Embracing preparedness to survive corporate warfare
Instability is no longer an exception; it has become the norm of our time. The strategic decalog of the new resilience invites us to shift from the classic adaptive approach to a “preparedness” mindset.
During the recent blackout that affected the entire Iberian Peninsula, many organizations realized the difference between owning a generator or not. Having it meant the difference between being able to work, communicate, continue producing and selling, or not.
In an unstable and constantly disrupted environment, it is no longer enough to adapt or improvise: only those who anticipate and prepare can act and overcome difficulties without major setbacks.
This is what Esade Professor Carles Torrecilla argued during the Esade Live Experience, an open-door event where partners, candidates, and alumni explored the new Esade campus in Madrid. In his session, Torrecilla posed a direct question to business leaders: Are their business models prepared for what is coming?
Business as usual is dead: from order to planned chaos
Climate crisis, trade wars, cyberattacks, natural disasters, armed conflicts… What used to be seen as isolated crises now shape the new operational context. As Torrecilla warns, “If you’re adapting, you’re already late; you have to be prepared, not just adaptable.”
In this scenario, efficiency and cost-based competitive advantages have given way to structural vulnerability. Today, a company might fail because it cannot fulfill supply contracts due to completely external factors. The only viable strategy is to integrate the unpredictable as part of organizational design.
Ten principles for resilient companies
To address this new reality, Carles Torrecilla proposes a decalogue that guides the redesign of organizations to anticipate, withstand, adapt quickly, and evolve.
Distributed production
It’s time to move away from centralized operations. Instead of focusing solely on cost efficiency, companies should embrace distributed production systems: autonomous, flexible, and able to adapt to unstable environments.
Direct customer relationship
Reducing intermediaries and establishing a direct relationship with the customer enables companies to tailor products and services to real needs. This way, companies stop competing solely with standardized products and start generating margins through new channels like customization or added services.
Political instability and polarization
The populist waves shaping current political shifts bring regulatory instability. Companies should avoid long-term strategies that depend on a single regulatory framework and be prepared for contradictory scenarios.
Access over ownership
New generations don’t want to own; they want to access. This requires rethinking everything from the business relationship model to accounting and financing systems. The future is about subscriptions.
Modularity and semi-finished products
Instead of securing stocks, companies should design “safe” products: modular, with interchangeable components or base versions that can be finalized depending on the destination or context. This allows adaptation to changing regulations, logistical disruptions, or new market demands.
Design for refurbishing
The product lifecycle no longer ends with its sale. It must be able to be dismantled, upgraded, and resold. This principle is already common in sectors such as automotive, furniture, or housing. We will move toward temporary use, and factors like carbon footprint, repairability index, or data deletion index will become mandatory regulatory or customer demands.
Unique unit identification
Say goodbye to simple labeling. Each unit of a product—and even some services—will need to be identified and traced individually. In an environment of multiple regulations and growing risks, individual traceability is necessary to ensure operational and legal resilience.
Total connectivity
The future-ready company is an intelligent, connected system where each part communicates, detects, and learns. It’s not just about having data, but about processing and interpreting it in real time to improve and iterate continuously.
Customization
Talking about “the customer” in generic terms is no longer useful. Companies must move toward deep knowledge of each customer, their motivations, interests, and patterns. This enables truly personalized products and experiences.
Intelligent scoring and loyalty
Companies will begin to decide which customers they want to serve, based on behavioral profiles and profitability. At the same time, loyalty based on contractual penalties will give way to more satisfying personalized experiences.
Applying this decalog doesn’t mean dismantling the entire organization at once. It’s about activating each principle in critical areas, testing with pilot projects, evaluating results, and scaling what works. The roadmap should be realistic, gradual, and impact-oriented.
Preparedness as a competitive advantage
This paradigm shift is already being implemented by some companies. Professor Torrecilla cites Tesla with its vertical integration, Zara with continent-based distributed manufacturing, and Apple with its service ecosystem. “In all these cases, these principles have saved them at some point from environmental disruptions that bankrupted a competitor,” he notes.
In tomorrow’s economy, competitive advantage will not lie solely in being better, but in having foreseen change and designed responses before it arrives. Uncertain environments lead investors to seek safe scenarios and customers to prefer brands that inspire trust. Preparedness is no longer a tactical option, but an essential skill.
As Torrecilla summed it up at the close of his talk: we must prepare, not to fight, but so that fighting is not necessary. Because “if you’re prepared, when war comes, war does not come for you.”