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Summary
In the early 1990s, the U.S. Army War College created an acronym to describe the geopolitical situation after the Cold War: VUCA. It stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, four characteristics they saw as defining the multilateral post-Cold War world. The rise of information technologies — and the internet in particular — has radically transformed our political, economic, and social reality. We are all now living in a generalized state of VUCA. We see signs of it everywhere — including the enterprise. Learn from Two Waves author Jorge Arango about how design can help organizations thrive by reducing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Key Insights
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The VUCA framework—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity—aptly describes modern organizational challenges shaped by accelerated technological change and globalization.
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Design is not just about making better things; it is a distinct way of knowing that uses abductive reasoning and solution-focused strategies to tackle ill-defined problems.
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Large enterprises remain trapped in Industrial Age organizational structures, making it difficult to respond effectively to network-age complexities.
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Designers add the most value when engaging with the slower-changing foundational layers of organizations—purpose, strategy, and governance—not just surface UI layers.
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Co-creation involving diverse stakeholders shifts design from a requirement-gathering exercise to a collaborative problem-solving practice that can transform organizational culture.
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Design artifacts such as journey maps or navigation structures often act as 'macguffins'—catalysts for organizational collaboration rather than ends in themselves.
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Language itself is an important design element; consciously mapping and aligning language across teams can reveal hidden misunderstandings and change organizational thinking.
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The escalating pace and scale of software-driven change creates positive feedback loops, accelerating unpredictability in institutions and cultural contexts.
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Design governance should be integrated into overall organizational governance, emphasizing shared responsibility rather than siloed design team ownership.
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There is tension within design between being seen as a superficial craft versus a strategic discipline essential to organizational resilience and adaptation.
Notable Quotes
"Our appliances are attacking us somehow and bringing down major parts of our infrastructure."
"VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—a perfect description of the conditions we face today."
"Design is a third way of knowing, distinct from science and humanities, dealing with ill-defined problems through abductive thinking."
"Designers are the abductive organs of the institution, sensing and responding to complex challenges."
"When you bring other folks into the design process, you touch the deeper layers of the organization."
"Many design artifacts are macguffins—catalysts that make collaboration possible, but are not the real point."
"Language can be designed; mapping how different groups use the same terms reveals critical organizational misalignments."
"Design governance shouldn’t be isolated as a team’s responsibility but part of the organization’s overall governance."
"Design thinking programs often give a taste of design but don’t establish design as a sustained organizational competency."
"We as designers need to bring balance to the forces, including the best interests of the users and the organization."
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