Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear and Incomprensible?
It might be useful to know that there’s a new acronym about the state of the world and its BANI.
BANI stands for Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear and Incomprehensible.
The concept was created by Jamais Cascio, an American author and futurist, to sum up how the world IS, having been through the various crises of the last few years.
As I read it: Brittle - companies and organisations might seem fine and strong on the surface, but one or two shocks and the whole thing starts to crack.
Anxious - well, who wouldn’t be, what with everything going on in the world. I learned recently that Gallop did a Mood of the World survey and found that 7/10 of the global population felt that they were ‘struggling or suffering’. That’s a lot of people.
Non-Linear - well nothing much works the way it used to, the digital age has heralded new ways of working and operating in our lives and work and it’s ever changing. Who’s read all the headlines about AI being the end of humanity?
Finally, Incomprehensible - more and more we are faced with situations we’re not used to - the aforementioned global pandemic, socio-political change, climate change - you name it. And a huge amount of information coming at us 24/7 - it’s almost too much to take in and make sense of.
So how do we get ready for this BANI world?
This is what I think:
Be aware of it. Does BANI ring true to you? Or do you have your own acronym for what you see in the world?
Be aware of how you are reacting or coping in these times. Just stop and take stock, check in on yourself and then your family, your teams, and the people you have around you. How are they?
In terms of specifics, for Brittle, I think we need to look at our foundations. Are our lives and business built on strong foundations - purpose, mission, values or are they metaphorically a house of cards? Also, do we have the resilience or plan B and C for if the cracks begin to show or the whole thing comes tumbling down?
Anxious - I think we need self-awareness and awareness of what others are going through. Compassion, empathy, understanding. We may not be able to solve the world’s problems but we can listen to and support one another through it.
Non-linear - I believe this calls for the skills of adaptability and agility to change and, most certainly, a mindset change about seeing change as an opportunity rather than a terror. Key to this is understanding your own value and impact and knowing that you will be fine whatever happens!
Lastly, Incomprehensible - I think this requires not only the honesty and transparency that we can’t know all things all of the time, and that’s fine, but also creating the space not to get overwhelmed and the ability to focus on what matters - to you, to the company.
So take heart, it might be a BANI world, but I do believe we have or can develop the tools and qualities to tackle it and thrive, not just survive.
As ever, I recommend you be fearlessly you and if you don’t know where to start, call me!
Tracy
