Building Resilient Futures

Whether a community struggling to keep its members buoyant, a business trying to stay solvent, or a nation fighting to protect its citizens, adversity and crisis impact us all. The resilient are able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and not only bounce back but also bounce forward.

This book looks at what resilience means at times of crises as well as the in-between periods. It examines the various types of resilience, such as emotional, organisational and societal, and offers valuable insights on how to manage the consequences of upheaval and trauma.

The author brings together contributors to deliver a real mix of theory, case-study evidence and anecdote in a way that is both approachable and thought provoking. It is a timely and necessary addition to a crucial topic. Very simply, professionals, practitioners, students, government ministers, and business leaders should read this now. It might be a safer, better world if people read the book and acted on it.

Robert Hall is a consultant, speaker and author. He specialises in the subject of resilience and risk.
After serving as an officer in the British Army for 17 years, he left to work in business as a risk and security specialist in large multi-national corporates such as Barclays, Marsh and G4S. His last appointment was as Executive Director (and co-founder) of Resilience First Ltd.
His first book, based on his work in the UK’s Ministry of Defence and a Defence Fellowship, was Soviet Military Art in a Time of Change: Command and Control of the Future Battlefield (Brassey’s, 1991, ISBN 0080413218).

Since leaving the corporate world, he has authored five books: Building Resilient Futures (Austin Macauley, 2023, ISBN 9781035812622), The Triptych (Austin Macauley, 2024, ISBN: 9781035830169), Frozen in Time (Amazon, 2025, ISBN: 9798281985635), The Resilience Mindset: A Philosophical Journey (Austin Macauley, 2025, INature's Resilience (Austin Macauley, 2025, ISBN: )

This is the second book in a series on resilience. A third book, Nature's Resilience, is due out shortly.

He has also written two novels with resilience themes, The Triptych (a semi-biographical, historical novel) and Frozen in Time (a crime mystery set in Greenland). Both books are currently available.

Robert lives in Essex. He is married, with a daughter living in London.

Customer Reviews

5.0

10 reviews

Thomas Aitken MBE

If you are involved in any way with resilience, risk, or otherwise, this is a must-read. As a contributor to our Corporate Resilience Program, this work has had a significant influence on my thinking and contribution to that program.’
Dr Liz Royle

Resilience seems to be becoming the latest buzz word for organisations. “Experts” are emerging with a good sales talk and sticking plaster solutions, yet few people actually understand the complexity and diversity of this subject.
Too often, it results in a “lip-service” approach that lays the responsibility for being resilient solely with the individual who is deemed “not strong enough” to emerge unscathed from a crisis.
Crises come in many shapes and sizes – affecting a nation, community, organisation, family and individuals. The response needs to be multi-faceted and holistic.
In this thought-provoking book, Robert Hall combines perspectives on personal, emotional, organisational, urban, community and national resilience. This broad coverage certainly doesn’t mean the content is superficial though. The book itself is clearly laid out with key lessons in each chapter. It comprises of case studies, historical lessons, anecdotes and theoretical models to produce a well-researched and fascinating resource. Importantly, it includes information on benchmarking and standards – crucial if we are going to give the subject the seriousness it merits.
Robert Hall is clearly passionate in the message underpinning the varied chapters – as the world faces more upheaval and uncertainty, we need to respond proactively with a shared responsibility for building better communities and a safer world.
Robert Hall has taken a complex, diverse topic and drawn on his own hugely impressive experience to create essential reading.