The pandemic has exposed antifragility
The pandemic is a real testament to organizations for their survival. While many are succumbing to the economic impact caused by the COVID-19, there are a handful number of organizations that are making a substantial gain out of the adversity. For example, brands such as Zoom and Citrix have reported an increase in revenue and quarterly earnings as the world chooses to stay connected remotely. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead is on a path to make profit.
The word antifragility was coined by Nassim Taleb and in simple words, it means “things that gain from disorder” as described in his book, Antifragile. The companies that are antifragile now were perhaps not intentionally designed or built to be one, but they possess the right products and services at the right time. Other organizations such as Microsoft and Amazon are partially-antifragile with an increase in demand for remote connectivity, upscaling the cloud infrastructure and sales of essential commodities.
Having one or more products that are antifragile in times such as pandemic is proving to be beneficial. Even if ten fragile products take the hit, one or more antifragile products can compensate for the losses. However, the gain could be momentary as demands decline over time as the pandemic settles.
Antifragility is not limited to successful products and services that are need of the hour. Thinking ahead-in-time and having a strong contingency planning could help minimize the wrath of a collapsing economy. Wimbledon is perhaps a good example of having a strong contingency plan. For the last 17 years, Wimbledon paid $2 million dollars per year in pandemic insurance as part of the “force majeure” clause and will be receiving $141 million as a payout. Wimbledon might not gain from the payout but could certainly mitigate the losses, putting them in a strong position compared to other sporting events facing huge losses such as the Indian Premier League.
Brands should learn from the mistakes of others and the actions taken by them to prevent future consequences. Wimbledon learnt the lesson the hard way after the 2003 SARS-CoV epidemic. Other sporting and large annual events could start securing their future with good contingency plans.
Personally, the takeaway from the coronavirus pandemic is that having one or more antifragile products, services, planning and ideas could help emerge out stronger in adverse times. In individuals, having multiple skills and/or agility to learn and adapt to advancements could help being antifragile.
Further reading:
- Antifragility: https://fs.blog/2014/04/antifragile-a-definition/
- Force majeure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_majeure
