We’re all chasing efficiency. It’s the golden rule of modern business: focus on the core mission, maximize profit, cut operational costs, increase complexity, and automate everything. The ideal is a perfectly optimized system that runs itself, a self-perpetuating moneymaking machine. It’s an alluring vision – fully utilized resources, zero downtime, no redundant inventory, just-in-time delivery. This is the clear path to success… isn’t it?

The Brittleness of the Perfect System

It is, but only as long as the conditions in which we operate are perfectly predictable. The moment the environment shifts, we have a problem. The precisely tuned system, designed for a world that no longer exists, begins to experience shocks. A single disruption in the supply chain, the loss of key employees, or an energy outage can cause a cascading failure. The efficient system cannot cope for the exact same reason it was so efficient: it has no reserves. No backup inventory, no redundant energy sources, no cross-trained personnel, no duplicated critical systems. In stable times, these things are seen as costs that don’t generate profit. In turbulent times (transitions / chaotic eras), their absence becomes a critical vulnerability that can realistically bring a business to its knees. And sorry to break it up to you – we have entered a chaotic era.

The Resilient Alternative

This is where we need a different kind of system. One that may not be maximally efficient, but that won’t be defeated by a few unexpected changes. A system that can absorb shocks and adapt. A resilient system.

• It has strategic reserves (of materials, energy, or capital).
• It has redundant circuits for critical functionalities.
• It is modular, composed of partially independent sections that can function on their own if central coordination fails, preventing total collapse.

A resilient system is designed for survival and sustainability in unpredictable, chaotic times.

The Strategic Verdict

Here’s the news: we are living in a transitional period. We need resilient systems. The blind maximization of short-term profit is a foolish and fragile strategy. When designing the systems of the future – be they businesses, software, or supply chains – our primary goal must shift. The new hierarchy of needs should be sustainability, self-sufficiency, and independence first, and only then, profit.

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Because only such systems (and the businesses built upon them) will survive the years to come.