Esker COO Says Dealing With the Unexpected Is the New Normal

Facing instability requires different capabilities compared to operating in a stable environment, Esker Worldwide COO Emmanuel Olivier writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “Beyond the Horizon: How to Identify Unexpected Threats That Could Impact Your Business.”

In recent years, economic and geopolitical instability has become a constant, showing no signs of abating. Our once well-oiled global systems now exhibit potential for failures with serious consequences. Coping with the unexpected has become the norm.

Facing instability requires different capabilities compared to optimizing performance in a stable environment. Flexibility, adaptability, agility and resilience have fundamentally replaced mere optimization. Risk management has become more crucial than ever, potentially outweighing the importance of short-term performance.

Disrupting our well-defined systems can bring new challenges and potential threats, however, it also presents opportunities for those companies that can better adapt to this new reality. Tailwinds do not just happen to businesses; they benefit those who create the conditions to harness them.

Businesses should focus on three basic points, now more than ever:

1. Understanding and enhancing the value provided to customers: The raison d’être of any business, in every industry, is to provide value to its customers. Focusing on the value provided and perceived is even more crucial in times when parameters and priorities are likely to change. Laggards or companies taking their positions for granted will be challenged or rendered irrelevant.
2. Operational excellence: This focuses on resilience, flexibility and agility. Instead of pretending to predict future events, which might be possible in a stable environment, businesses should focus on being prepared for anything. The best way to adapt is to rely on rock-solid fundamentals. This means super-efficient base processes that provide a solid foundation for future performance. Like any art form or sport, working on the basics repeatedly is critical at all levels and will make even the best-performing athlete better, regardless of future adversity.
3. Risk management: Preparing for the unknown means bringing risk assessment, management and prevention to the heart of every business model. Optimizing performance at the expense of higher risk cannot be pushed to the same limits in an unstable environment. Resilience always has value, especially in unstable times. However, this value is often overlooked or ignored because it cannot be anticipated and measured in traditional performance measurement systems. Businesses need to understand that no increased performance comes without higher risks. Finding the right balance given the conditions becomes a key critical exercise.

Technology can help. Artificial intelligence (AI) can optimize basic processes, strengthening core operational performance and allow organizations to react faster to changing conditions. In uncertain times, it is not the moment to delay investments that could decide your business’s future. However, technology is a means to an end. A tool does not create value by itself; it needs a brain behind it to work its magic. Use wisdom, creativity, and understanding to master new technologies and create competitive advantages that will make your business thrive.

Resist the temptation to overestimate the short-term impact of new technologies and the opposite temptation to ignore their potential long-term impact. We often overestimate what new technologies can do in one year and undervalue their impact over a decade.