Companies like Digital Equipment Corp. and Ericsson were once considered leaders in their industries, and thus likely to stay on top. But they failed because they lacked the ability to think and act differently from their pre-conditioned ways. They either did not anticipate imminent technology changes or did not have the flexibility to respond to disruption. Others, like electronics and home appliances maker Haier of China, have retained the nimbleness of their startup days.

In order to manage and surmount uncertainties, companies need to become intelligence-driven, and that is achieved by understanding and acting upon five types of agility, notes Baba Prasad, CEO of the Vivékin Group, a management consulting firm in Durham, N.C., and in India. He discusses these concepts in his book Nimble: Make Yourself and Your Company Resilient in the Age of Constant Change .…