Using Adaptability to Overcome Uncertainty

The unknown is a difficult terrain. While “risk” in business has boundaries and can be measured, the unknown is limitless and unpredictable. However, we can not only overcome uncertainty but can capitalize on it by finding the upside. How so? By becoming adaptable and using a start-up mentality! Start-ups’ natural habitat is the unknown! Volatility, change, and unclear conditions are the perfect breeding ground for new ideas and opportunities. By opening ourselves up to the power of uncertainty and finding the adaptability our competitors lack, we siphon magic directly from Silicon Valley. Become a chameleon born for the ever-shifting market of world 2.0!

So, which key skills give us the adaptability to overcome uncertainty?

1. Become Agile

Agility is revolutionizing with a rapid response. No matter which framework you choose during uncertainty, make it fast! Think of new ideas swiftly, act on them, and get the minimum viable products out there. Expand if they’re successful, go back, revise, and find a new path if they aren’t. This is what the Build-Measure-Learn Cycle looks like. Agility is not a rigid rulebook that doesn’t allow for change. It’s about ripping up the rulebook and finding new ways of working. Continue adapting with agility to find the best path for your organization, circumstances, and operational needs!

2. Stop-Start-Continue Retrospective

Retrospective makes teams and delivery processes resilient. Companies often become slaves to methodologies and don’t take time to reflect. Reflection sets you and your team up for more success by assessing what is presently successful. Stop and ask, “Is this working?” Is there something you can do better? This helps you find and implement the most efficient new systems.

3. Combine flexibility with agency

Start-ups are good at being flexible because they don’t have processes. They are happy to create novel paths, while the lack of layers of bureaucracy to go under allows for rapid change. Here is where many companies fail – they lack the agency to create change. If you’re managing a team where you reflect - take action with your list of outcomes! Don’t just have a static list, but implement it! If you have no clear paths for implementation, ask authorities to devise helpful tools for change. If you’re a team leader delegate to teams that it’s ok to alter processes and to ask for what they need to make this happen.

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