Is your business agile enough to survive today's landscape?

In a world defined by geopolitical shocks, rapid technological change and shifting market conditions, strategic agility has become a necessary skill for any organisation. While leaders increasingly recognise the need to pivot quickly, the challenge lies in adapting without losing clarity, coherence or long-term direction.

On the latest episode of Think Ahead, Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics and Dean at London Business School, explores this challenge with Jessica Spungin, Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at LBS, and Suzanne Heywood, Chief Operating Officer of Exor and Executive Chair of CNH Industrial and Iveco Group.

Drawing on both academic insight and extensive boardroom experience, Jessica and Suzanne share how organisations can embed agility while avoiding the chaos that often accompanies constant change.

Why agility matters in a fast-changing world

The environment facing global organisations has become more unpredictable than at any point in recent decades. Suzanne describes how geopolitical developments can reshape supply chains overnight, forcing companies to react quickly to new tariff regimes or sudden operational constraints. Alongside this, artificial intelligence is accelerating industry disruption, and climate-related pressures continue to reshape business models.

Despite this volatility, many organisations must still commit to multi-year strategies to guide investment and long-term growth. Suzanne explains that companies often operate with a three-year plan that outlines ambitions around innovation, operations and technology. Within that framework, however, leaders must be ready to adjust actions month by month. The ability to respond quickly without discarding long-term commitments is now a central leadership skill.

Jessica reinforces this point with a reminder that strategy has shifted from a static planning exercise to a dynamic, continuous process. Traditional strategy frameworks assumed relative stability. Today, she notes, plans and leaders must be flexible.

Designing strategy for resilience

A central theme in the discussion is the distinction between strategy and vision. Jessica argues that organisations often mistake a set of aspirational statements for a strategy. True strategy requires clear choices, trade-offs and resource allocation decisions. It must articulate where the organisation will play and how it will win, even if the actions required to get there must evolve.

Suzanne says agility doesn’t begin with structure. Changing reporting lines is visible and tempting but rarely transformative. The real drivers of responsiveness are processes, decision rights, incentives and culture – these are the elements that determine whether an organisation can act quickly when external conditions shift.

Jessica adds that the ability to adapt comes not only from systems but from people. Leaders need individuals who can handle complexity and ambiguity, especially in pivotal roles where different parts of the organisation intersect. These people help translate evolving circumstances without triggering confusion.

When organisational redesign becomes necessary

Both guests agree that major structural change should be a last resort. Suzanne notes that announcing a reorganisation often triggers anxiety across the organisation, leading to stalled performance and potential loss of top talent. However, when redesign becomes unavoidable, execution must be grounded in rigorous diagnosis, early communication and careful scenario testing.

Suzanne emphasises the value of examining multiple organisational models to test assumptions and avoid narrow thinking. Jessica stresses the importance of understanding the whole organisational system, including culture and incentives, before making structural decisions. A redesign conducted without this understanding risks addressing symptoms rather than underlying issues.

Agility with purpose

For Jessica and Suzanne, strategic agility is not about reacting to every shift in the market. It is about creating organisations that can evolve intelligently while maintaining a firm grasp on long-term goals. Success depends on clarity of direction, disciplined decision-making and, above all, the right people in pivotal roles.

As Sergei concludes, organisations that build this balance between adaptability and clarity will be best positioned to thrive in an increasingly complex world. Strategic agility is no longer optional, it’s now a defining capability for leaders navigating the next decade.