We live in an era of uncertain uncertainty - what does this mean for managers?
Obsah
How can uncertainty be uncertain, you ask?
In the past, we were used to uncertainty stemming from the human resources market, financial markets, and issues with disgruntled employees and customers. That’s a gross oversimplification, of course, but you get the gist.
But today we are experiencing a different kind of uncertainty. It results from the fact that life has moved to a large extent into a virtual environment. Now it’s not about someone choosing to make trouble. Today, quite often you have no idea that you are the agent of the attack (this is what makes social engineering attacks so profitable for attackers). Hence the uncertain uncertainty.
In addition, the dependence on IT brought the necessity to find more and more specialized people. And as we all know, the market is not overflowing with people, so outsourcing comes next.
So we look at how we as managers adjust our view of resilience, strategic planning and adaptability and growth in light of these conditions.
Resilience 🛡️
A word that has been gaining traction lately – sometimes it is not even translated and remains even in Czech in the English version of resilience. Either way, resilience in businesses used to mean preparing measures to protect against natural disasters, theft or disgruntled employees.
But today, companies face two problems that are almost entirely out of their control.
- External systems
- Cyber attacks
Companies increasingly rely on systems that are provided by external entities. And it doesn’t matter if it’s IT infrastructure, applications or consulting. Dependence is on organizations that are not under the direct control of the given firm. This results in problems that the company must anticipate with a completely different perspective on the matter.
Added to this is the problem we have already touched upon – employees, even you, can be used as white horses for attackers. Although in the past the influences that threatened companies were relatively obvious and easily identifiable, this is no longer the case.
So how about resilience? The basis is a well-prepared risk analysis that is tailored to your company. It takes into account the systems in use and identifies critical points. But this analysis should also include a section of the chapter on cyberattacks, and the whole package should also include ongoing employee training. No one wants to become a villain’s puppet.
Strategic Planning 🎯
That’s one of the management 101 tasks, what’s the big deal? Well, from the original thinking about where we want to go, today it is more a question of which IT we need to move along.
There are only a few companies that have the privilege of having operations free from dependence on IT. Therefore, an integral part of strategic planning today is not only a look at activities, budget and human resources, but also technological resources.
So how to go about strategic planning? Get an in-depth analysis of your IT needs from a specialist’s point of view. It may happen that you are used to using specific infrastructure and specific systems, but your future needs require something completely different.
Adaptability and Growth 📈
Trends used to last a certain amount of time – in some industries they were seasons, in others they were years. But today, trends and opinions are more fleeting than the life of a mayfly – and that’s really short.
This principle is also reflected in the behavior of customers and users. Predicting their behavior is quite often impossible, because suddenly something viral appears somewhere and your calculations and assumptions at that moment mean nothing at all, just a piece of paper.
A lack of patience and focus on the receiving end can often hinder the adaptability and growth of a business.
So how to go about them? Data is important, it always has been, but today it needs to be approached differently. It’s not just about “stupid” writing in tables, working with data must be at the level of big data, predictive analysis and possibly also the appropriate use of AI tools.
IT architecture needs to be linked to this continuous evaluation, so that there is no incorrect coverage of needs. Continuity and optimization are the keys.
What's Next? 🔍
One of the main lessons is that you probably can’t be alone in the aforementioned aspects of how your business works. IT and cybersecurity specialists are already an integral part of every company’s equipment. So the first step is to consider whether you have the best partners for these activities.
