'Resilience' As A Critical Skill For Every Indian: Reflections On Sam Altman’s Message At IIT Delhi

When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed students at IIT Delhi on 23rd February 2026, his message went beyond artificial intelligence and the mechanics of technological disruption. He urged students to take risks and persist through setbacks, observing that many, particularly in high-achieving environments, tend to be overly cautious about failure. Reflecting on his own journey, he noted that his willingness to fail had enabled his success. When asked to identify one skill every student should build this year, he responded with a single word: RESILIENCE.

That response carries deeper significance because it shifts the focus from fearing disruption to preparing for it. If the future is not static, then the most valuable skill cannot be technical knowledge alone. It must also include the capacity to adapt, recover, relearn, and move forward with sound judgment under uncertainty. In one word, resilience. This is why resilience can no longer be dismissed as a soft add-on. It is an enduring capability, an immortal skill that remains relevant across technologies, industries, economic cycles, and career stages.

And if resilience is a core life and career skill, the next question is: can it be learned systematically and credentialed meaningfully? Yes. The most powerful way to build resilience is through Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) — because ERM teaches you how to identify uncertainty, assess impact, evaluate trade-offs, prepare responses, and make better decisions under changing conditions. The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is the world’s leading certifying body for ERM examinations across 140+ countries and only body to grant designations in ERM with Fellowship. The IRM India Affiliate offers structured pathways for students and professionals.

And IRM’s ecosystem offers more than just an exam pathway. It offers a community, a network, and a long-term professional platform. As part of that journey, members can access a rich ecosystem of resources and opportunities — from knowledge platforms and career alerts to modern centre spaces across India, curated masterclasses, and high-value networking forums on emerging themes such as AI, ESG, supply chain, geopolitics and more. It is a serious community for students, professionals, leaders and changemakers who want to build meaningful impact through risk-intelligent thinking. Whether you are a student starting your path or a senior leader shaping strategy, this is an invitation to join a larger movement of building a risk-intelligent India — and a more resilient world. Drop your enquiry here to check your eligibility, and the member relations team from IRM India Affiliate can connect with you. 

 Resilience as Strategic Capital: The New Core of Employability and Leadership

The global workforce conversation has moved decisively toward resilience as a core competence. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies resilience, flexibility, and agility as top workforce priorities — second only to analytical thinking — marking a structural redefinition of employability. Employers now assess not just whether individuals can perform defined tasks, but whether they can sustain effectiveness as those tasks, technologies and contexts evolve.

Resilience is no longer a peripheral trait or motivational concept; it is a strategic capability. It embodies the capacity to adapt under pressure, recover from disruption, and continue learning as skill demands shift. The WEF highlights that the modern workforce operates amid simultaneous forces — AI and automation, regulatory flux, geopolitical realignment, climate risk and changing social expectations. In such conditions, technical competence remains essential but is insufficient without the mental agility to navigate ambiguity and deploy skills dynamically. Disruption is now continuous, not episodic. Technologies evolve in real time, industries transform within a career span, and volatility is a constant. In this environment, the capacity to absorb shocks and recalibrate rapidly defines professional effectiveness.

Resilience, flexibility and agility enable talent mobility across roles and sectors, ensuring skills retain relevance over time. Enduring value increasingly derives from the ability to adapt and recombine expertise rather than possess static knowledge. Adaptability is thus converging with intelligence as a source of competitive advantage — making resilience a foundational attribute of employability, leadership and long-term professional performance.

Why resilience is an immortal skill

Some skills rise and fall with trends — tools change, platforms get replaced, coding languages evolve, and processes become automated — but resilience does not expire. It is the underlying capability that allows individuals to recover from failure, remain composed in ambiguity, learn from setbacks, navigate transitions, handle criticism, make decisions with incomplete information, and sustain performance without burning out. In essence, resilience is what keeps every other skill usable. Without it, even the most brilliant analyst may freeze under pressure, the most creative thinker may stop after rejection, the most capable manager may falter during transformation, and a technically strong graduate may struggle when reality does not match expectation. Resilience is not the opposite of ambition; it is what makes ambition durable and long-lasting.

Why students across disciplines need resilience now

Resilience is not reserved for risk professionals or entrepreneurs; it is essential for students across commerce, engineering, accounting, law, business, finance, technology, and interdisciplinary pathways. Commerce and accounting students must adapt to automation, evolving regulations, and technology-driven financial systems. Law students operate in high-pressure, cross-border environments shaped by data privacy, ESG, and governance complexities. Business and finance students make decisions in volatile markets influenced by macroeconomic shifts, regulatory changes, and digital disruption. In each of these streams, resilience enables students to handle uncertainty, compressed timelines, and shifting expectations without losing confidence or clarity.

