Details from the VUCA event today ...

Picture taken from https://blog.iilm.edu/changing-leadership-competencies-vuca-world/ 

Just coming back from the VUCA event, hosted by Werft 4.0 and Fachwerk Langenfeld  https://fachwerk-langenfeld.de/. Really a great audience with a high density of expertise and experience. 4 men (one was a presenter) and 10+ women, due to Fachwerk as host. A lot of Coaches, all self employed, and one person with a face reading education. Interesting situation and feeling, when you learn during the start of a conversation that you are talking to a face reading expert 😉. 2 minutes later you do not care anymore.

After a quick introduction and key note speech, the four VUCA topics had been covered by different presenters. Below my high level summary of the 5 agenda topics:

Ulrich Grannemann, http://ulrichgrannemann.de/, Key Note

• In the last 300 years we have seen an explosion of mankind, more a right angle than a curve https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth 
• The technology drivers are storage, compute power and bandwidth
• Resulting in an increasing amount of available information, the fast access to information and the speed of information change
• In the past we have been in an "open land" environment, seeing where we are and where we have to go, now we are in a jungle with no clear start and end point
• VUCA can be a problem, but also a chance

Julia Peters, https://juliapeters.info/leistungen/international-offer/, Volatility

• In the past we had goal setting, 5 year plans, all regular and longterm
• Now relative goals and all is faster and shortterm
• We have purpose instead of control and the need for security driven by trust
• You have to find your personal lighthouses for orientation
  • Inside: What is your purpose and do you trust in yourself?
  • Outside: Networking and self marketing is required, trust in other people
• Qualitative goal setting is the new target
• Learn trust and practice it  https://www.jordangrayconsulting.com/how-to-trust-people-again/

Ulrich Grannemann, http://ulrichgrannemann.de/, Uncertainty

• There is cognitive and intuitive intelligence
• The struggle between elephant and rider  https://getlighthouse.com/blog/the-elephant-and-the-rider-motivate-your-team/ 
• Unsecurity, but also chances are higher in the digital world
• Prepare change with early communication and trust, involve people, explain the changes, let people participate in the change activities
• Play and simulate all possible scenarios, the positive, the average trend, and the negative
• Have different perspectives, involve more people

Tanja Herrmann-Hurtzig, https://www.herrmann-hurtzig.de/, Complexity

• The human brain has the most complexity with 500 trillion connections
• There are no longterm jobs and careers anymore, jobs are getting lost over time
• New jobs get created - e.g. feel good manager - and many more  https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/technology-jobs-and-the-future-of-work
• Proper forecasting and economic planning is more complex and difficult now
• Time is over for 5 year plans and please do not forget your customer
• Develop self awareness and fault tolerance, have interest in other people
• Appreciate others, say and mean thank you, have trust in people
• Develop, improve or just repeat the basic communication principles
  • ask the right open questions
  • active listening and communication at eye level
  • ask for and provide feedback / appreciation
  • networking, how are we working together
• In summary: Customer first, mindset, who am I, interest in other people, mistake culture, values, communication

Barbara Amler, https://www.xing.com/profile/Barbara_Amler/cv, Ambiguity

• Understand the customer autonomy in the agile self-employment
• Understand, navigate, innovate, implement, appreciate
• Megatrend Lifestyle, hyper individualisation  https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2019/01/09/what-is-hyper-individualization/
• Lifestyle - dynamic purpose communities for a defined timeframe
• There are different Lifestyles to look at - e.g. Proll professionals, progressive parent, moderne nomade, creative, etc. -  http://www.catherinesearle.com/the-lifestyle-types/
• Products only solve problems for a short period of time
• Customer, producer and seller are coming closer together
• Information and customer management is required
• Change management according to e.g. Kurt Lewin, John Paul Kotter
  • https://daniellock.com/kurt-lewin-change-model/
  • https://daniellock.com/kotters-8-step-change-model/
• New work, new culture, coworking

In summary a great event, good people - content - location - facilitation/hosting - weather. A time that was worthwhile ...