Management expert: BANI is "in", VUCA is "out"
Today's markets are changing rapidly and often radically. In management, the term VUCA has become established for this. The acronym stands for "volatility", "uncertainty", "complexity" and "ambiguity". But VUCA is outdated, now the BANI principle applies to managers, says management expert Dr. Harald Schönfeld. BANI stands for "brittle" (fragile), "anxious" (fearful), "non-linear" (non-linear) and "incomprehensible" (incomprehensible).
Dr Harald Schönfeld explains: "VUCA was based on the idea that the situation would more or less return to normal over time. BANI, on the other hand, is the right model for an environment that is characterized by permanently unstable and possibly even chaotic structures." He gives an example of the distinction between VUCA and BANI: "It may well be that global supply bottlenecks will one day be a thing of the past, but the development of AI will never be reversed and will bring with it brute force effects that we can at best only guess at today. Modern company management must be able to describe the company strategy in clear, simple terms, despite all the uncertainties. After all, only what can be described clearly can be communicated to employees, customers or shareholders: as a basis for necessary new action."
Formulate goal, describe path, carry out operational implementation
Management expert Dr. Harald Schönfeld talks about the three-step principle of BANI: firstly, identifying and formulating the goal, secondly, describing the path to get there, and thirdly, walking the path, i.e. implementing it. "Many managers and, above all, management consultants are able to develop concepts and paint powerpoints with new business areas worth billions, but most of them fail when it comes to operational implementation," says Dr. Harald Schönfeld. He explains: "Implementation is not just about technical expertise, but above all about convincing everyone involved and getting them emotionally involved along the way. Only with the ability to inspire people can the future be shaped in these times."
The BANI approach also involves preparing the company for essentially unpredictable, non-linear events, says Dr. Harald Schönfeld. He explains: "Modern management must be prepared to react to disruptive developments in a non-linear way. This requires resilient structures, a high degree of mindfulness, continuous adaptability and transparency."
Better with interim managers than consultants
According to Dr. Harald Schönfeld, many company managements have reached their limits in view of the force of the upheavals. "Most of them have not yet arrived in the VUCA world in their minds and are therefore not at all in a position to develop in the direction of BANI," he knows from many conversations with board members, managing directors, supervisory boards and advisory boards.
He concludes: "The majority of companies will not be able to manage without external help" and emphasizes: "but not with mere consultants who develop supposedly clever concepts, but with interim managers who come into the company for a few months if necessary and play an active role in shaping the change themselves. Because in times of rapid change, being able to tackle issues quickly and the certainty of doing the right things when implementing them in the company are the two decisive factors for competitiveness."
In addition to professionalism and humanity, a high level of multidisciplinary expertise is also required, emphasizes Dr. Harald Schönfeld. The management expert explains: "The further development of a company's own business model does not take place in a vacuum, but must now include aspects such as compliance, governance and ESG." The expert therefore recommends that companies "regularly bring interim managers on board for future-oriented projects in order to acquire this new knowledge quickly and in a practice-oriented manner".
Source: www.butterflymanager.com
