McKinsey: What type of disruptive currents are expected for Europe, and how can European organizations build resilience against these?
Magnus Tyreman: We are definitely living through disruptive and turbulent times, and executives have to lead through this challenging period. We have a confluence of external forces resulting in an inflationary environment we haven’t seen for four decades, with energy prices spiking beyond recognition. We also have continued supply disruptions that started during the COVID period, and are being exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and other forces.
So this is very much a period of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty and volatility. The impact, unlike the COVID period, is spread more unevenly across industries. But when you look at it in aggregate, we need Europe to come together and take decisive action as a region, and we need European companies to build real resilience.
There’s a quote by Ayrton Senna, the former leading Formula 1 driver, who said, “You cannot overtake fifteen cars on a sunny day, but you can when it’s raining.” So while it’s maybe difficult to be an optimist in today’s environment, it is important to recognize that this is not a time to sit back and see how everything unfolds. It’s a time to really lean forward and take decisive action to build resilience.
And if we look back into history, we see that in every downturn, every crisis, and every disruptive period, companies that take this kind of action and build real resilience come out much stronger and better positioned for greater growth. And then they pull away from the rest of their industry. These are the kinds of companies Europe needs.