"Immediate modernity is 'light', 'liquid' and 'fluid' and infinitely more dynamic than the 'solid' modernity it supplanted. The transition from one to the other has led to profound changes in all aspects of human life" - the excerpt is part of Zygmunt Bauman's work, which explains how this transition took place, composing a brilliant and profound analysis of social and political conditions, which urgently leads us to rethink the concepts and cognitive schemes applied to the individual human experience and its shared history.
This "liquid modernity" can be translated into the VUCA concept - used in the 1990s by the U.S. Army War College - to explain the world in the post-Cold War scenario. The acronym for the English words Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity is still present today in a highly critical environment that challenges us to become better leaders and managers.
In particular, I jokingly call this concept "MUVUCA", everything put together. However, understanding each of these terms and knowing how they apply to the corporate world is extremely important if companies are to define strategies capable of minimizing the effects of the VUCA world. One of the main ones we can highlight is the difficulty of planning in the face of constant market changes.
Difficulties in expanding in the face of complex scenarios
Traditional organizations can thrive even in the face of seemingly unfavorable issues for their growth, but they can face obstacles in different situations, such as:
- Staying relevant while facing the emergence of new business models or competition;
- Introducing a new product or service to the market, taking into account uncertainties about consumer receptivity;
- Expanding the company's operations in complex environments, such as countries with unfavorable political and economic issues;
And finally, designing a new business model or launching a brand in an emerging market.
There is no choice: either you reinvent yourself or you will be swallowed up.
In order to live and face the challenges of this complex world, it is essential to adopt multi-perspective diversity. It is this learning that will lead to solving problems. This is a set of truths, knowledge and points of view which, when combined or interrelated, make us better prepared to generate something new and capable of solving critical issues in this "MUVUCA" world, which is actually liquid.
No individual has all the knowledge, whether in society or in an organization. We live the Cartesian model of fractioned, segmented and departmentalized thinking - in the corporate world, what we call "silos". There is no conversation or interactivity. However, it is essential to exchange and share experiences and information in order to build new knowledge. But how?
We need to raise awareness of this issue. It is in dialog that we identify this ability to build. A conversation in which you can often give up your own knowledge and genuinely understand the other person. To have empathy for the other person is to realize that their knowledge can transform you.
Companies, their leaders and managers need to be open to this, because it is through this that we prove the sum of our knowledge, enabling us to go beyond what we once were. The figure of the solitary genius (teacher, boss) no longer exists. In fact, a leader's loneliness is often brought on by himself when he is unable to create a collaborative environment that encourages sharing and interaction. As the futurist Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterates of the future will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn".
Text originally published in HSM Management*
