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1. VUCA World
Mumbai Educational Trust
Bandra Reclamation, Bandra (W), Mumbai – 400050
Tel: (+ 91 22) 2644 0096 / 57, Toll free: 1800 22 0234 Email: communications@met.edu
MET PGDM

2. Living in a VUCA World
The New
Normal
• V- Volatility
• U- Uncertainty
• C- Complexity
• A- Ambiguity

3. 1) Meaning & Scope of VUCA
• VUCA is an acronym – of
volatility, uncertainty,
complexity and ambiguity.
• US Military started using this
term in late 90s for the post
cold war world. Changing
Battle field conditions
• Reflects a fast paced,
increasingly unstable and
rapidly changing world

4. 1) Meaning & Scope of VUCA
V
C
U
A
This is relating to speed
of change.
VOLATILITY
There are far too many
options and we don’t
know which one to take.
COMPLEXITY
Less clarity about future.
Multiplicity of options we
have far more than we
had yesterday.
UNCERTAIN
There are no right
answer, there are many
options.
AMBIGUITY

5. 1) Volatility
Volatile
Unstable.
Hard to Predict.
Be Prepared.
Match investment
to risk.

6. 1) Volatility
• V- Volatility :-
• We are living in a world that’s constantly changing,
becoming more unstable each day, where changes
big and small are becoming more unpredictable –
and they’re getting more and more dramatic and
happening faster and faster. As events unfold in
completely unexpected ways, it’s becoming
impossible to determine cause and effect.

7. 2) Uncertainty :

8. 2) Uncertainty :
• U- Uncertainty :-
• It’s becoming more difficult to anticipate events or predict
how they’ll unfold; historical forecasts and past experiences
are losing their relevance and are rarely applicable as a basis
for predicting the shape of things to come. It’s becoming
nearly impossible to plan for investment, development, and
growth as it becomes increasingly uncertain where the route
is heading.
• The inability to know everything. The lack of predictability
and likelihood of “surprise” events.

9. 3) Complexity :
• Simple Problem
• Complicated Problem
• Complex Problem

10. 3) Complexity :
• C- Complexity :-
• Our modern world is more complex than ever. What are the
reasons? What are the effects? – Problems and their
consequences are more multi-layered, harder to understand.
The different layers intermingle, making it impossible to get
an overview of how things are related. Decisions are reduced
to a tangled mesh of reaction and counter-reaction – and
choosing the single correct path is almost impossible.
• The complex problems are those when we don’t know where
to go. For Example if you have a child, it will take 20 years to
convert in to adult. You can’t predict whether he/she will be
wonderful human being or not.

11. 4) Ambiguity :
• Ambiguity is the haziness
of reality, the potential for
misreads, and the mixed
meaning of conditions;
cause-and-effect
confusion.
• There is a fog / dust we
can’t see what is in front.

12. 4) Ambiguity :
• A- Ambiguity :-
• “One size fits all” and “best practice” have been relegated to
yesterday – in today’s world it’s rare for things to be
completely clear or precisely determinable. Not everything is
black and white – grey is also an option. The demands on
modern organisations and management are more
contradictory and paradoxical than ever, challenging our
personal value systems to the core. In a world where the
“what” takes a back seat to the “why?” and the “how?”,
making decisions requires courage, awareness, and a
willingness to make failures.

13. Navigating in a VUCA World
• V- Vision
• U- Understanding
• C- Clarity
• A- Agility +
Adaptability
The Solution

14. Vision :
• Paint a picture of the future you want.
• volatility can be countered with vision because vision is
even more vital in turbulent times.
• Leaders with a clear vision of where they want their
organizations to be in three to five years can better
weather volatile environmental changes such as economic
downturns or new competition in their markets.
• For example, by making business decisions to counter the
turbulence while keeping the organization’s vision in mind.

15. Vision
• CREATE A VISION
• Vision to battle against volatile
• Rapid change
• Clear Vision >>> Focussed
People
• Right Direction >>> Informed
Choices
• Communicate >>> Belief >>>
Focus
• Strategic and Long-term
perspective

16. Understanding :
• CURIOSITY – Ask questions
(couch) that challenge the
status quo in your organization
every day.
• EMPATHY – Get where people
are coming from – their hopes ,
fears and desires
• OPEN MIND – Explore new
ideas, reflect and seek
constructive criticism.

17. Understanding :
• Uncertainty can be countered with understanding, the
ability of a leader to stop, look and listen.
• To be effective in a VUCA environment, leaders must learn
to look and listen beyond their functional areas of
expertise to make sense of the volatility and to lead with
vision.
• This requires leaders to communicate with all levels of
employees in their organization, and to develop and
demonstrate teamwork and collaboration skills.

18. Clarity :

19. Clarity :
• Clarity is absence of obstacles /
hurdle.
• SIMPLIFY – Chop the fat, cut
through the complexity and distill
the core down to its essence.
• INTUTION – Use the gift of
knowing without reasoning, trust
your gut and your experience.
• SYSTEMS THINKING – Approach
problems a holistic perspective (a
system of dynamic, interacting,
interdependent parts.)

20. Clarity :
• Complexity can be countered with clarity, the purposeful
process to make sense of the chaos.
• In a VUCA world, chaos comes swift and hard.
• Leaders, who can quickly and clearly tune into all of the
particulars associated with the chaos, can make better and
more informed business decisions.

21. Agility and Adaptability :
• DECISIVENESS – Adapt quickly to
changing circumstances and make
decisions with confidence. Think
on the Feet
• INNOVATE OF DIE – Learn from
your mistakes and continuously
seek new ways to get better at
what you do.
• EMPOWER – Value networks over
hierarchy, collaboration over and
control and set people free to do
great work.

22. Agility and Adaptability :
• Ambiguity can be countered with agility, the ability to
communicate across the organization and to move quickly
to apply solutions.
• Vision, understanding, clarity, and agility are intertwined
elements that help managers to become stronger
• VUCA leaders must have foresight to see where they are
going but must also remain flexible about how they get
there.
• They must be self-aware about their strengths and
weaknesses as leaders, adaptable, open to change.

23. IMAGINATION AGE….
• We are living in the IMAGINATION AGE….
• The Imagination Age is the period beyond the Information
Age where creativity and imagination become the primary
creators of economic value.
• The Imagination Age is a way to think about transitioning
from the Industrial Era, as much as transitioning into the
Intelligence Era.
• In this world leaders ask to the team mates who knows
the situation better and lets go by what he says.

24. Answer to The VUCA World
• Use of IMAGINATION to handle Volatility
• Use of INSPIRATION to overcome the Uncertainty which is
created by the Unpredictable circumstances.
• We need to INTEGRATE things to realize the connections
between different variables in complex world.
• INTITUATION to resolve the Ambiguity which we will have
to cater for absolute gut feelings to handle those situation.

25. Way to Go
• LOL
• Managing Time.
• Managing Speed of Change.
• Important Skill to acquire. (ncsindia.org)
• Imagination
• Innovation
• Creativity
• Team work, empowerment, outsourcing

26. Predictability :
You will need to stay ahead of
the PREDICTABILITY CURVE

27. Thank
You
Mumbai Educational Trust
Bandra Reclamation, Bandra (W), Mumbai – 400050
Tel: (+ 91 22) 2644 0096 / 57, Toll free: 1800 22 0234 Email: communications@met.edu