VUCA 2.0 and Board evaluation of Strategy.

VUCA 1.0 talked about Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity in the countries around the world and how this VUCA gets multiplied over the years with a purposeful push towards chaos.

The laws of thermodynamics are called into play to describe what was chaos yesterday which has moved into the chaos of today and which will move into the chaos of tomorrow, with entropy increase.

But to tackle VUCA 1.0 , I prescribed the following:

 In a VUCA WORLD

    -Volatile environment requires Vision to look beyond the immediate and prioritise

    -Uncertainty  needs calm Understanding of the situation to be purpose driven

     -Complexity  demands Capability of mind to look at locks & keys

     -Ambiguity  calls  for  Agility in the workplace to innovate, grow and excel.

In VUCA 2.0 Bill George in his HBS article gives out a solution model instead of a fearful premise.

 He elaborates that Vision, Understanding, Courage and Adaptability are the main constructs over which the Strategy can be raised.

When it comes to Adaptability, I am reminded of Charles Darwin, who famously said

that  "it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."

If you want to swim against the tide and come out surviving, you will have to have the adaptability to change according to the demands of the circumstances.

A Board of Directors while looking at the Sustainability Goals of an Organisation will have to keep the above in mind while chalking out the Strategy. Whenever the Board faces a challenge in evaluating the goals vs the actual performance of the Co, they should remember the following as the compass for them to proceed.

“I can’t change the direction of the wind

but

I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination”

-Anonymous Sailor