Remaining focused in a volatile world

Over the last two decades we’ve witnessed significant social, geopolitical and macro-economic events that have fundamentally transformed the ‘status-quo’.

From the collapse of the US housing market to the Arab Spring and of course, currently Brexit; we have been thrown into an ‘age of uncertainty’.

As political and social stability fluctuates, so too does confidence in the global economy. 2018 saw business investment fall for three quarters in a row for the first time since the financial crisis and unsurprisingly, the global uncertainty index rose to an all-time high. 

This constant and unpredictable economic dynamism is increasingly consumed by our ability to tap into the ‘on demand’ world and 24-hour news cycle. Information gathering and sharing is no-longer driven by big news corporations, it is in the hands of everyone holding a smart phone. It’s an incredibly exciting time where change has never been this fast but will never be this slow again.

This unpredictability has meant companies and organisations have had to reassess how they cooperate, communicate and present themselves to everyone, from their employees and customers to their relevant industries and an ever-present global audience.

Organisations now inhabit a new space – where their existence is not purely defined by function but in how they use their influence to become a force for ‘good’. There is a greater expectation placed on them and in turn a heightened responsibility on business to be bastions of ethical and moral standards.

To navigate these shifting circumstances, companies require a different type of leadership, one that addresses the new risks, spots the opportunities and delivers purposeful performance for organisations around the world. It’s this mix of capabilities that has led to the increasing popularity and focus on Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA).

VUCA, is a term that was coined by the U.S. military to describe the everchanging socio-political climate at the time of the Cold War. But, it’s the leadership qualities it promotes and requires that are as relevant for the businesses leaders of today as they were 50 years ago:

• The world is increasingly volatile; whether it be stock market fluctuations, developments in technology or political upheaval. The internet means that when change happens people know about it at an unprecedented speed and it can have an impact in a matter of seconds, minutes or hours. 
• Uncertainty is a component of this – not just economic uncertainty, but more general uncertainty about our societies future and the wider ‘purpose’ of people and businesses.
• Youtube, Facebook and Twitter didn’t exist 20 years ago. Now their impact on society is perhaps the defining trend of a generation. While the services they provide have made life much simpler, they also create new complexities that alter how we as people and businesses interact.
• In this environment it’s therefore easy for more questions to arise than answers. There’s more ambiguity about how to interpret something, more challenges around distinguishing between what is important and what is irrelevant and a higher chance of reading something ‘fake’.

The real take-away from VUCA is the focus it demands. Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, observed that for example, we tend to focus on what's urgent at the expense of what's important. While some urgent work is important, a lot of the important work we need to do is not as urgent. It’s essential that leaders don’t lose sight of that.

In a world where change is the new normal; focus is key. A focus on delivering the best quality services and products for customers, a focus for creating a working environment that allows your team to grow and a focus on ensuring best practice at every level.

We can’t predict what we’ll face in the next few weeks – it will likely be volatile as markets anticipate Brexit’s impact; uncertain as negotiations continue, complex as trade deals are agreed and ambiguous as we continue to face evolving global issues and trends.

One thing I do know, is that my focus will remain on ensuring that we continue to support our customers to deliver the innovation and technological capability they require. It’s essential that as we transform organisations into intelligent enterprises, we continue to stay one step in front of the accelerating pace of change.