Davos, Jan 21 (IANS) As global volatility and compounding risks intensify, organisations must continuously adapt to complex macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics, World Economic Forum (WEF) president and CEO, Borge Brende, said on Tuesday.
The 55th WEF Annual Meeting kicked off with the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”, at Davos in the Swiss Alps.
Mentioning ‘The Resilience Pulse Check: Harnessing Collaboration’ report by the WEF and McKinsey & Company, Brende said that resilience is the key to thriving in today’s volatile world.
“The report highlights the need for collaboration and proactive strategies in areas like sustainable investment, workforce preparedness, and macroeconomic stability,” he noted.
According to the white paper, as volatility and compounding risks rise, leaders are learning first-hand that the ability to navigate and adapt continuously to complex macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics is crucial for shaping resilient strategies.
To build resilient strategies, organisations are channelling greater investments into proactive future preparedness (or ‘offence moves’).
As companies concentrate on addressing immediate risks, long-term resilience often takes a back seat, revealing a critical gap in sustained preparedness.
“This gap presents an opportunity for the public sector and international organisations to step in and support efforts to build enduring resilience,” it noted.
Collaborative initiatives can tackle key challenges, focusing on themes such as access to capital, macroeconomic stability, sustainable investments and workforce preparedness.
“A resilient approach relies on both defensive and offensive strategies. Yet, our findings reveal a predominant focus on short-term actions, reflecting a tendency towards defensive measures over proactive ones,” said Bob Sternfels, Global Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company.
According to Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), amid rising volatility and compounding risks, organisations face higher-stakes decisions, necessitating a strategic, integrated approach to resilience.
“As we learned over the past few years, we operate in a world in which we must expect the unexpected,” Georgieva added.
On the geopolitical front, escalating trade tensions between the US and China have forced organisations to rethink and diversify their supply chains to mitigate exposure to global uncertainties.
–IANS
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