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.

In our mid-21st-century world, we must make decisions that take VUCA-Plus conditions into account. There is ambiguity, uncertainty, and contradiction. Polarizing values are present, making thoughtful consideration and caring compassion difficult to sustain; furthermore, these decisions are subject to frequent review and modification as we try to navigate our volatile, complex, and often turbulent VUCA world.  Goal setting is often unrealistic. The ad hoc character of our VUCA-Plus world often produces a feeling of infinite possibility and an unrealistic sense that the sky’s the limit.

Failure and disenchantment frequently are associated with a lack of realistic goal setting unless the process of designing and managing an organization includes not only the re-examination of context and strategy but also the regular re-examination of goals. Another frequent problem we face in a VUCA-Plus world concerns the complex interpersonal- and task-related skills needed to run an organization—or government. We are often “in over our heads” when seeking to build and sustain a viable working relationship with other people.

Thus, we must enter the challenging world of VUCA-Plus with several critical skills. First, is the ability to think in a careful, systemic manner about the world swirling about us. It is easy to think quickly with nothing but a desire to make the anxiety go away. We are fleeing—but to little avail. Second, we must acknowledge the stress associated with VUCA-Plus challenges. We must be mindful of this stress and find ways to reduce it while being proactive in responding to the VUCA-Plus challenges.

Finally, our problem-solving and decision-making in a VUCA-Plus environment must be done in collaboration with other people. We are not strong enough to confront the VUCA-Plus challenges alone. It is in collaborative dialogue with other important people in our life that we find the courage, clarity, and strength to not just make sense of our mid-21st-century world but also learn from the VUCA-Plus challenges and find nourishment and a sense of self-purpose in successfully confronting these challenges.

In this book, Dr. Bergquist intends to make the conditions of VUCA-Plus not only more comprehensible but also more amenable to transformation from challenge to opportunity. Hopefully, the unique perspectives and strategies offered in this book assist in bringing about this transformative process. Bergquist first identifies ways in which we are lured away from the task of directly addressing these challenges and are encouraged to travel down a rabbit hole into a distorted world of serenity. He then offer several distinctive perspectives (lens) that make VUCA-Plus conditions more manageable—and the source of new ideas and new initiatives. These distinctive perspectives concern the effective engagement of Essentials in our life and work. Bergquist also introduce ways to focus on that which is the Essence of our life and work. In his exploration of Essentials and Essence, Bergquist introduce a new concept called Polystasis. This concept builds on the neurobiology model of Allostasis offered by Peter Sterling along with the dynamic, feedback-based T.O.T.E. model introduced many years ago by George Miller, Eugene Galanter, and Karl Pribram. Specific strategies and tools (such as polarity management and white-water navigation) are introduced as ways to deploy the unique perspectives offered in this book.