In this environment, companies need to be increasingly flexible and attentive to their people in order to achieve their business objectives.
From VUCA to BANI
We’ve become accustomed to the concept of VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) when referring to the context in which we find ourselves.
However, this notion has become insufficient and not fully representative of the challenges we currently face. Another concept that’s becoming increasingly important is how organizations fit into and adapt to the environment.
New concepts for more complex realities
Jamais Casio, futurist and researcher at the Institute for the Future, developed a new concept in 2016 that fits perfectly with current circumstances. Casio believes that we’re in a context where various obstacles collide, forcing organizations to constantly rethink their strategies, methods and approaches in order to fulfill their purpose.
From the pandemic triggered by COVID -19, to political imbalances, resource scarcity and climate disasters, to a war that keeps us on our toes and pending.
Its name is BANI, which stands for: brittle, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible.
BANI: What's it about?
We’re in a BANI environment that includes brittle, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible moments. In this context, companies need to maintain their operations, businesses have to continue to grow, and people on their teams need to continue to give the best of themselves.
In order to better understand this and provide the method and tools that the areas will need, let’s break down the concept:
Brittle (very fragile and breakable)
Our current context is becoming increasingly fragile. It can break at any moment. All of these factors, from the fragility of our economic and social systems to the effects of a pandemic and climate change, can have a direct impact on our business.
Anxiuos
Fragility, concern, and uncertainty are symptoms of such a volatile and unpredictable environment.
In many cases, anxiety is exacerbated by the feeling of helplessness experienced by those who feel powerless to make changes.
The threat is not the anxiety itself, but rather the danger that this feeling of helplessness may turn into passiveness out of fear.
Non-linear
The cause-effect relationship does not seem to exist, or at least it is not obvious. We fail to see the connection between them.
This non-linear context causes us imbalance. We are unable to see the effects of the cause, so we are destabilized by the consequences. This situation prevents us from understanding our reality, and even from making the right decisions.
Incomprehensible
We live in a world of 24×7 over-information that can work against us. We are becoming more anxious and especially ignorant because of this excess of knowledge.
We are dazed and overwhelmed, so it becomes difficult for us to understand and even see clearly.
Tools to face this context
Internal communication enables us to connect, and in turn, empathize more with everything we need in this complex BANI.
From Town Hall Meetings to projects that include the participation of all people beyond their hierarchy within the organization, through programs that reinforce the culture, to those that allow us to get to know each other better.
Agility and its methodologies together with CI tools are great allies in this scenario.
Let’s talk about devising a project tailored to your company’s needs. Together, we can design the methodologies and tools necessary to overcome the difficulties of this context.
Do you have questions?
your internal and institutional communication.
