Could this be the Resilience Cycle or just another bike?

A variety of planning and quality cycles are used to ensure plans, business processes and objectives remain on track. Probably the most well known are Boyds (observe, orientate, decide and act) OODA Loop [1] and the PDCA cycle (plan, do, check, act) / PDSA (plan, do, study act) [2]

In 2009, ‘Adaptive Campaigning 09 – Army’s Future Land Operating Concept was published introducing the Adaptation Cycle depicted below [3].

Source:  Adaptive Campaigning 09 – Army Future Land Operating Concept

The Adaptation Cycle may well be the practical process that can be applied to help an organisation be resilient (with some modification). Here are some of my thoughts.

Act

Organisations live with rapid change requiring immediate, decisive action. Such action is often subject to performance monitoring, risk monitoring and reporting. It usually relates to our established business plan. Flexibility of such action will depend on delegations and empowerment (or otherwise). Depending on the risk appetite of an organisation, such decisive action can promote a culture of change readiness allowing some focus to go towards non-routine risks or known unknowns and unknown unknowns. Discovery actions can be directed towards exploring new opportunities, innovation and continuous improvement. Discovery actions can be short term or long term and may be an outcome of adaptation.

Sense

Sensing requires persistent scanning, information collection and analysis to achieve understanding. This allows for agility and effective decision-making in the face of change. This knowledge becomes relevant when we apply it against what is important – our vision and objectives. Scanning of the near and far horizon allows us to tune in to the risk indicators and sentinels that are warning us that something may happen, is about to happen, or is happening. We can then look at other information, analyse that information and achieve a new level of risk intelligence. As such while sensing occurs continuously, it should become more focused – but not blinkered – in the lead up to, or in response to sudden shocks or turbulence.

Decide

So we understand (or are at least starting to) the risks and how the circumstances or event is/may impact upon objectives. We now need to use this risk intelligence to decide on a course of action or parallel courses of action to minimise the downside risk and capitalise on upside risk. The balance of the two will depend on risk appetite and tolerance. Likewise resources will often be constrained so hard decisions needs to be made. Risk intelligence may lead us to pursue the opportunity and accept some damage/losses. Alternatively, we may need to reduce or contain the damage before we have the space to move in an opportunistic direction. A parallel course of action will sometimes be available, desirable, practical and achievable.

Adapt

Adaptation requires us to execute our decisions within the constraints imposed on us both internally (by ourselves having tested our appetite for risk) and externally (legislation, regulation, stakeholders etc). It also requires us to be agile and test and adjust as we learn. Adaptation may take us in a direction we were not previously prepared for or had planned for. It requires leadership and an adaptive culture to achieve success. As we adapt, we need to go back through the cycle taking action, sensing, deciding and adapting again until we achieve success (however we have defined it) while remaining true to our values.

For many of us, the Adaptation Cycle (or a varient thereof) is something we do intuitively during emergencies, downturns and crisis situations. I think the adaptation cycle has great potential for those seeking to pursue resilience and a means to achieve success.

The adaptation cycle may well add value to the organisational resilience discussion and further concept development. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop 
[2] International Standards Organization, ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems – Requirements 
[3] Department of Defence 2009, Adaptive Campaigning 09 – Army’s Future Land Operating Concept, Australian Army, Canberra.