Entrepreneurs are no strangers to risk and disruption. Indeed, many thrive on change, which often opens whitespace and greenfield opportunities that fuel their blue-sky ambitions. However, the world today is more complex than before, characterized by traits that include nonlinearity, volatility and interconnectedness, which creates more challenges, imperatives and opportunities for companies.
In navigating an unpredictable world, leading entrepreneurs recognize the need to adopt a two-pronged approach: planning for disruptions to identify common threads and make no-regret moves, while simultaneously transforming their enterprises for agility.
Planning for disruption
At first glance, planning for disruption may seem counterintuitive. However, it is exactly the unpredictability in the pace, magnitude and nature of disruptions that companies must proactively prepare for. To that end, companies must evolve their approach to future visioning and planning to one that is iterative, adaptive and prepared for course correction.
First, future visioning needs to consider the increased complexity of the new operating environment. This includes scanning more widely beyond the confines of the business or legacy sector and incorporating the impact of interconnections between disparate forces.
For example, there is no knowing where or when the next war, geopolitical tension, trade dispute or tariff swing will arise. Beyond that, geopolitical tension is also creating contestation between business and technology, as nationalism leads countries to develop their own technological innovations. The interactions of these different disruptive forces at play have a broad and significant impact on business, affecting supply chains, market growth plans and profitability.
Second, entrepreneurs must prepare for multiple potential futures: Given the heightened complexity and uncertainty, it is no longer sufficient to develop a single vision of the future. For instance, the focus on supply chain resilience has shifted dramatically in recent years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses prioritized ultra-lean, just-in-time supply chains. However, the disruptions caused by the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and extreme weather have made investing in supply chain resilience imperatively relevant across multiple future scenarios.
This raises a fundamental challenge: How do entrepreneurs prepare for multiple futures simultaneously? The answer lies in anticipating both certain and uncertain changes and making strategic, no-regret moves.
Agility through reimagining the enterprise
While planning for disruptions allows businesses to chart a long-term course through uncertainty, entrepreneurs need to simultaneously transform and reimagine their enterprise for greater agility. This transformation encompasses the following key areas.
Business model innovation
In an increasingly interconnected business climate, new business models will succeed by harnessing the power of connections. One example is combining multiple emerging technologies, which can deliver breakthrough offerings that are more than the sum of the parts. Additionally, companies may consider adopting a portfolio approach and developing multiple business models simultaneously. This enables increased resilience amid greater volatility, which allows them to be prepared for multiple versions of the future. Importantly, business model innovation needs to be ongoing and continuous.
Rethinking operating models
Legacy business processes and functions may no longer be fit for purpose. In reviewing operating models, companies should recast them to be better aligned with artificial intelligence (AI).
AI, including generative AI and agentic AI, holds the key to unlocking transformation across the enterprise from back office to front office. Beyond adopting the technology for improvements in efficiency and productivity, companies should view AI as an enabler for new value creation while reducing cost and friction to serve customers.
Often, the cost of investment in the technology is seen as a barrier. Yet the biggest obstacle may well be the organizational mindset. Entrepreneurs will have to take the lead in fostering an AI-ready culture and talent pool as they seek to operate with a healthy appetite for AI innovation and ecosystem collaboration.
