Adapting to VUCA-level change [14:58]
VUCA stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These are words we hear every day now–on the news, in business, and even in politics. This term was first used by the US military to describe the now geopolitical environment after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Ira is terrified and fascinated by how VUCA-level change is happening in our workplaces and marketplaces today.
Given the scale and pace of the changes we are living through, it’s hard to find companies that were prepared. There are some companies doing better than others, but everyone is on a learning curve trying to identify how to adapt to this new normal and identify what skills are really needed now.
Ira thinks that not much has really changed, which is good news! Skills like critical thinking, open mindedness, and continuous learning are still needed, just like they were a decade ago. However, we did not expect we would need so much of those skills so quickly.
One new key skill to adapting to VUCA-level change is unlearning. We must now be able to unlearn things we thought of as normal. This is beyond just being open to new ideas. It is more like rewiring our brains to embrace a new way of doing things.