The New (Ab)Normal: Radical Perspectives and Practices in a VUCA-Plus World

By: William Bergquist, Ph.D.

[The New (Ab) Normal is available free of charge as a pdf file that can be downloaded by clicking the button below this summary description.]

This book concerns six challenging mid-21st-century conditions (VUCA-Plus) and some unique ways in which to view and act upon these challenges. The author, William Bergquist, will be viewing each of these challenges from several different perspectives in this book, offering several distinctive strategies for addressing these challenges. In essence, the condition of complexity (C) concerns the many elements and dynamic interaction among elements that have to be considered, while Volatility (V) refers to the rate and shifting rate of change among the elements. The other two conditions have to do with epistemology (acquisition of knowledge and definition of reality). Ambiguity (A) concerns the assessment of both the evidence available regarding reality and the meaning assigned to this reality. The fourth condition, Uncertainty (U) concerns the stability of any assessment made about reality. Does reality change over a short time period? Why do an extensive assessment if our world is constantly shifting?

Bergquist adds two other challenges: turbulence and contradiction. They are both interwoven in the fabric of VUCA. They each add a further layer to the challenge we now face in our mid-21st-century society. Furthermore, turbulence and contradiction often pair up with one or more of the other VUCA conditions to add even more weight to the mid-21st-century burden. Some things are rapidly moving, while others are engaged in cyclical movement under turbulent conditions. Other things are not moving at all or moving chaotically. The systemic Impact concerns the operations of a world in which four systems operate simultaneously. These four systems create the “white water” world prevalent in mid-21st-century societies. At a personal level, navigation of a white-water environment requires an ongoing search for balance and direction, which in turn requires ongoing attention to the shifting conditions of this environment.

Contradiction concerns the frequent presence of radically different constructions and interpretations of reality—and the differing meanings assigned to the constructed reality.  Contradiction is perhaps the most soul-wrenching of the six VUCA-Plus conditions. Valid and useful messages are delivered to us every day. However, they often point in quite different directions.  It is even more challenging to recognize that each side of the contradiction often needs the other side to exist to find direction and energy. Bergquist pushes the consideration of Contradictions a step further by suggesting that contradictions are often polarities.  The systemic impact of Polarities and Contradictions centers on the credibility of advice being offered by people and institutions that can be trusted. Credibility is being challenged because the advice one trusted source offers is often inconsistent with the advice offered by a second trusted source. When we bring in dynamics associated with polarities, then we are likely to discover that advice offered by the second source is often triggered by the first source.