Rope-a-dope & sting like a bee.

To effectively deal with uncertainty, organizations need to have the two main characteristics of professional boxers: agility and the power of absorption.

Organizational agility is the ability to dentify and capitalize on opportunities faster than the competition, providing the firm with a competitive advantage.

Organizations with operational agility can identify opportunities to improve processes, which will generate cost reductions and quality improvements. Asset or portfolio agility allows firms to quickly reallocate resources such as cash and talent to more attractive units. Strategic agility is management's ability to seize gamechanging opportunities that can quickly create a great deal of
value.

Taking advantage of these opportunities may require entering a new market aggressively or taking a chance on a new technology that competitors have not yet embraced. Firms also need to absorb damage and wait for golden opportunities to come along; to do this, they need to have the adequate size, diversity, and cash reserves available.

One example of adapting to this environment is GE. They are breaking into a number of independent units that can make decisions quickly despite high levels of absorption.

So if you want to be a business champion, train like Ali: to take a punch and still sting like a bee.

Source: Harvard Business Review (02/09)
Vol. 87, No. 2, P. 78;