A resolution to build resilience

Davos—the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting—is in full swing through January 19. All this week, our daily charts will focus on some of the key themes of the event, including resilience, sustainability, reimagining globalization, generative AI, and inclusive, equitable growth. For more, see “McKinsey and the World Economic Forum 2024.”

Business shocks requiring quick responses have become the new norm for leaders. Yet building an organization’s resilience is often a challenge, note senior partner Dana Maor and colleagues. Top barriers for companies include limited funds, unclear priorities, and isolated initiatives. Leaders can look to strengthen their companies’ resilience by focusing on speed of response, empowering self-sufficient teams, and developing a culture of continuous learning.

Obstacles to strengthening resilience range from a lack of resources to dramatic differences between hierarchy levels and functions.

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Five square grid charts are arranged in a row, each containing 100 squares. The colored squares within each chart represent the share of respondents who selected an obstacle as a challenge to strengthening resilience within organizations. The top obstacles are available funding limitations at 43%; unclear priorities and direction, isolated initiatives, and limited organizational buy-in, all at 33%; and dramatic differences between hierarchy levels and functions at 27%.

Source: McKinsey State of Organizations Survey, >2,500 leaders in organizations with ≥1,000 employees across industries in Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, UK, and US, May–June 2022.

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To read the report, see “The State of Organizations 2023: Ten shifts transforming organizations,” April 26, 2023.