality and operational trait are now also being rewarded – by increased short term and long term profitability. Of course, it is much more difficult to create and cultivate an organizational trait or skill than it is to recognize and reward it in an individual. Adaptability in an organization is characterized by a constellation of talents four are critical to success.

First, adaptable businesses have sensitive, well directed and effective antennae. The ability to sense, interpret and act on signals must be recognized, cultivated and placed selectively. Just as opportunities for individual advancement don’t fall into our laps, business opportunities due to changing business circumstances must be relentlessly pursued. This means having the right people – including the companies top performers – in the right places at the right times to gather the intelligence and look past it to where we need to be. Second, adaptable organizations possess the ability [along with related processes] to prune organizational deadwood. By continually abandoning and cutting out old unsuccessful processes and practices, businesses leave room and flexibility for new ideas. Thus, when the business antennae detect a need for new uncharted courses, the resources are there to be deployed, unencumbered by the past. Third, a culture of innovation that allows for robust yet swift change administration is necessary for adaptability. In a culture of innovation – failure is certain to happen: the winners do it often, fast and cheap. This means letting go of unwieldy change management systems that do not adequately address risk mitigation yet make change difficult and tedious. Fourth, follow through or execution is needed for any desirable business trait to become an effective piece of the organization’s skill set. This is no different for adaptability, however speed of execution may become even more consequential. Adaptability is not just the ability to be flexible – it is the ability to change direction based on new conditions – to put rapid learnings into virtually immediate practice. Adaptive businesses have fluid strategic processes that are light and more frequent, perhaps even continual. Adaptable businesses are able to reset their sails based on the newest wind shifts and like an exceptional navigator, chart the correct course with purpose. In Jeff Bezos’ words, in his latest letter to shareholders, we must ‘maintain unblinking customer focus to unearth the opportunities that customers crave but can’t yet articulate, while ensuring the company is entrepreneurial enough to act on these opportunities at speed’.