Navigating Chaos with Improv: VUCA and BANI in Business

What do Improv, VUCA and BANI have in common?

You’ve heard of VUCA, but have you heard of BANI? In fact, first of all, have you heard of VUCA?

What is VUCA?

VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It was first used by the U.S. military in the late 1980s to describe the challenging post-Cold War environment. Today, it is often used in business, leadership, and organizational contexts to characterize situations that are hard to predict or navigate. Here’s a breakdown:

• Volatility: The speed and magnitude of change in a situation, which can be dramatic and unexpected.
• Uncertainty: The lack of predictability and the inability to forecast future events.
• Complexity: The intricate, interconnected, and often overwhelming number of factors involved in a situation.
• Ambiguity: Situations where cause and effect are unclear, leading to confusion about the best course of action.

These four words are actually a pretty good description of improvisation. So, VUCA is an excellent model for making the case for improv in business. Improv is all of these things, and all of these things are baked into improv. This is very handy for me, obviously, but I genuinely believe (and have had it fed back to me) that improv is an excellent way to explore these concepts in an experiential (and safe) way. After all, Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity are not necessarily bad things to experience—they just require calmness and presence of mind to handle in the best possible way. And in the case of improv, they can actually become very enjoyable states to experience. My belief is that if we approach these perhaps scary-sounding concepts with a lightness and even a sense of relish, they can become a huge opportunity for growth in both individuals and organizations.

So, What About BANI?

BANI stands for Brittleness, Anxiety, Nonlinearity, and Incomprehensibility*. EESH. This term was first introduced by futurist Jamais Cascio in the 2020s. According to him, BANI is now more relevant than VUCA, given the post-pandemic world and, well, everything else going on. Here’s the reasoning:

• Brittleness: Describes systems or structures that seem strong but can break down easily under stress or pressure. Unlike VUCA’s volatility, brittleness focuses on fragility within systems.
• Anxiety: Reflects the psychological and emotional tension caused by uncertainty, constant change, and an overwhelming flow of information.
• Nonlinearity: Highlights the non-proportional relationships between cause and effect—small actions or decisions can lead to disproportionately large outcomes.
• Incomprehensibility: Acknowledges that some events or situations are so complex or foreign that they are hard to understand or interpret meaningfully.

Pretty terrifying, right? However, good news again for us improvisers! While hopefully improv doesn’t have these traits inherent,* it can certainly be a good tool for coping with these things.

The thing that strikes me about both of these frameworks, their relevance to the world, and to what I do, is the need for presence and responsiveness. When I teach, I often talk about the perfect state for improvisation being relaxed and alert at the same time—not so relaxed that we stop paying attention, but not so alert that we are tense. Not a bad way to live in the face of the current climate. But perhaps easier said than done.

In my own life, onstage and off, I’m helped immensely by the idea of the locus of control.

Locus of Control: Letting Go vs. Taking Charge

The locus of control is a psychological concept developed by Julian B. Rotter** in 1954.  It refers to the degree to which people believe they have control over the outcomes of their lives, as opposed to external forces shaping their destiny. More on that in this article, but in short: let go of the things you cannot control, and focus on the small things that you can.

How Improv Strengthens an Internal Locus of Control

Improv can significantly help develop a strong internal locus of control by training individuals to take ownership of their actions, adapt to challenges, and embrace uncertainty with confidence. Here’s how:

1. Emphasizing Personal Responsibility
   • In improv, you can’t control what others do, but you can control how you respond.
   • Performers learn to take responsibility for their contributions to a scene, reinforcing the idea that their choices shape the outcome.
2. Encouraging Proactive Decision-Making
   • Improv requires quick thinking and immediate decision-making without waiting for external validation.
   • This builds confidence in one’s ability to navigate uncertainty, reinforcing the belief that “I can shape what happens next.”
3. Reducing Fear of Failure
   • In improv, mistakes aren’t seen as failures but as opportunities to build on.
   • This mindset shift helps people see challenges as something they can work through, rather than blaming external factors.
4. Strengthening Adaptability and Resilience
   • Since improv is unpredictable, practitioners learn to trust their instincts and adapt on the spot.
   • This helps develop resilience, reinforcing the belief that they can handle whatever comes their way, rather than feeling powerless.
5. Building Confidence Through Action
   • Improv removes the need for perfection and focuses on doing rather than overthinking.
   • Regular exposure to this helps people trust their own abilities, reinforcing the belief that their efforts and choices matter.

Final Thoughts: Try a Bit of Improv

If you’re feeling a bit out of control in your unstable environment, you could try a bit of improv. Here are some beginner’s improv games to get you started. Improv, VUCA and BANI don’t have to be a scary as they sound. You might not change the inevitable reality of the world, but you might feel more resilient—and you might even laugh.

*I will admit, though, that some of my shows have been utterly incomprehensible. Still fun, though!

**With a name like that, perhaps he needed to develop a strong locus of control.