It’s a VUCA world out there

Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity (VUCA) is an acronym originally used by the American Military. The challenges that VUCA represents are obvious in a world where businesses must react quickly and have the ability to change direction based on fact not fiction. ‘Uncertainty refers to the extent to which people can confidently predict the future. Uncertainty, though, is also a more objective characteristic of an environment. Truly uncertain environments are those that don’t allow any prediction, also not on a statistical basis. The more uncertain the world is, the harder it is to predict’. The optimistic would argue that when nothing is sure, everything is possible, which is true; but even the most extremely positive people can tire of constant uncertainty and continuous change that is not under their control. ‘Complexity refers to the number of factors that people need to take into account, their variety and the relationships between them.