Whether in business or in personal life, unexpected events can change everything. Recent history, marked by disruptive events such as the global pandemic, highlights the need for approaches that go beyond simple resistance.
Given this context, a crucial question arises: how can organizations not only survive, but also thrive amid chaos?
The answer may lie in the concept of antifragility, an innovative and powerful idea for facing and benefiting from uncertain and challenging situations.
In an exclusive online class for Saint Paul students, Victor Bacchi, professor at the School of Business, spoke about the concept, offering valuable insights into how antifragile organizations can emerge stronger from periods of turbulence.
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What is antifragility?
Antifragility is a revolutionary concept that transcends mere resistance or survival in adverse scenarios.
This term, coined by statistician Nassim Taleb, refers to the way we react to a change classified by the author as a black swan.
In other words, an unprecedented transformation, with catastrophic effects that no one could foresee, like the First World War, the invention of the personal computer, the September 11 attacks or the stock market crash of 1929.
In essence, unlike mere resilience or the ability to withstand shocks, being antifragile implies dynamic adaptability. Antifragile systems or organizations are designed and managed in such a way that they not only survive disruptions, but also grow stronger through them.
When pursuing antifragility, antifragile organizations focus on building a culture of innovation and adaptability. In doing so, they put themselves ahead of the competition, transforming potential threats into stepping stones to success.
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The difference between robustness and antifragility
Understanding this difference is critical for businesses looking to not just survive, but thrive in uncertain environments.
A fragile company, like a crystal glass, breaks in the face of the unexpected, as in the face of a "black swan", a term used to describe rare and unpredictable events with significant impacts.
Given this explanation, it is natural to think that the opposite of fragile is robustness - an organization with a solid structure, capable of withstanding changes without disintegrating. However, antifragility goes beyond this.
Understanding the difference between robustness and antifragility is essential to thriving
Robustness, in this context, suggests the ability to withstand shocks and pressures without fundamentally changing. In contrast, antifragility is characterized by positive adaptation and evolution in the face of challenges.
This difference can be illustrated through two allegories: the Phoenix and the Lernaean Hydra. The Phoenix, which rises from the ashes exactly as it was before, symbolizes robustness - the ability to recover without changing.