Engineering and technology students face rapid innovation cycles, evolving tools, product pivots, and iterative failures that demand constant learning and adaptability. Meanwhile, students in interdisciplinary and liberal disciplines must collaborate across domains in an increasingly interconnected professional landscape. In all cases, resilience ensures that technical competence translates into sustained performance — helping students recover from setbacks, remain agile in change, and build careers that endure beyond any single trend or transformation.

Why working professionals in every sector need resilience

Resilience is equally critical for professionals already in the workforce — not only because job roles are evolving, but because the very nature of leadership, accountability, and execution is changing. In banking and financial services, professionals navigate regulatory scrutiny, cyber threats, fraud risks, and market volatility. In healthcare and pharmaceuticals, operational continuity, patient safety, compliance, and public trust demand steady judgment under pressure. Technology and IT services operate within rapid innovation cycles, AI disruption, security incidents, and demanding client expectations. Manufacturing leaders face supply chain shocks, automation transitions, cost pressures, and safety risks, all of which require calm, adaptive decision-making.

Similarly, retail and e-commerce professionals respond to demand volatility, logistics complexity, and shifting consumer sentiment, while energy and utilities leaders manage infrastructure reliability, climate risk, and regulatory transitions. Infrastructure and construction roles involve project uncertainty, stakeholder pressures, and execution risks. Telecom and digital infrastructure professionals must ensure network continuity amid cybersecurity threats and high capital intensity. Education and EdTech leaders adapt to changing learner expectations and digital transformation, and media and communications professionals operate in environments shaped by algorithm shifts, reputation sensitivity, and real-time scrutiny. Across sectors, resilience enables professionals to maintain performance, think clearly in uncertainty, and sustain leadership effectiveness in a world where disruption is no longer exceptional but routine.

Why jobs will keep changing — and why resilience will stay in demand

The future of work conversation is often framed too simplistically as “AI will replace jobs” versus “AI will create jobs,” but reality is far more nuanced. Jobs will evolve, tasks will shift, some roles will decline, new ones will emerge, and many existing roles will become hybrid. As a result, enduring demand in the labour market will not rest solely on domain expertise, but on individuals who can learn new systems quickly, work across functions, interpret ambiguity, make risk-based decisions, communicate under pressure, handle setbacks constructively, and remain effective during transitions — that is resilience in action. 

Change today is not episodic; it is structural, continuous, and embedded into the way the modern world operates. Industries evolve, technologies advance, regulations tighten, consumer behaviour shifts, and geopolitical realities reshape markets, often simultaneously. No sector is insulated, no role permanently stable, and no professional can assume that today’s certainty will remain intact tomorrow.

In such an environment, resilience is not tied to a specific designation; it is universally applicable and perpetually relevant. Because change is constant, the need to adapt, recalibrate, recover, and move forward with clarity will never disappear. As change accelerates, resilience becomes a demand multiplier — improving employability, strengthening leadership potential, supporting entrepreneurial readiness, and enhancing long-term career sustainability — making it not a passing trend, but an enduring professional and personal advantage.

A subtle but important link: resilience and mental strength

Resilience shares a subtle but powerful connection with mental strength and wellbeing — not as motivational rhetoric, but as a practical life skill. A resilient person is not someone who never struggles, but someone who can process setbacks, regulate responses, seek support when needed, reframe challenges, and keep moving forward with perspective. For students, this supports them through exams, comparisons, placement pressures, and uncertainty; for working professionals, it strengthens their ability to manage deadlines, organisational change, difficult stakeholders, career setbacks, and the emotional weight of responsibility. While resilience does not replace professional mental health support where required, it builds the psychological stamina, adaptability, and recovery habits that help individuals grow stronger over time.

Can one get certified in resilience or pursue a resilience certification or resilience course? 

Yes, you can meaningfully build and evidence resilience through IRM’s ERM examinations — where resilience is earned as an outcome of structured enterprise risk thinking, robust governance, a strong risk culture, and informed strategic decision-making embedded across the organisation.

1) Level 1 / FoRM (Fundamentals of Risk Management) — for students and working professionals across India

For students who want an early foundation in risk intelligence and resilience-oriented thinking, IRM’s Global Level 1 ERM Examination is an ideal starting point.

This pathway helps build foundational capabilities in:

• risk identification in 300+ areas
• risk assessment
• risk-based decision-making
• understanding enterprise-wide risk thinking

It is especially relevant for students across disciplines because it develops a transferable mindset that strengthens employability in any field. This pathway is positioned for broad student and early-career accessibility, with online exam four multiple times a year.

2) Level 2 / International Certificate in ERM (OFQUAL Level 5) — IRMCert designation — for students and working professionals across India

For students and working professionals seeking a more advanced and globally recognised ERM credential, this certification is a major step.

The International Certificate in ERM (OFQUAL Level 5) leads to the IRMCert designation. It is designed for those who want deeper, structured competence in enterprise risk frameworks, strategic risk thinking, ISO Standard and COSO frameworks and practical application across sectors. A major advantage for India-based candidates is accessibility through a wide examination network, flexible payment options, exam windows typically in June and November/December, and student support.

