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HOW TO
STRATEGIZE FOR
THE NEW YEAR
BY BCG
HOW TO
STRATEGIZE
FOR ROBUSTNESS
BY BCG
Today’s
business
environment
can be
deadly
32%+ of US companies
will likely die over the
next five years, if past
trends continue to hold.
#H
O
W
TO
BYBCG
need to ask themselves
two questions: how can
I win this game and how
can I extend my game?
Business Leaders
A Japanese automotive
manufacturer created group
cohesion and trust so that
even when one supplier
failed, others were able to
step up and fill the gap.
A Danish pharmaceutical
company entering the Chinese
market built relationships with
stakeholders and fostered
a medical community around
diabetes treatment.
Minimize
Uncertainty
Create
Feedback
Loops
Maintain
Diversity
Preserve
Redundancy
Structural
Sustain
Modularity
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
#HOWTOBYBCG
To achieve robustness and ensure
survival, leaders need to ask these
four key questions:
How robust is your company?
Use our online tool and find out:
Preserve
Redundancy
Canadian banks built
modularity into their
system by avoiding
high-risk instruments
(e.g. CDOs) and having
less global exposure.
Sustain
Modularity
An Indian multinational
IT service addressed the
inherent unpredictability
of its environment by
experimentation: placing
small bets and amplifying
successes.
Create
Feedback
Loops
A Japanese multinational
photography and imaging
company managed to grow
while its core business,
photography film, declined
by 90% with its closest
rival going bankrupt.
Maintain
Diversity
A French optical company
regularly scans the market for
potential disruptors and takes
precautionary actions to avoid
becoming disrupted.
Minimize
Uncertainty
Rapidly
Changing
InterconnectedDiverse
32%
& I N C R E A S I N G
Business
environments
are more
Managerial
Foster
Trust and
Reciprocity
Biology gives us insights
into structural and
managerial principles
for robustness
Companies are
putting principles
into action
ROBUSTNESS.BCGPERSPECTIVES.COM
Foster
Trust and
Reciprocity
How likely is my
company to die?
What is my
robustness
strategy?
What is my risk
environment?
How aligned
is my strategy
with my risk
environment?