VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. What do these four words have to do with living your best life? Well, a lot.
VUCA describes situations that are difficult to understand – like the one we’re in now. As the economy challenges us and the pandemic continues to alter our “normal,” we’re all struggling to find ways to keep up. Nothing is the same as it used to be. Many of us don’t have the skills we need to find solutions. It’s clear something needs to change, but what?
Mike Schindler, Navy veteran, award-winning writer, and host of It’s VUCA, thinks how we respond to these circumstances needs to change. Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity are hallmarks of our days. Without the proper training to overcome these difficulties, we’re all running fool’s errands. So, how can anyone understand the reality of the challenges we’re facing? By applying the VUCA roadmap to their lives. It’s VUCA is a short film that aims to take its viewers from “stuck to unstuck.” The film is a journey to discover ways to develop solutions for what’s happening in our world.
Experts Weigh In
It’s VUCA leans on experts in several industries, including highly decorated military veterans like retired four-star general and former 36th Chief of Staff for the Army, Gen. George William Casey, Jr.; Mark Divine, retired Navy SEAL commander; Joe Dufresna, one of the country’s leading futurists, and Susie Carder, an internationally-known business coach.
Together with several other experts, each of these luminaries offers insight into how to change from a mindset of uncertainty to one of vision and clarity. The film shows us that through consistent practice, we can learn to take back control of our lives. Remaining adaptable and seeking clear and creative solutions to challenges is just the start. This isn’t just another leadership documentary. It’s a movement with a mission to “inspire and uplift individuals, companies, and institutions with new knowledge, skill sets, mindsets, and wisdom.”
A Movement with a Mission
When Schindler set out to understand what was happening to him, he quickly realized he didn’t know where to start. He had no term for what it feels like to live through these days. What he learned changed his life, and now he’s on a mission to change everyone else’s, too. VUCA helps offer people a way to understand both the problems of our post-pandemic world and seek out creative solutions.
It’s VUCA hopes to level the playing field by offering ways to gain clarity, insight, and purposeful direction. The last few years have taught us so much. The main takeaway? We’re not equipped to handle rapid and unsettling change. Schindler and the It’s VUCA team are doing the work to flip the VUCA script to reframe it as Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Adaptability.
Having a clear vision and an understanding of the choices we’re presented with, all of us can become more adaptable. This skill will continue to serve us well as the world changes at an exponential rate. It might even be the one constant we will soon count on.
Where did VUCA come from?
The Army War College introduced VUCA in 1987 to name what the world might be like following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The concept was used as a developmental tool to encourage strategic thought. Over the years, VUCA has gained some traction in the civilian world as organizational leaders soon learned that the VUCA concept applies to the markets and conditions businesses experience. The term was quickly adopted by strategic thinkers and futurists to explain a lack of predictability in our world.
Now Schindler and his team and reframing VUCA to offer insights on how we can all adapt and respond to this shifting world. Learn how to deploy battle-proven leadership strategies to tackle the 21st century’s accelerating challenges of chaos, crisis and uncertainty. Find out more about Mike here, and the It’s VUCA movement here to discover how this new approach can change your life.