BANI World

The Oxford-Cambridge boat race has a 167-year history; two teams rowing on the same 4-mile course on the same stretch of the river Thames. The rowers and their coaches know exactly what conditions will slow them down; they know where to gain advantage and how teamwork, training, technology, and mindset decide the winner.

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They have over a century of racing experience/data to analyse and improve on. You could say they have adapted to navigate their VUCA world, that stretch of the river, and the great British weather.

For decades we've been using elite sports teams to study high performance. And we learned a lot. And as a result, we helped advise and develop stronger leaders, creating winning teams in highly competitive industries where the stakes and rewards are high.

Fast forward to today.

We've gone beyond describing the business world as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.

The next generation of business can no longer rely on past benchmarks or learns; uncertainty has given way to anxiety and fear. Whereas before, we could apply logic and planning to complex and ambiguous situations, now we must be prepared to adapt to a new context.

It's what futurist Jamais Cascio describes as BANI - a framework for understanding the "Age of Chaos" we live and operate in: Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible.

Cascio describes how for the first time in his 30-year career as a futurist, he started to see that patterns were not repeating like they used to:

 “The changes in our world were playing out in wholly unexpected, confusing - and often frightening ways. It was time for new terminology that better described the human responses to the systemic global changes taking place.”

What should developing and coaching high-performing teams look like in a BANI world? How can we train our responses to thrive?

These are the five areas to focus on NOW:

1. Build resilience and empowering mindsets - not to merely bounce back from a setback but to accommodate new situations more quickly.

2. Increase empathy and emotional intelligence to assuage anxiety and fear.

3. Coach people to adapt faster and better to a new context.

4. Give even greater emphasis to transparency, communication, and listening with the 'third ear.' - and acting accordingly.

5. Ensure that, above all, there is clarity and cohesion at the leadership level, and alignment around purpose.

Thanks to Future Designer @StephanGrabmeier for his excellent contribution, building on the work of Jamais Cascio and for making his VUCA vs BANI infographic available for sharing here.