disruption in a vuca world

Disruption in a VUCA World written, illustrated & performed by Gar Mac Críosta - CITAP

Inspired Stumbling Forward

“didn’’t they used to play music”

@aspiringarc

on yet another Monday morning with 10,000 things ToDo…I have

Meetings (20)_

we’re all set when it comes to “technical challenges”…. HAMMER meet NAIL

Hiking Artist Drawing by Frits Ahlefeldt

But somewhere in all of this hides a VUCA challenge

But first some background

5 ALIGNMENT CHALLENGES #1 Getting agreement on the operating model #2 Real functional alignment around the strategy #3 Rallying around the growth strategy #4 Addressing adaptive challenges #5 Mobilising talent in new ways

Richard Lynch   Amber Román   Me  

I hear you say “Addressing 5 challenges in 20 minutes is impossible”

Let’s focus on Challenge #4

#4 “Addressing Adaptive Challenges”

“The mark of leadership in the competitive world is leading others in adaptive work.”

Ron A. Heifetz

http://hbr.org/2001/12/the-work-of-leadership/ar/1

Don Laurie

So what are Adaptive Challenges

they are VUCA problems

Nathan Bennett & G. James Lemoine Georgia Institute of Technology VUCA – the hard to read version

V for Volatile V - Volatility - volatile adjective

2. liable to change rapidly and unpredictably,

especially for the worse

The nature and dynamics of change, and the nature and speed of change forces and change catalysts.

U for Uncertain

where’s my cat?

dead or alive?

RIP  

Heisenberg & Schrödinger as kids….

Meow!!  

U - Uncertain - uncertain | adjective 1. not able to be relied on; not known or definite:

an uncertain future.

The lack of predictability, the

prospects for surprise, and the

sense of awareness and understanding

of issues and events.

C for Complex

Complex - Complex | adjective

1. consisting of many different and connected parts

The multiplex of forces, the confounding of issues and the

chaos and confusion that surround an organization.

A for Ambiguous

SMALL

FARAWAY

Ambiguous - ambiguous | adjective open to more than one interpretation; not having

one obvious meaning: ambiguous phrases.

these are

Now concentrate this time, Dougal…  

but the ones out there, those are

The haziness of reality, the potential for misreads, and the mixed meanings of

conditions; cause-and-effect confusion.

This sounds like another good reason to avoid strategic planning!!!

? ?

Oscar Wilde

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do - the day after.”

That’s the problem with VUCA problems they stop us in our tracks

What the …?

the real problem is that our standard tools just don’t cut it in the face of a adaptive challenges….but yet we persist

have a look here http://goo.gl/qTT9FJ for more tools

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

3 Tips for VUCA Problems

1 – We need to recognise Adaptive Challenges & à “Design Strategic Conversations”

2 – We need to move from Route 1Planning à “Living In The Future” (use scenarios)

3 – We need ditch the deck & unleash our imagination à “Give me back my crayons” (think visually)

Many possible future outcomes

1 possible outcome

How do we recognise VUCA & design a strategic conversations?

as Lisa says “Conversation is the technology of management”

Lisa Kay Solomon

TIP 1: Meet the Adaptive Challenge GPS

1.  The problem is clearly defined 2.  A leader or expert provides a solution 3.  Easy (enough) to resolve

TECHNICAL  

1.  Problem definition, solution & implementation require new learning

2.  Responsibility lives with the troups 3.  (Most) difficult to resolve

ADAPTIVE  

But we have Strategic Conversations all the time

Do you…?

Remember the last meeting you were at where you found you faced an adaptive challenge….did you have a clear PURPOSE; what was it?

TO DISCOVER TO DESIGN TO DECIDE

3 TY

PES

OF

STRA

TEGI

C CO

NVER

SATI

ON

http://www.momentsofimpactbook.com/

Compare Regular Meeting V Strategic Conversation REGULAR MEETING  

STRATEGIC CONVERSATION  http://www.momentsofimpactbook.com/

NO

ON THE SAME PAGE

“clear understanding of the issue”

YES

NO

YES

CLEAR STRATEGIC OPTION “clear fully developed options”

NO

YES

DECISION CLARITY “clarity to m

ake decisions”

DISCOVER Design a BUILDING UNDERSTANDING Conversation

DESIGN Design a SHAPING CHOICES Conversation

DECIDE Design a MAKING DECISIONS Conversation

Adapted from http://www.momentsofimpactbook.com/

TIP 2: Start “living in the future” THE PROBLEM Dealing with UNCERTAINTY  THE SOLUTION Who are the strategic horses in the uncertainty race? What forces are driving future change? Which uncertainties have a wide range of future outcomes? Map the options? Find the characters & stories? THE OUTCOME Open Minds/Uncertainty Embraced

Many possible future outcomes

“Deep in our hearts, we would all choose a scenario with no surprises”

Pierre Wack

FINDING THE FUTURE WITH SCENARIOS

1. FIND THE STRATEGIC HORSES

2. FIND THE FORCES

3. FIND THE OUTCOME RANGE

4. MAP THE OUTCOMES

5. FIND THE CHARACTERS & STORIES

THE FUTURE!

E.G. SCENARIO PLANNING FOR ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES

Figure 3: Adaptive Challenges. Source: Donald L. Laurie, Oyster International, LLC

WE DON’T GET CERTAINTY  

WE GET GOOD AT LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY  

REMEMBER  

TIP 3 – Give me back my crayons

SCRIBBLE | DOODLE | PLAY

“The single greatest challenge to leaders today is this: We have to make more increasingly complex ideas more clear, more quickly and more persuasively than ever, to more audiences who are more informed and have more access to more information than ever.” ― Dan Roam, Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don't Work

Dan Roam

SO DON’T FORGET ‘VUCA’ IN YOUR PLANNING

VUCA WORLD  

1– Design strategic conversations

2–Find the future with scenarios

3–Break out the crayons

DO YOU HAVE A MESSY, OPEN-ENDED, ILL-DEFINED STRATEGIC CHALLENGE WITH POTENTIALLY BIG CONSEQUENCES?

Soon to publish a new book….

STRATEGY MADE SIMPLE

inspired stumbling forward

Richard Lynch   Amber Román   Gar Mac Críosta  Derval Kennedy  

“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”

― Richard Buckminster Fuller

rewiring the way organizations do

STRATEGY | INNOVATION | TRANSFORMATION in fun, practical & imaginative ways

WWW.ARCHTEXX.COM

e: gar.maccriosta@archtexx.com t: @aspiringarc l: http://ie.linkedin.com/in/garmaccriosta w: www.archtexx.com w: www.iasaglobal.org

TRADITIONAL

OLD TOOLS

BIG TEAMS

MAGICIANS

FATIGUE

DONE TO YOU

NO BELIEF

SLOW & LONG

dense forests of slides,

documents, data

infestation of consultants

descends

magic consulting

dust is Sprinkled

“SECRET SAUCE”

magic takes along time

people stop believing

consultants & change agents CHANGE YOU!!

0-200mph leads to organizational fatigue

NO FUN fun is forbidden

ARCHTEXX

NEW TOOLS

SMALL TEAMS

COACHES

PACED

DONE WITH YOU

VISIBLE & SHAREABLE

SHORT & SHARP

we use small crack teams of certified

architects p

we use short focused Interventions with clear

outcomes

we make everything big visible & shareable

it’s your business you know it best

we find a rhythm that works for you

we make everything useful -  tools, stories,

infographics & models

we apply open tool with brain-friendly

coaching & change methods

MAKE IT FUN we use games & tools to make it fun