Why adaptability is a Super-skill

So many buzzwords, right? Years ago, I worked with the concept #VUCA (for those not familiar with this acronym, please google it, otherwise this will become anything but a short musing). The point of using this depiction was to present the need for change. Individual change, change in the workplace, in the leadership and management mindset. And who doesn’t love a good acronym? The VUCA concept has somewhat evolved and today we have a plethora of acronyms: RUPT, TUNA, #BANI, and there might be some I haven’t heard of yet.

I understand the human need of labelling and categorising. We need some order, in what we perceive as chaos. We can’t see the complete chain of events that precede an outcome, so we naturally try to look for cause-effect relationships. These acronyms are to be seen as labels that help us build frameworks, in this case to paddle through the uncertainty of the future. I feel that outside of philosophical and theoretical environments, we have only started accepting uncertainty and blind spots in our capacity of prediction and control of events in the last 50 years. By the time that VUCA was born!

I find philosophical and theoretical frameworks useful to think about possible future scenarios. Some seem to think these frameworks are nothing but fear-mongering buzzwords created by merchant consultants, that just want to sell their services. While there could be a few exceptions, I can’t really agree, especially after moving around the world and having dealt with organisations of all kinds. They need as much help as possible to keep up with the rhythm of technology and people. Customers and other stakeholders change preferences, priorities, regulations, etc. all the time. New generations grow up changing phones, apps, fashion and social media almost every year. Can organisations follow?

Coming back to the acronyms, I believe the one that frames best the current state of affairs is BANI, by Jamais Cascio. It’s descriptive and ample enough to capture the gloominess of uncertainty, without killing all faith in the future.

Apart from offering a description of the perceived state of the world, BANI proposes a series of responses: “The BANI framework offers a lens through which to see and structure what’s happening in the world. At least at a surface level, the components of the acronym might even hint at opportunities for response: brittleness could be met by resilience and slack; anxiety can be eased by empathy and mindfulness; nonlinearity would need context and flexibility; incomprehensibility asks for transparency and intuition. These may well be more reactions than solutions, but they suggest the possibility that responses can be found.”

As I said before, his article transmits the general feeling of dread that all these changes provoke: AI, Climate change, fake information, the fall of institutions. It’s all together, all too much. I feel it myself, but can’t help but wonder: why do we crave stability so much when the only constant in nature is change?

Is it because of our own finite condition?

But, putting my pseudo philosophic / existentialist questions aside, my point is that building adaptability as more than an essential response: a new behaviour. One that we should happily embrace and make it our mission, instead of approaching it with fear. After all, we are part of a system that has survived and evolved by adapting. Individuals, organisations, companies, should all embrace change as a good thing: practice learning and unlearning, become flexible, open your mind to creativity, don’t put all your identity in one belief system without learning, understanding and respecting other points of view.

And please don’t come back to me stating how hard this is, or cynically listing all the challenges institutions face: the truth has always been that if you don’t adapt, you disappear. I don’t minimise the challenge, but what use is all the fear, resistance, dread and complaining? Better educate the mind to look for possibilities. Humans have gone to space and created so many wonderful things, “anything one man can imagine, other men can make real”.

Instead of expecting systems to never fail, would it not be better to assume they will fail? I have now been living in the UK for a year. It completely surprises me how much faith British citizens have in their institutions. They have been there for centuries, so that part I understand. But coming from a 3rd world country, my mind is trained to suspect corruption and wrongdoing before giving the benefit of doubt to anyone with power. A scepticism that comes with my nationality and my degree. The post office scandal only surprises me in a general sense, because I cannot understand how one organisation can hold judicial power, abuse it, and yet it′s taken over 20 years to begin to get some kind of justice and start to hold people accountable. In a 1st world country. I am not too surprised that no-one is in jail.

Now, whatever faith people have in systems (be it software, data privacy, AI or government) is bound to be shattered. And yes, we feel anxious when we can’t control what is happening, foresee events, or understand a chain of events.

But is this new? Why is this not the normal thing for us? After all, we have never had full control of events, control of the future, or perfect view of cause and effect. This was an illusion created by the development of media, science and technology, but we still operate without perfect information and we are discovering new things all the time. AI will be incredibly helpful in terms of contemplating an infinite larger number of variables and scenarios, especially in reference to climate change, governance and health (and probably a lot of things I cannot see at the moment). But things will keep moving at a perceived faster pace and change will continue to be the norm. What we need to internalise is: change is good, let’s apply our minds to change for the better.

The ones that master the ability of seemingly adapting, in spite of the challenges, will not only have better chances for survival but will also live the process in a happier manner.