Creating value in the enterprise ecosystem

COVID-19 changed the corporate environment in the blink of an eye, highlighting a vital, often misunderstood truth: that to generate, manage, and sustain company value, leaders must consider a much broader and more diversified collection of stakeholders than just shareholders. In fact, disruption and the scope of the value-generating ecosystem share a connection.

Managing a varied ecosystem of numerous components to create and maintain corporate value has been a challenge for many years. What the COVID-19 pandemic has changed is that it brought to light the fragility of ecosystem connections as well as the speed of change within them. It has also expedited and intensified the links between financial performance, resiliency, and culture. Moreover, it has also highlighted the dangers of disregarding any of these components of the value generation ecosystem.

COVID-19 has had a significant influence on several corporate areas. Other long-term upheavals, such as the accelerating pace of technical advancement, investment concerns, and consumer issues, have the same consequences. As these forces become more powerful, some will have a significant and rapid impact on enterprise value. Now is the chance for leaders to assess these different impacts and use disruption as an offensive weapon by rethinking their strategic planning, redefining their strategies, and updating their work process.

If a strategy is revolutionary or disruptive, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to predict its value creation potential before it is implemented. In reality, any attempt could stifle innovation and, as a result, affect its value. Executives should rather strive for a visionary valuation by defining the kind of value they want to generate. The firm should continuously measure the outcomes of the strategy and leverage the results to re-calibrate and replace the strategy, thereby reporting, listening, and responding to stakeholders in a feedback mechanism.

Strategic changes are only effective when a company reallocates the resources, expertise, and other resources required to implement them. Resistance is caused by a number of factors, including the individual interests of an organization’s executives. However, in today’s world of constant disruption and shifting value perceptions, it is critical to be ready to respond radically and swiftly in allocating resources where they’re most required, or the strategy will fail.

Although COVID-19 has accelerated change, allowing for more actions, it has also extended the spectrum of potential objectives that leaders must examine when determining where to align their efforts. As a result, being able to prioritize, identify, and act on the most important value generators in the value-creating ecosystem is more critical than ever.