MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Invest In People to Best Manage Through Disruption

Employee development may be a complex, long-term priority, but it’s more effective than short-term responses to disruption.

Faster product development cycles and rapidly evolving technologies are accelerating business disruptions. Companies facing recurring transitions typically respond by cutting costs, exiting a geographic area, streamlining supply chains, or revamping their brand. But which of these strategies is the most effective response to disruption?

We surveyed 954 managers in North America and Europe to better understand the keys to surviving disruption and found that a majority of respondents felt they had successfully managed through upheavals. Surprisingly, most deemed the above strategies as less important to their success than investment in their work cultures to develop workforces capable of reacting nimbly to the blistering pace of disruption.