Tag: volatility uncertainty complexity and ambiguity (VUCA)

When the concept of volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) was coined by the U.S. Army in the 1990’s to describe how crazy the post-Cold War years were, those early proponents had no idea that this would continue to be true for years to come.

In their 2014 Harvard Business Review article titled 'What VUCA Really Means for you', Nathan Bennett and James Lemoine warned us not to use the VUCA acronym as a crutch. Sadly, looking at the South African context today, this has indeed become a reality. It is important to understand that just because we can’t prepare for a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world, does not mean we cannot lead our businesses through it.