In conversations about navigating complexity, VUCA and BANI often come up—two powerful yet distinct frameworks helping leaders make sense of our turbulent world.

VUCA—Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity—focuses on the external environment, providing a language to describe shifting market forces, unpredictable events, and complex ecosystems.

BANI—Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible—emerged around the pandemic to fill a gap VUCA didn’t fully address, shining a light on the internal emotional and systemic realities organizations face when turbulence hits. BANI captures fragility, human anxiety, and nonlinear behaviors that shape how people and systems respond.

Together, VUCA and BANI offer a balanced view: VUCA describes what is happening outside, while BANI delves into how it feels and unfolds within.

Yet, both stop short of providing leaders with a comprehensive diagnostic system that links these insights to real organizational conditions and tailored leadership actions.

This is where CIRCA goes beyond.

CIRCA integrates and extends these narratives—mapping specific organizational conditions (Complex, Insecure, Rapid, Contradictory, Anxious) and providing leaders with a practical way to diagnose turbulence in their own system.

By combining external realities with internal dynamics and focused diagnostic clarity, CIRCA equips leaders to not only name the storm but navigate and respond effectively—turning disruption into an opportunity for resilience and growth.

How are you balancing external turbulence and internal dynamics in your leadership approach? Could CIRCA’s diagnostic lens help tie these elements together in your context?

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Innovating Agility: The Journey Ahead

I am currently developing Ingenious Agility, a book designed to explore twelve core themes of organizational agility across cultural, operational, and strategic dimensions. Central to the book is the evolving CIRCA model, which serves as a framework for understanding and advancing adaptability in complex settings.

To bridge theory and real-world practice, the book draws on case studies, such as Microsoft’s DevOps transformation and Haier’s microenterprise model, illustrating how cultural and structural innovation unlock sustainable agility and ingenuity.

Ingenious Agility aims to equip leaders to architect organizations that withstand chaos while fostering sustained innovation and meaningful change.