A note from me

Hi Folks!

It’s been quite an unusual period. I have been doing down-to-earth activities like advising a university on a business education program, but my wife, Mary, has been flying high!

This was a bucket-list experience initially planned for her 70th birthday in June but postponed because of bad weather at the time. But last weekend was gorgeous and perfect for the re-scheduled parachute jump. Mary found the tandem jump exhilarating, beautiful and inspiring. I can see how much it has energised her and lifted her spirits.  

Despite this not being my type of thing, I’m considering offering to join her in a jump as a shared experience for a future milestone. She’s already talking of an 80^th birthday jump!

Speaking of remaining active as we age, last week we also went to see a concert featuring the brilliant band, Deep Purple. I last watched the band live around 1973! Three of the five members of that classic line-up were playing, two aged 79 now and one aged 76. And they were still great.  

Of course, not everybody is fortunate enough to have that longevity and, in my mid-60s, I’ve already lost a number of close friends to age-related illnesses. But some people are fortunately more physically resilient than others. My mother lives with us at 92 years old, while my father passed away many years ago.

I guess this links with our current Newsletter series on Resilience. I’ll also soon be preparing for the next Dodo Club webinar which will touch on this topic. This will be hosted on LinkedIn on Friday, November 15th at 12:00 UK time (13:00 CET).  In the last webinar, we had a fantastic contribution from an online guest – the marvellous Ariella Helfgott. Given that most folks are actually watching the recording of the webinar rather than joining live, we may in the future move to a different podcast format, but the 15^th will be a live session again.

I hope you find these materials enjoyable and that they help you build your resilience!

My Bi-Weekly Guide

Structural Resilience (and Art)

We have previously noted that ‘Resilience’ is a property of a complex system and comprises different layers that can be approached from different angles. By now, folks will be aware of my growing interest in the history of art so I’m, somewhat light-heartedly, throwing in references to the artistic angle in our Newsletters.  

Resilience isn’t the first characteristic that comes to mind in thinking about Vincent van Gogh. After all, he exhibited mental instability and died relatively young from a self-inflicted gunshot. In his lifetime, he sold just one single painting but after his death, his art and life story captured public imagination as an emblem of misunderstood genius. His reputation and the value of his paintings soared, and this has been the case for well over a century – resilient indeed!

A recurring symbol in his later paintings is the cypress tree. His reasoning for this may be connected with his deep interest in Japanese art where the cypress became a symbol of longevity. Cypress trees are evergreens and are often depicted as a variation of the ‘Tree of Life’ motif, which represents everlasting life. The cypress is also used in rituals with the dead but usually symbolizes the eternal life that comes after death. A cypress tree is prominent in the foreground of Van Gogh’s famous painting, “Starry Night”.

In a letter to a friend, Van Gogh writes that, “The cypresses still preoccupy me…because it astonishes me that no one has yet done them as I see them.” Many have tried to read meaning into van Gogh’s cypresses. The most recent thoughts by experts on his work are that he found comfort in their endurance, prevalence, and durability. Perhaps, indeed, in their resilience.   

The basic level of resilience is structural, as noted in the previous Newsletter. That is, the capacity to withstand a shock without quickly falling apart. Of course, in considering, or designing for, structural resilience, it remains important to assess what specific kinds of shock could be anticipated and/or what types of properties may be valuable in withstanding any kind of shock.  

I suggest it is useful to reflect on the following 5 features of structural resilience, some of which overlap: 

1. Strength & Flexibility: 

   We can consider the physical strength and flexibility of physical systems, just as we can consider the financial strength and flexibility of financial systems, and so on. Most of us will know the story of the three little piggies, one of whom built a house of straw, the next, a house of twigs, and the last, a house of bricks. Only the last construction survived the blowing power of the big, bad wolf! It had strength that others lacked though, perhaps, a well-designed house of twigs could have flexed with the wolf’s blowing and not just fallen apart. We know that the ability of a tree to bend with the wind is probably more important than the basic strength of its wood when it comes to surviving a hurricane. 
   

2. Redundancy & Buffers:
   Structurally resilient entities can sustain damage to individual elements of their structure without completely losing overall functional capacity. Redundancy means having back-up systems that can be engaged to replace lost elements. When I worked in a refinery, most critical pumps were paired so that if one failed then the other could immediately take over. Similarly, buffers can absorb shocks so that the underlying entity isn’t critically affected. Buffer storage in tanks or warehouses can be deployed whenever regular supplies are interrupted for any reason.
   

3. Modularity:
   If different elements of a multi-component system are designed as common modules that can be quickly switched in or out, then replacements can easily be sourced and installed in case of failure. 
   

4. Diversification:
   One of the primary sources of structural resilience for many business activities or companies is diversity in suppliers and customers. That way, if there is a failure in the business chain, then supply or demand can be adjusted to compensate. When the Fukushima disaster hit Japan, the ability of power suppliers to tap into global markets for LNG to fuel replacement electricity generation was critical to the country’s recovery. 
   

5. Trade-offs:
   Investing in structural resilience generally involves costs of some kind in order to generate the benefit. More expensive materials may be required for strength and flexibility, redundancy and buffers involve little-utilised financial capital, etc. There is generally a trade-off between resilience, efficiency and steady-state optimisation. Good scenario thinking can help you in making wise trade-offs when assessing and building resilience.

Question of The Fortnight

Every fortnight I’ll be asking a thought-provoking question in hopes of sparking interesting and enlightening discussion.

I’d love to hear your response! You can do so by simply responding to this email.

Today’s question is:

Once more, is resilience a characteristic of your personal life or your organisation that you think about and, if so, how do you approach enhancing it and the trade-offs this involves?

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