Can You Thrive on Disruption, Turn Tables in Your Favor? Are You Anti-Fragile?

In his books “The Black Swan” and “Antifragile” Nassim Nicholas Taleb looks at the impact of “impossible” events on our lives, and how we might react differently in this age of disruption. These disruptive events are sometimes so random that they are virtually unpredictable, but he argues that the natural reaction is to yearn to analyze their origins rather than going with the flow.

Maybe we just need to stop trying to gaze into the past and simply live that little bit more in the present? Every day brings uncertainty, but why can’t we learn to live with it and even benefit from it? We can thrive from volatility.

Within this idea, Taleb invented an interesting concept: Antifragility

The core meaning of this word is the ability to thrive on disruption. Leaders should stop cowering behind their defensive ramparts and go out to fight whatever comes around the corner, turning the tables of the battle in their favor. Uber, Airbnb and Tesla are only a few examples of companies that are taking this approach. With disruption becoming the norm for business, it is also cascading down onto a personal level. 

It is no longer a case of standing out from your rivals and being the last man standing in a fight. It is no longer enough to be resilient and determined. You have to find an entirely new dimension for your response – to get stronger when you are under pressure, to be antifragile.

A submarine’s glass dome is an interesting example. As it dives deeper, the water pressure increases, but the dome actually gets stronger with the increases in pressure. Antifragility isn’t about crumbling, it is about growing with the difficulties.

Taleb likens antifragility to the Hydra from Greek mythology. The Hydra was a multi-headed dragon. Whenever the hero cut off one of the Hydra’s heads, two would grow back in its place - the Hydra became stronger with adversity. That is until Hercules killed it… kind of blows a hole in his argument. 

Leaders need to evolve their business in the face of external pressures. They learn, they develop, then they learn some more. The moment they are static, they will snap. They have to move with the elasticity and flexibility, but resist firmly when things threaten to overflow. 

Antifragility is all about finding a new direction rather than sustaining yourself in the status quo. 

According to Taleb, stress is a source of growth to be welcomed rather than avoided. Growing pains are a natural part of any life worth living. This isn’t exactly the reason that we go to work, but it is a reality that any leader needs to meet head on. The best businesses of the next 50 years will be the ones that will have thrived through adversity and turned the disruptive influences to their advantage.

The antifragile will be the last ones standing, but they don’t tend to stand for very long.