Surprise! Four Strategies for Coping with Disruptions

Kanter, R. M. (2010). Surprise! Four strategies for coping with disruptions. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2010/04/surprise-four-strategies-for-c.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29

This article is published on the Harvard Business Review Web site and discusses strategies that businesses need to consider in order to be able to deal with major business disruptions. This article comes on the heels of the recent volcanic eruption that have more or less shut down the commercial airline business in some areas of Europe. The author states that a company’s ability to cope with the unexpected is a leadership imperative and that the ability to recover quickly separates the winners from the losers. She lists four strategies that should be used to speed the response to and to minimize the impact of disruptions. Backup – “Leaders should know the benefit of alternatives…great innovators often pursue parallel development paths. Great companies stress efficiency but build in slack and cross-train their people…” Communication – Information must flow quickly and there should be a plan in place to make sure there are means of communication and procedures in this regard. Collaboration – Human relationships, commitment, and resiliency help companies recover quickly. Values and principles – Having clearly established standards and values can serve as a guideline to direct decisions without sluggish bureaucracy. This article is brief and is very limited in detail but it does bring up an important subject. Just over a year ago a huge ice storm hit Western Kentucky and surrounding areas and it caused a lot of chaos for many people and businesses because it was unexpected and most were unprepared. It is important for all businesses to be prepared for the unexpected as much as they can be and these strategies can certainly help.