How to train your business
Powerful teams, rigorous planning and the flexibility to navigate high-stakes situations are the bedrocks of success for elite sport – and for business. Here, Trevor Maynard, Director of Systemic Risk at the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies, explains how to nurture all three.
What does ‘resilience’ mean when we’re talking about businesses?
In short, resilience means thriving in an uncertain world. A business is resilient if it can successfully navigate the events that might arise in future. Many companies have a “business plan” which is often a single set of assumptions and goals – this can lead to a brittle infrastructure that is easily disturbed if future events take a different path. At the Centre for Risk Studies, we create illustrative futures which businesses can use to test their plans against.
How can companies turn challenges or hardships into opportunities?
The first step is to be aware of and accept the potential for challenges and hardships. Considering multiple futures can help with this. Once challenges are listed, the likely impacts can be considered and plans to cope with them developed. Scenarios and futures are tools to elicit the impacts. To be able to do more than survive a challenge and create opportunities, a business also needs the capacity to respond.
Are there examples where resilience has led to tangible success for a business?
As a personal perspective, we built a key model using open-source software that enabled us to be more resilient. By having full control over the model, we could add new features and respond to regulatory requests rapidly rather than having to wait in a long queue for suppliers to incorporate our requests. We were able to trial ideas and explore materiality and sensitivity quickly and easily.
How can companies stay adaptable when plans need to change quickly?
It helps to carry out scenario planning and futures analysis. Using these techniques, companies have already “lived through” the impacts as an exercise. They should also encourage employees to be inquisitive and aware of different techniques, methods and ideas. A culture of experimentation to test ideas should be developed. If they don’t work out, then the lessons should be learned, and those involved should not be tainted by failure but rewarded for trying.
How can businesspeople stay motivated when progress feels slow or obstacles insurmountable?
An experimental culture really helps here. Ideas can be paused without being seen as failures. New thoughts can be trialled which may break the deadlock. Strong internal networks will also pay off, as employees can discuss their ideas and receive support and encouragement. In too many organisations the culture is an internal war where different business units are fighting to secure budget. This destructive environment can only be avoided by a cohesive and collaborative senior leadership team.
What practical strategies can companies use to help their people manage stress and pressure?
Be aware of what you have asked teams to do and the extent of their existing workloads when you ask them to do something new. Consider what you can stop to make space for new things. Encourage a balance of work and life – do not reward long hours, instead reward efficiency. Have clear pathways for help and work with your human resources function who are usually very skilled at this when given a chance.
How important is having a good team to maintaining resilience?
A good team is vital. Diversity of views and backgrounds will lead to many more ideas when brainstorming. They will have many different contacts through their past experiences. Building a spirit of collaboration, not destructive competition, will encourage them to help one another in times of crisis. Time spent together in informal settings will encourage creativity and trust.
How can team morale be maintained through setbacks?
To improve morale, it’s important to make it clear to the team where their sphere of influence starts and stops. When external factors intervene, senior leaders (where possible) should highlight them and make it clear how they are working to tackle them. It’s important to point out such things are outside of the team’s control and not their fault. During such a period the team can focus on preparing to act when the roadblocks are cleared. Regular briefings are important. Acknowledging successes is also key.
What advice about company resilience would you give to a business leader?
Think about the financial consequences of not being resilient. Consider what could happen if an extreme but plausible event affects your business. The loss of a major supplier? A cyberattack? Think through how you would respond. How much can you mitigate through education and process, and what risks can be transferred? Do you have alternative options and how much would these cost? Can you delay some decisions and wait to find out more information? Are your staff well educated and inquisitive? Are they empowered to innovate or scared to fail? How have you and the organisation reacted to failure in the past?
Has your research changed your perspective on risk?
My research has focussed on exploring the impact of multiple futures on business outcomes and explored techniques and methods to mitigate the risks. I would say that the key learning is that things don’t always work out as you planned, so build in some contingency and think things through in advance.
Trevor Maynard
Director of Systemic Risk, Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies
© McGill and Partners | GB Snowsport 2025-2026
