Face turbulence and change
Change and turbulent times are part of the new normal.
WHAT is important is keeping a clear head, staying the course and moving forward. Beyond grit and persistence, there is something you need called Sisu.
Seasons of chaotic change are not times to panic and lose your bearings.
Keep your focus and map your learning game plan.
In 1970, Alvin Toffler published a book titled “Future Shock”.
This book became a wake-up call for the world, which was slumbering and hoping that problems of the World Wars and their aftermath were now past. Toffler drew attention to the radical changes that were taking place in all spheres of life. He made it clear that learning strategies were key to avoiding obsolescence, personally or professionally.
Toffler’s challenge and message still stands. You have to keep learning, thinking, doing and growing. You cannot park in yesterday’s knowledge and ideas. Knowledge is growing and expanding at an exponential rate. Keep learning and growing, and you will be great. Keep challenging every area where you detect ignorance. In times of change, learners grow and thrive.
In 1980, Mr Peter Vaill introduced the concept of “permanent white water” rafting to describe the context of the rapid, turbulent changes that organisational environments were experiencing as the new normal.
Vaill said permanent white water consists of events that are surprising, novel, messy, costly and unpreventable. Permanent white-water conditions regularly take us out of our comfort zones and present questions to us on things we never imagined would be required.
Although we are no longer in the 1980s and 1990s, permanent white waters are still with us.
Vaill, in his book “Learning as a Way of Being”, says: “Permanent white water puts organisations and their members in the position of continually doing things they have little experience with or have never done before at all. The feeling of ‘playing a whole new ball game’ thoroughly pervades organisational life.”
He then puts forward the long-life idea that beyond all the other skills and attitudes that permanent white water requires, people have to become extremely effective learners.
Plough through every barrier and sustain the learning edge. You have to grow in your know-what, know-how and know-why.
Learning is more than an institutional activity. It is a critical competence for navigating turbulence and change. The challenge is to think big, learn fast and act boldly.
In the early 1990s, the US Army War College was looking at the changes that were taking place in the world and how wars of the future would be waged, and developed the acronym VUCA — Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
This was meant to sensitise their leadership on the challenges and trials of change, and help better prepare their people for the emerging and unexpected changes and challenges.
Everyone now lives in VUCA — the discomfort of volatility, the confusion of uncertainty, the chaos of complexity and the disorientation of ambiguity. While we have moved beyond the 1990s, the challenges of the VUCA context are still with us, but now infused with greater intensity and force. To survive VUCA, what is required is a different, but important mindset. Complaining is no longer enough. Thinking like a victim is barely adequate. Hoping to run away to a distant and safe place is a tail-chasing exercise. This calls for a new mindset — a “Sisu” mindset.
The Finnish talk of a person having Sisu.
This is a flair for extraordinary determination and resoluteness in the face of extreme adversity.
It takes Sisu to keep standing when others are running. It takes Sisu to face your fears, and challenge your limitations. Sisu refers to our ability to go beyond our preconceived physical and mental capacities.
It is the ability to stretch without breaking. It is the ability to take extraordinary action and stay determined when all the odds seem against you. Sisu keeps you grounded. It is not just mere bravado and playing to the gallery.
It is staying focused, resolute and moving despite any setbacks that you meet. Meet VUCA with Sisu.
Whatever you face, fear is a foe. Fear takes away confidence. It razes the excitement and the ability to take action and make things happen.
Fear conjures up scary images of danger, delusion and doom. Fear is only real in the mind. Without a host mind, fear dies. See fear for what it really is.
Do not let it rob you of your confidence. Do not fear any “future shock”. Do not be dismayed by permanent white waters.
Do not be unhinged by VUCA. Refuse to be a victim of fear. There is more strength in you than meets the eye. Keep moving and facing the future. It is better to take small steps forward than to be immobilised by fear.
What has your fear been doing to you? What has fear robbed you of? What do you fear? What would you do if you were not afraid? Ten years from now, will you be blaming fear for not taking action? Dare to keep standing and moving. Dare to think big and take small steps. Stop giving excuses and take action. The disease of perennial excuses is the real pandemic that robs people of greatness. Eliminate excuses or they will eliminate you from greatness. Winning comes from doing whatever it takes to achieve this.
Dare to take a stand and keep learning. Look at what you need to learn, and face life with a clear know-what agenda.
Look at areas where you need to build capacity, and build your know-how. The era of thinking that mere certification is achievement is over. Time is at a premium and you need to live with a clear know-why. Take action, learning actions, intentionally, as you face life with a powerful and determined Sisu.
Greatness is still calling, regardless of the context and headwinds.
Committed to your greatness. ◆