3) Qualified Risk Leader route (Level 4 / Certified Membership) — for Chief Risk Officers or Risk Leaders across India

For risk professionals already in leadership and decision-making roles, IRM offers a powerful pathway through Certified Membership (CMIRM) or the Senior Executive Route (SER). This is particularly relevant for experienced professionals who are already influencing risk decisions and enterprise outcomes. This route can support senior leaders seeking recognition as a qualified risk officer / certified Chief Risk Officer (CRO) / certified risk leader, with a pathway that is especially meaningful for those with significant relevant experience in strategic risk decision-making roles and active leadership responsibilities. It is also an important milestone for those aiming to progress toward Fellowship in ERM.

4) GPERM by SIBM Pune & IRM India Affiliate

For fresh graduates with 0–2 years of experience who are seeking a full-time, immersive pathway that integrates business fundamentals with strategy, risk, leadership, and resilience, the GPERM programme offers a distinctive alternative to a conventional MBA or generic postgraduate degree. The GPERM (Global Programme in Enterprise Risk Management), offered by SIBM Pune in collaboration with the IRM India Affiliate, is designed as a rigorous residential programme that blends core management education with structured risk management capability-building. Rather than treating risk as a specialised add-on to be learned later in one’s career, the programme embeds risk-intelligent thinking at the foundation of leadership development. This makes it especially relevant for graduates who want to build future-ready capability from the outset — equipping themselves not only to drive growth, but to drive resilient, sustainable, and strategically sound growth in an environment defined by volatility and complexity. GPERM graduates can pursue careers across enterprise risk management, consulting, banking and financial services, internal audit, compliance, ESG, technology risk, corporate strategy, disaster management and business leadership roles. The programme equips them not just for specialist risk positions, but for future leadership tracks or even public sector Government roles where resilient, risk-intelligent decision-making is a competitive advantage.

How academia, organisations and government can add resilience to their agenda

Resilience should not be left to individual motivation alone. It must be embedded into systems — education systems, organisational systems, and public systems.

A) Academia: build resilience as a cross-disciplinary employability and leadership outcome

Universities must move beyond conducting isolated workshops on resilience and instead embed it into their culture, governance frameworks, and academic architecture. Resilience should not be treated as an extracurricular theme; it should become an institutional capability woven into curriculum design, leadership development, research priorities, and student outcomes. Several private and public Universities in India have started aligning with IRM’s globally benchmarked ERM standards, enabling students across disciplines to access structured, internationally recognised risk-intelligence and resilience education. Through the Certificate of International Affiliation offered by the IRM India Affiliate — aligned with the broader agenda of globalisation and internationalisation under the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) — institutions are elevating their academic positioning while equipping students with globally relevant skills and creating avenues for faculty scholarships, research collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Importantly, this is not confined to management schools. It holds equal strategic value for commerce, engineering, law, technology, public policy, and interdisciplinary institutions seeking to prepare graduates who are not only employable, but future-ready and resilient in a rapidly evolving world. 

B) Organisations: move from reactive firefighting to a culture of resilience

Organisations often talk about resilience after a disruption. The more strategic approach is to build it before disruption. Through IRM’s exams and bespoke/customised training programmes, organisations can strengthen capability in areas such as risk culture, supply chain risk, scenario planning, climate change and ESG, artificial intelligence risk, risk appetite, risk reporting and decision-making under uncertainty. When resilience is built into managers, process owners, and leadership teams, organisations improve not only controls — but execution quality, adaptability, and long-term performance.

C) Government and public institutions: scale resilience as a governance capability

For government bodies and public institutions, resilience is directly linked to service continuity, policy execution, infrastructure reliability, citizen trust, and crisis preparedness. Training public-sector leaders and teams in risk intelligence and resilience-oriented ERM frameworks through IRM’s global programmes, exams and trainings can improve preparedness across sectors — from urban governance and healthcare to infrastructure, education, and public finance. 

D) Use diagnostics, not assumptions: RMAT® for annual risk culture assessment

Intentions are not enough. Institutions and organisations need diagnostics. IRM India Affiliate’s proprietary RMAT® tool can be leveraged to conduct annual risk culture diagnostics, benchmark maturity, and generate a detailed analysis through a report. This helps leadership teams move from generic “awareness” to measurable capability-building. In an era of compounding uncertainty, annual risk culture diagnostics are not a luxury. They are a strategic governance tool.

The real takeaway

Resilience is not just about surviving difficult times. It is about becoming more capable because of them.

It is a skill for students entering an uncertain job market.
It is a skill for professionals navigating change.
It is a skill for leaders responsible for people and institutions.
It is a skill for nations building future readiness.

And unlike many trend-driven skills, resilience does not become obsolete. It compounds with experience. It strengthens every other capability. It helps individuals, teams, and institutions endure, adapt, and lead.