Powering connectivity: Accelerating transformation in volatile times

The word disruption is so often used in business today that it’s pretty much become clichéd. Yet there’s no denying that companies are facing more frequent and destabilizing forces than ever before; everything from COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and geo-economic fragmentation. These disruptive upheavals have sparked major challenges for businesses everywhere. They’ve not only forced companies to transform — but to transform with increasing speed, agility and purpose.

Not surprisingly, this imperative was a big topic of conversation recently at MWC Barcelona – the largest and most influential connectivity industry gathering. There, I hosted a panel with leaders from the telecommunications and energy industries—two sectors hit hard by disruption. These leaders are not only navigating but also thriving through crises. Here are a few lessons that stand out for me.?

1. Seek out partners

Albert Einstein famously said we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. We learned from the pandemic and the current energy crisis that there is no easy answer or existing playbook. That said, the companies that I see best coming through crises like these embrace collaborative ecosystems. This is something that I’ve personally been focusing on to bring not only rapid access to tech and skills, but to build in resilience. EY research shows that on average, businesses with at least one ecosystem attribute 13.7% of total annual revenues to collaboration and a 12.9% reduction in cost – we expect that to increase.

We are clearly not the only organization looking at new partners. When tensions between Russia and Ukraine boiled over, gas prices in Europe skyrocketed to eight times their 10-year average, shocking everyone from consumers to businesses. Energy-intensive sectors like telecom were particularly hit [i] . Allison Kirkby, CEO of Telia, said that when energy costs went up, she and her team looked beyond Telia’s four walls. They worked with their existing partners to curb power usage and importantly sought out a new collaboration with a startup to modernize infrastructure with smart batteries. Meanwhile, Margherita Della Valle, the Group Chief Executive and CFO of Vodafone, shared that Vodafone pooled the company’s energy needs with competing telcos with the clear ambition of scaling larger renewable projects together. Unusually, they collaborated with the competition to attain broader benefits for everyone. ?

2.?Accelerate innovation with an eye toward resilience

If necessity is the mother of invention, then crisis is the mother of acceleration. To put a finer point on it, businesses are always innovating. But a crisis can spur companies to fast-track mission-critical projects and shore up urgent vulnerabilities.

Given the multiple crises or even “polycrisis” in recent years, I’m witnessing businesses rethinking priorities more dynamically and emerging stronger. This is certainly the case for some telco companies. When the energy crisis hit, for instance, Della Valle and her team increased their investments in energy-saving measures and sped up projects aimed at improving the resilience of their network.

Likewise, Telia, is testing out a program to return the energy it conserves to the grid. When you’re undergoing a major transformation, you’ll make small discoveries along the way. The leaders that are building resilience seize these learnings and scale them. After all, the goal of innovation isn’t just to overcome a crisis, it’s to get ahead of the next one.

3. Your best business strategy is one that is sustainable too – today and every day

We all see the pushback on ESG. But the reality is that no company can remain competitive without embracing sustainability. What’s even more challenging is today stakeholders and the public expect that you will meet your commitments despite any crises and headwinds that hit the bottom line.

Anna Borg, CEO of Vattenfall – one of Europe’s largest energy companies – can certainly attest to this. Borg shared Vattenfall’s goal is to reach fossil-fuel-free living within a generation, highlighting that “This is not our sustainability strategy. It’s our business strategy.”?

The recent energy crisis has certainly not paved a smooth path for Vattenfall. The severing of the gas supply to Europe from Russia not only had a massive impact on energy prices and volatility, but it put even more demand on the move to other energy sources – like electricity. Challenges like these force businesses to seek short-term efficiencies, accelerate transformation plans and tap changes that had already started. In Vattenfall’s case, Borg accelerated plans and found innovative new partners.

It’s great to see so many companies continuing to make sustainability targets part of their business strategies and improving efforts to be more precise and transparent about planning, metrics and accountability. With the ongoing level of disruption and crises, collaboration and accelerated transformation are vital to achieving sustainable business ambitions. This is where we will see real innovation. Companies also need to look at sustainability more holistically – across supply chains, ecosystems and even customers. Sustainability is a market mandate and requires a collaborative approach.

Embracing transformation

If the last few years are anything to go by, it’s clear that disruption will remain a force for the foreseeable future. But rather than merely trying to weather individual events, business leaders need to embrace continuous transformation. My conversations at MWC Barcelona drove home the need to accelerate innovation, see what’s working and scale that fast. We’ve long known that partner ecosystems are vital, but new challenges require asking yourself if you have the right partners. And finally, no matter what crisis you’re facing, you won’t remain competitive unless your business strategy is one that is sustainable too. But with these lessons, we can build a better, more resilient, sustainable working world faster for everyone.

[1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/what-is-the-cost-of-europe-s-energy-crisis/