What is Resilient Growth?

Resilient growth is the social and environmental growth that makes the world a better place. It’s the kind of growth that helps out a neighbor in need; the kind of growth that provides healthy and affordable food; It’s the kind of growth that communities are built on.

It is nearly common knowledge now that infinite economic growth on a finite planet is a recipe for disaster. Growth in our economy has been appropriated by the mainstream to primarily reference metrics such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – originally, however, the meaning of growth wasn’t so disconnected and fragmented.

Before neoliberal economics there was the community economy. Growth in the community economy means learning new skills, getting involved in your local community, and adding value to your home. This kind of growth is resilient because it fundamentally gives us the capacity to be more adaptable.

Resilience is the ability to withstand or adjust easily to change. So when enterprises are designed to build the capacity of its workers then they are able to find creative solutions. Additionally when organizations are able to systematically distribute decision making to operate democratically, then they can ensure the best outcomes for everyone involved. For example, during the pandemic the Muskoka North Coop was able to relocate barista workers into their grocery store. They were not only able to retain all their staff by shuffling around their tasks but they actually ended up hiring some of their unemployed user members as well. Since grocery store sales spiked from everyone living at home during this time, they were also able to give a $2.00 per hour wage increase to all their staff which they plan on maintaining after the pandemic subsides.

Designing enterprises to be flexible and collaborative creates the opportunity for a new economic reality. One where we have the possibility to prioritize human needs over corporate greed. Resilient growth is enabling the transformative potential of organizations through worker ownership and community empowerment.