When we think of fragility, we think of things that can easily be broken. Things that when exposed to stressors or volatility, fall apart. 

A teacup is fragile. If you drop it, it will break. But if it’s glued together, it becomes stronger. A plastic cup, on the other hand, will survive a fall, but it won’t come back stronger.

'Antifragility' - a term coined by essayist and statistical mathematician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is the ability to experience chaos and disruption, weather the storm, and come out much more able to innovate as a result. 

Strength through chaos

Marketing leaders have a tough job - they have to predict the future and make decisions accordingly. These predictions are more often than not based on assumptions of regularity, safety, risk aversion, and minimal disruption. However, being tied to this safe approach doesn’t do us any favours, because it hinders our ability to innovate. It prevents us from growing and developing. And it makes us more susceptible to wide-scale damage when a disruption does occur.

What...