The Two Greatest Organizational Strengths

Sustainability and resilience are always valuable, but in times of great uncertainty our competencies in adaptation and renewal will be tested for sure. 

So what are we talking about when we say "sustainability?"  The root idea of sustainability is that both natural and human systems need to be generative and balanced in order to last.  That means all kinds of systems: economic, environmental, social, political, organizational, and personal. 

Whether good times or tough times, the question should always be: How can we design and build organizational systems in which people and organizations thrive in uncertain environments?   

The systems in which most organizations operation have become increasingly complex.   We can be impacted by events half a world away and therefore we cannot control everything.  We may be called upon to respond to adverse conditions of our own making or those of others inflicted on us.  

The word, resilience means to bounce back.  It comes from the Latin root resilir.  The verb resile is based on the same Latin root and means to abandon a course of action or an idea. Notice that the ability to be resilient is based on the ability to let go, change and adapt.  The ability to let go starts with the examination of our limiting assumptions.  It is the ability to adapt to adversity through regenerative processes that creates sustainability.  If organizations are expert in nothing else, they should learn how to be good at these two things: 

1. Resilience
2. Sustainability

What are your limiting assumptions and those of your organization?  What do you need to let go of in order to create the conditions for resilience and sustainability?