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Developing Resilience to Handle the Global Pandemic Crisis By Dr Victor SL Tan
ne of the greatest capacity of human beings is resilience: the ability to adapt and bounce back from adversity. What comprises resilience? A good way to understand resilience is to look at how palm trees survive the storms. Palm trees are so resilient that they bend with the wind and do not break. The palm trees can even withstand hurricane as its roots are widely and deeply spread. In fact, with fiercer winds, the roots will stretch and grow stronger. The palm trees have an inbuilt system of resilience to enable them to overcome the hardiest of weather and conditions. Likewise, we can build resilience in people to withstand a crisis and the toughest of environment. Companies can use the 5As framework of developing resilience in their teams.
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ANTICIPATE
In our consulting work during the Asian Financial Crisis, 19981999 as well as the Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009, we noted that companies which anticipated the possible impending recession or financial meltdown were better prepared for them. Anticipation is not about mere prediction or having a crystal ball to read into the future. It is about preparing for change and in case of an Malaysia Retailer Vol 8 No 4
unexpected turn of events. While no one can predict the future, one can undertake scenario planning. To enable companies better anticipate the possible changes that are coming, leaders can look at industry trends, competitor analysis, as well as PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Environment and Legal) analysis. They should take into consideration these inputs in
building a risk management system as well as have a solid contingency plan to fortify the company against any future crises.
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ADAPT
Many people who went back to work after the MCO realised that the workplace and business landscape had changed. Besides social distancing, sanitisation,
