Que “Barbie Girl” song voice, “I’m a VUCA girl… in a VUCA world.” VUCA is chaos but what does it mean and how do we bring order to the mess? This concept came about to help us understand the complexities of the world around us concerning uncertainty, rapid changes, disruption, flux in the markets, etc. It seems uncontrollable right? Well, wrong. VUCA helps bring order to the chaos. The acronym stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Let’s break each one down and see how one can use this as a guideline in a chaotic world.
1. Volatile: This refers to the speed of changes in industries. We’re up. We’re down. Life is truly a rollercoaster ride. In business, it’s important not to react immediately to volatile changes. Take a second to take a deep breath. Let’s take 5 actually to help you remain calm and make sound decisions. Another way to combat volatility is to leave slack in certain areas of your business. For example, keep a cushion in the bank account to help out with low revenue times or stockpile some inventory.
2. Uncertain: Refers to all those unknowns in life and business. There is so much we cannot control in our lives. So, let’s take the thought-out approach and focus our efforts on those things that we can. Some things are almost impossible to predict in business. Focus on things that can help you be more certain, such as data. What information can you use to see what works and what doesn’t?
3. Complex: There are a plethora of factors that have to be considered for anything we do. More factors equal more complexity. One way to deal with this is to surround yourself with people who can help you slow down and figure things out. Remember Occam’s Razor? The best answer to something is typically the most obvious and simplest one. Find allies who can help you break things down into more clear and concise forms to problem solve.
4. Ambiguity: This is the lack of clarity on how to interpret something. Pretty much everything in life falls under that “grey area.” A way to deal with this is to be expeditious to abrupt changes that you may not have been expecting. Being able to pivot quickly is the best way to deal with vagueness in cause-and-effect situations.
In our urgency culture, VUCA isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The plus side is that there are ways to combat it in a more clarified and structured way. In business, it can help leaders manage the rapidly changing markets and maintain the right mindset while doing so. Long-term success is the end game, so understanding VUCA will help you and your team follow that non-linear line to the top!
