Too often, we think of agility as the capability to adapt quick and successfully to changes in our circumstances, needs or goals. In a world of rapid and unpredictable change, that kind of agility is important.
RiskIQ’s experience of risk and decision making in complex environments tells us that although it is important, it is not enough. Even if we are proactively agile and hence adapt to change before we experience negative outcomes, there is another level of agility we can and should aspire to.
The most effective people and organisations are pre-emptive in their agility. They don’t just react quickly and well as the world changes, they also adapt in ways that set the agenda and create new opportunities. They innovate not just to deal with change, but to create change. It is pre-emptive agility that marks the difference between good organisations and those organisations that are great.
For most leaders, this may seem like a pipe-dream. We can be so caught up in surviving crises and dealing with the here and now, that the idea of pre-emptive agility is simply too much to contemplate. This is made even more so by the complexity, rapid pace and unpredictability of the world around us
Is that your experience? If it is, perhaps its time to consider taking small, doable steps to enhance your organisation’s agility from ad-hoc, to well-managed, to proactive and ultimately to pre-emptive. Where are you now?
Using its quick, simple, free survey RiskIQ can help you to not only see where you are but also to take practical, achievable steps to greatness. Contact us for more information and to access our preview Proactive Agility Survey.