Another Day, Another Unexpected Crisis: How Getting on the Path to Agility Helps Companies Recover from the Unexpected

Several brands have faced unexpected crises recently such as the racial profiling or fat shaming of customers to a CEO’s questionable relationship with a known sex offender. In our Agility research study conducted last year by APCO among executives across the Fortune 1000, a majority told us that they felt their company was at least somewhat prepared for the unpredictable—such as a negative event captured on social media (71 %), the rise of unexpected competitors (73%) or unexpected geo-political/social issues (70%). But, by digging in further and talking to respondents, we learned that it’s never enough to be somewhat prepared; in this day and age companies need to be very prepared. As one respondent put it “you can prepare for and be better prepared than the next guy but you just never know what's going to come out of left field. We got through it, but it was painful in the process and it’s the last thing that we ever thought we would face.”

While companies can never be truly prepared for every single type of crisis, APCO’s research found a predictive relationship between our Agility Model and successfully overcoming a crisis. Of those in our survey who experienced a crisis in the past year, a significantly larger proportion of executives with high Agility Indicator scores said their companies handled and recovered from the crisis very well, compared to those with a low score.

What is the secret formula for these companies? These companies have unlocked the power of curiosity and are reaping the benefits of having an Active Leadership that monitors the world around them and isn’t afraid to act on this information, an Enterprising Culture that takes risks and is open to change, and a commitment to Shared Advocacy and championing causes aligned to their values. Our data shows that companies that lean into this mindset of curiosity are better able to withstand a crisis, recruit new talent, retain their best employees, and outperform competitors.