Turning chaos into opportunity: Insights from the Haskayne Business Exchange

The Haskayne Business Exchange (HBE) recently brought together University of Calgary researchers and city business leaders to explore how academic insights can help organizations navigate a world of constant disruption.  

Held on Nov. 4 at the GRAND, the fourth event in the biannual series focused on the theme "Permacrisis Playbook: How Leaders Turn Chaos into Innovation." 

Dr. Gina Grandy, PhD, dean of the Haskayne School of Business, opened the evening, followed by remarks from moderator Karen Radford, a seasoned board director and former C-suite executive.  

Radford framed the evening’s theme by emphasizing the need for strategic thinking and entrepreneurial leadership in times of crisis. 

Engineering strategy: the core of building a business 

In her talk, "The DNA of Advantage: Engineering Strategy for a World in Flux," Dr. Olga Petricevic, PhD, a Haskayne associate professor, challenged the audience to rethink how strategy is built.  

“Strategy isn’t accidental,” said Petricevic. “It’s a deliberate coding of possible futures.” 

Her presentation emphasized that innovation is not a lucky spark, but the result of carefully engineered organizational capabilities, what she calls the “DNA of advantage.” 

In a follow-up interview, Petricevic says presenting at HBE felt like “a natural step in coming full circle that bridged the worlds of academia and practice and contributing ideas that not only advance theory but also inspire meaningful change in the way business is done.” 

In her research, she explains that “evolutionary fitness,” a concept borrowed from biology, describes how well an organization adapts to, and even shapes, its environment. 

“It represents the dynamic alignment between a firm’s internal capabilities and the external environment, determining its ability to not only adapt, but to renew itself, evolve and co-shape the environment in which it competes,” Petricevic says. 

Petricevic’s advice to leaders is to understand what makes their organization unique, building strategy based on that, and using it to shape the future, not just respond to it. 

She also urged leaders to stress-test assumptions guiding their decision-making process.  

“We should not wish away turbulence, but rather dance with the storm,” she says. 

Unlocking entrepreneurial thinking in times of crises 

Dr. Oleksiy Osiyevskyy’s presentation, "The Adversity Advantage: Unlocking Entrepreneurial Thinking in Tough Times," focused on how leaders can foster innovation during periods of instability.  

“There’s a silver lining in every crisis,” said Osiyevskyy, PhD’14, a Haskayne professor and associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. 

“The team is always collectively smarter than the individual.” 

Drawing from more than 15 years of research, Osiyevskyy introduced three psychological levers — threat, time and predictability — that leaders can use to empower their teams.  

“Without the necessary components, the emergence of entrepreneurial thinking is very unlikely,” says Osiyevskyy in a follow-up interview.  

He emphasizes that leaders must shift the discourse from “how to adapt to adversity,” to, “how to grow in this new reality.” 

Osiyevskyy sees the HBE forum as a vital bridge between research and practice.  

“Presenting at HBE allows me to share evidence-based, practical advice with Calgary’s business community and bring those insights back into the MBA and executive-education classroom.”  

Industry voices: panel reflections 

A panel discussion after the presentations featured James Lochrie, co-founder of Thin Air Labs, and Manuj Nikhanj, CEO of Enverus, alongside Petricevic and Osiyevskyy.  

Lochrie reflected on the everyday realities of entrepreneurship, describing it as a space where failures are an everyday option, but continuing to choose persistence over quitting is what drives innovation. 

Nikhanj, BComm’01, reinforced the need for self-disruption, and that businesses must learn to evolve from within to stay ahead of external disruption. 

Looking ahead 

Radford concluded the event by challenging the audience to reflect on how business leaders and academics can come together to explore strategic ways to handle crisis. The exchange theme continued afterwards, with attendees continuing conversations inspired by the presentations and exploring networking opportunities.  

The next Haskayne Business Exchange event, with the theme "Alberta’s AI Future and the Investor Experience," is scheduled for March 3, 2026, with more details to follow.