Why “We’ve always been fine doing it that way” doesn’t work anymore in 2023?

VUCA

A strange acronym created by the US Military in the late ’80s. Their goal? To describe the environment their troops were almost systematically confronted with, of course. But, first and foremost, to understand and teach their teams how to plan and act in a Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex, and Ambiguous environment.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed an impressive acceleration in the rate at which “exceptional” events have been occurring in recent years. And, even worse, their strange habit of happening at the same time and accumulating! If I tell you, “seemingly-never-ending-COVID-19-pandemic, staff shortages, cyber-attacks, broken supply chains, climate change impacts, war in Ukraine, interest rates on the rise, recession around the corner, etc., do you get the picture?

I can hear you saying, ‘Yeah, but we already know that, Pierre-Stéphan. But what do we do now?’ And you are d@%# right to ask!

First of all, we STOP and BREATHE.

Most of our Customers, for more than ten years, have instantly adopted our mantra SBTA^TM. STOP. BREATHE. THINK. ACT.

And, most importantly, they use it on a daily basis with their teams. Why every day? Because, yes, it is counterintuitive.

Our innate reflex (starting with me!) is to REACT first. Unfortunately, in a world that is swirling faster and faster, where the only constant is change, the consequences of jumping in head first BEFORE gaining perspective are especially costly as a leader. Not just for you, but for your entire organization, starting with the people who work there. You said ‘staff shortage,’ right?

Secondly, you THINK before you act … or choose NOT to act.

Let me give you an example of a great Customer, soon to be the CEO of her family business she is taking over. You would need less than 10 minutes chatting with her to realize how brilliant she is. It is impressive! Yet, just two months ago, she told our colleague Luc Chouinard, her management accounting coach, that she didn’t really see the need to create a more accurate cash flow tracking tool. After all, ’they’d always been OK doing it that way.” Especially since developing and implementing this tool was going to require time, money, staff, etc. (in short: resources… ???? ). No matter how much our Colleague explained why it was so crucial, it didn’t seem to resonate with her.

I must confess our disbelief when, three weeks later, she confided to us that she now understood, and that wanted to develop this tool as soon as possible. Her main suppliers had suddenly (finally!) delivered everything, and requested (rightfully) to get paid without delay. But it dawned on her that her team would need a solid two months to deliver the finished products! Ouch! That was going to be tight … not to mention the $10+K of borrowing cost they had to incur unexpectedly! ☹

Long story short, our Client had just learned (thankfully “almost” unscathed!) that what had worked for decades, in her business and market, was not working systematically anymore. Why not? Because there are obviously fundamental changes taking place in her INDUSTRY.

What’s more, she’s also painfully grasped that, as a new CEO, it is about time she identifies these changes and prepare her company for the VUCA years ahead. Not to panic, but rather to be ready. And, ideally, to take advantage of those changes. That’s what our Top Squad will help her focus on in the coming months. Why not, for example, agree with her suppliers on a rebate in return for faster payment?

Now what about you? How much do you think your blind spots could cost you, in your VUCA world? Contact us to find out at info@topcoaching.ca.