Page 10 - The Resilient Organization

Preface

A Note on Personal Resilience

The concepts of innovation and strategy have occupied me for a long time.
Upon the conception of this book, many of the ideas expressed in various
publications over the years came together in one overarching quest:
Strategic Resilience! It represents the crucial capability to turn threats into
opportunities before they become either, and it is a pursuit shared by strate-
gists and innovators alike. Once threats emerge, it is often too late to do
anything but desist and recover. And once explicit opportunities have taken
shape, it is typically too late to lead.
What I mean by strategic resilience is somewhat different from the defi-
nition used in the abundant literature on recovery after a crisis, surviving
trauma, or protecting against operational damage. The true art of strategic
resilience is to wake up before such a crisis is upon us. Change before you
have to (saving a great deal of money and pain). Turn threats into opportu-
nities before they have time to form. The great advantage of such foresight-
edness is that it allows us the joy of discovery, experimentation, and
innovation. Instead of saying, “Oh no, I have to do something before it is
too late,” we find ourselves saying, “Wow, that is cool. What next?”
I have spent the last 12 years in California’s Silicon Valley, observing
firsthand how such early opportunity creation takes place. This book builds
on that experience, coupled with perspectives gained while working in
Japan (early 1990s) and Switzerland (late 1980s). As a Finnish-Californian,
I have a balanced view of resilience. The Finns emphasize stable endurance,
in good times or bad—which is perhaps something that the Finns and the
Japanese have in common—while the Californians, in my perception, rather
revel in discovery and joy of life. Sure, these are archetypes and, as such,
very rough and partially faulty descriptions. Nevertheless, the Finnish word

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