For hundreds of years, artisans in Japan have embodied the artwork of “kintsugi,” restoring damaged pottery by sealing the cracks with lacquer dusted in gold. Fairly than hiding breakage, this observe teaches that though cracks could also be inevitable, the very act of anticipating such flaws and changing these stressors into strengths can construct resilience.
At a time of fixed volatility — some anticipated, however different know-how disruptions coming at a second’s discover — this mindset reminds us to take a step again and assume greater. If disruption is a given, how can we create a construction and group that turns into extra resilient with every kind it takes?
For know-how and enterprise leaders responding to the breakneck tempo of superior AI, equivalent to generative AI, agentic AI and bodily AI, getting ready for a way forward for change is vital. But, in keeping with latest Accenture analysis, solely 36% of CIOs and CTOs really feel ready to answer change.
After we analyzed greater than 1,600 of the world’s largest companies inside their peer units throughout key know-how and enterprise dimensions, we discovered that absolute resilience is rebounding. But, very like fragile pottery, there are fractures. The hole between robust and weak organizations widened by 17 share factors, and fewer than than 15% of firms obtain long-term worthwhile development.
Too many leaders are clinging to outdated fashions, quite than constructing resilience into the core of their organizations in order that when cracks seem, they will adapt and reply rapidly and successfully.
What CIOs Can Study from Excessive Performers
Probably the most resilient firms are those who deal with disruption as an opportunity to distinguish themselves, not as one thing to endure. They obtain income development six share factors sooner, with revenue margins eight share factors increased than friends.
For CIOs, the takeaway is obvious: Resilience is not simply disaster administration. It have to be adaptive, future-facing and deeply built-in throughout the enterprise. Simply as kintsugi artisans view surprising cracks as a possibility to rebuild, CIOs should redefine resilience. This consists of balancing throughout 4 vital dimensions:
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Making know-how the inspiration of reinvention: An Accenture survey carried out in Could of three,000 C-suite executives discovered that 9 in 10 C-suite leaders plan to extend their AI investments this 12 months, with 67% viewing AI as a income driver. For CIOs, this implies guaranteeing that AI, knowledge, and cloud initiatives and tasks transcend pilots to scaling foundations for development. The excellent news is that, in keeping with Accenture’s Pulse of Change survey carried out in late 2024, 34% of the two,000 respondents already efficiently scaled not less than one industry-specific AI answer.
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Adapting the enterprise and industrial fashions as client habits shifts towards AI: Three-quarters of greater than 18,000 respondents to Accenture’s 2025 Client Pulse Analysis are already open to utilizing a trusted AI-powered shopper, and about 18% cite generative AI (GenAI) as their go-to for buy suggestions. The shift in demand, coupled with rising prices, is placing pricing fashions below stress.
Know-how leaders can create AI-powered analytics to assist their enterprise groups make sooner calls on what prices to soak up and what to go on, protecting margins intact. They will leverage this disruption in how shoppers make purchases by tapping into their belief in AI to create higher hyper-personalized choices.
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Investing in and rising their individuals: Firms that put money into each their know-how and their expertise are 4 instances extra more likely to maintain worthwhile development. But, Accenture’s Pulse of Change survey discovered that leaders with GenAI are prioritizing tech of their budgets 3 times greater than their individuals.
With 42% of staff working commonly with AI brokers, in keeping with the identical survey, equipping staff with the instruments and coaching to thrive alongside AI is vital to constructing a resilient expertise workforce. This enables firms to not simply take up disruption, but additionally develop stronger by means of it. A workforce that may adapt rapidly, keep engaged, and drive change from inside is important to long-term development.
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Reconfiguring operations for better autonomy: In response to Accenture analysis, an estimated 43% of whole working hours in provide chain roles within the U.S. could be reworked by GenAI. One more Accenture survey, this time of 1,000 C-suite executives in 2024, discovered that the provision chains of a median firm are nonetheless solely 21% autonomous. By delegating processes and choices to clever AI-powered techniques and enabling predictive modeling, tech leaders can assist their firms get well sooner from shocks.
From Patchwork System to Adaptable Basis
When pottery breaks, kintsugi artisans do not throw the items away; they rework adversity into resilience. Leaders of high-performing firms view change as a possibility to create stronger, extra versatile, and extra adaptable companies for the long run. In our analysis, 60% of firms within the high quartile of resilience maintain optimistic revenue returns throughout systemic shocks.
In immediately’s setting, resilience will not be reorientation; it is reinvention. Like pottery mended with gold, organizations that embrace it can emerge stronger, extra helpful, and constructed for long-term worthwhile development.
