In this session, our guest faculty mostly focused on helping us to understand the VUCA world & the qualities we shall have to survive in this “New business world” of VUCA
Further, he explains, VUCA i.e., Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous is an old Military acronym which helps to bring a sense of stability to business world which is constantly in a flux. Today’s business is all about change. Economics, Technology, politics continue changing at such a rapid pace whereas business & individuals feel hard to keep up with the same. Business leaders around the globe started using acronym to describe the ever-changing landscape of local & global economies, describing these states of business as new normal.
Now how does this V-U-C-A play a part in redefining & restructuring businesses,
- Volatility: Volatility means constant changes going on in market & trade practices as the market has become an elastic place. To combat this, it is necessary to have values through vision. Leaders often focus so intensely on the daily minutia of the organization that they can lose sight of the company’s overall vision. By positioning your company well, you can bring value by helping your customers, or your own company, regain or develop their vision. Having an outside point of view often enables you to take the next step. Many smaller goals can and should exist within a company, all while pointing back to a unified corporate vision. The value we provide may not be as grandiose as creating a corporate vision. Still, it could be a department, product or project goal, all of which are extremely important to the overall success of any company.
- Uncertainty: As individuals, we all have unique experiences that shaped us into who we are today. Taking time to listen, ask relevant questions and seek to understand the problem allows us to draw from our unique experiences and work to provide understanding and thoughtful insight. Trying first to understand will not only set you apart but give the credibility to share your unique experiences.
- Complexity: Out of all the VUCA components, complexity has the greatest potential to trip us up we all may have industry knowledge and even some personal working knowledge, but each unique customer and their situation requires intentional consideration. Coming alongside and partnering with your customers allow you to provide Clarity through Collaboration. Overuse and overhype affected the original meaning of “collaboration.” We can attribute a large part of the problem to not fully understanding what true collaboration means.
Collaboration in its most real sense is simple: “Two or more people working together towards shared goals.” Working through the first two points of creating vision and understanding allows you to engage in more profound collaborative efforts with our clients and begin working towards shared goals. By drawing on your unique experiences, you can provide clarity that chips away at the complexity piece by piece.
- Ambiguity: Ambiguity is the final component of VUCA. Simply defined, ambiguity is a situation that is open to or has several possible meanings or interpretations. In today’s business world, ambiguity abounds. Overcome ambiguity with Action through Agility Successful companies push a culture of innovation that allows for speed while encouraging action through experimentation. Having an agile mindset allows management to pursue a goal in a way that is adaptive, flexible and responsive. Despite uncertainty and ambiguity, trial and error lead to adjustment and, frequently, a quicker resolution To make this concept easier to understand, Dr. Venkata told the story of the turtle & the hare. One of the greatest childhood classics of which the moral we thought was “Slow & Steady wins the race”. But that’s not the complete story nor a complete moral of the story… The story may begin with turtle winning the race as hare turns lazy in between, but it has three other scenarios, In another race, i.e., second scenario, the hare doesn’t sleep & runs the whole race & wins. In 3rd scenario, the turtle challenges hare on a course which has a water body in between, & the hare loses as he is unable to cross the lake but turtle covers up the pace & wins the race by swimming through. In 4th scenario, the hare & turtle race together i.e., hare carried turtle on his back on land & turtle carried hare on his back over water. So, the morals or values that we get from this story are: ∙ Never give up after facing failure. ∙ Fast & consistent will always beat slow & steady. ∙ Work to your competencies. ∙ Compete against the situation, not against a rival..