The need for agility in a volatile corporate world

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The acronym VUCA, short for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, has become a catchphrase to describe the challenges of today’s corporate world. Its origin, however, is linked to the period after Cold War in the 1990s, when geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union peaked.

In the current context, it is all about developing a framework to ensure business continuity in order to thrive in the ever-evolving world of work. Until covid-19 struck, the Great Recession (2007-09) was considered one of the prime examples of VUCA. However, the incidence of covid-19 caused a severe blow to organisations almost overnight.

In a 2020 research paper titled Covid-19’s Uncomfortable Revelations About Agile and Sustainable Organisations in a VUCA World, authors Christopher G.Worley and Claudy Jules highlight this. “Companies were forced to confront realities and manage unprecedented demands, including redeploying talent, establishing remote workforces, building needed capabilities, choosing among firing/furloughing/retaining employees, and planning for reopening amid uncertainty." It was also a time when the definition of an ideal employee underwent a shift. At a time when economic tensions were predominant, organisations went on a drive to hire or retain individuals who demonstrated certain capabilities.

Today, a right fit is someone who is continuously open to learning and staying nimble even in the most challenging situations. “The mindset of a ‘9 to 5, stable job’ needs to be changed. Complacency is the biggest enemy of an organisation, and thereby any employee," says Sudipta Sengupta, founder and CEO of Delhi-based health literacy platform, The Healthy Indian Project