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Perpetual transformation in a world in flux: Toward a flux mindset and organizational resilience

APRIL RINNE

A world in flux — and a future in flux — demands holistic rethinking of how business is done. From how we build, manage, grow and lead thriving companies, to expectations about talent and performance, to organizational culture: All of these things are up for reassessment and, potentially, a radical reshaping.

The global pandemic has been a wake-up call for a world in flux. Yet in many ways, they are but a warm-up for what lies ahead. I don’t necessarily mean another pandemic (though now is no time to be complacent), but rather an era of constant, relentless and often seismic change. By and large, this world in flux does not align with how we’ve been taught to think about how the world works: individually, organizationally or collectively. It is a world of perpetual change and perpetual transformation.

Creating a culture of continuous transformation, in a world that is itself in flux, requires learning to harness the benefits of constant change and uncertainty, day in and day out. I’ve been immersed in humans’ relationships to change for more than 25 years, and I’d like to share five tips for how to do this:

1) Prioritize mindset before strategy.

There is a great risk that perpetual transformation merely finds its way into the change management bucket. We must make sure that does not happen. Why? Because change management, while helpful, is incomplete. Let me explain.

All too often, humans get their relationships to change backwards. We focus on developing change management strategies and worry about investing in uncertainty. But what we often fail to remember — or even realize sometimes — is that every single strategy, investment and decision you make is fundamentally rooted in your mindset. Consider:

• Do you see change from a place of hope, or fear? That’s not strategy; that’s mindset.
• Do you believe you can control your future, and then struggle when things don’t go to plan? That’s not strategy; that’s mindset.

And this isn’t just about you. How would your colleagues, team members, friends, and family members answer these questions? In my experience, the answer is: not the same way that you do. Everyone’s relationship to change is different, because everyone’s lived experience is different. We bring different lenses and emotions to the table. And yet, when we make management and strategic decisions, we often assume that others think like we do. Then we wonder why strategies don’t go to plan… but the answer is clear: Because we’ve put the cart before the horse.

Mindset drives strategy, not the other way around.

Strategy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is shaped by the emotions, assumptions, and quirks that filter and shape how we see the world. Get clear on these and factor them in from the outset. Open what I call a Flux Mindset (and keep reading). You’ll see a world of change in a whole new light and open yourself up to a much easier, smoother path to perpetual transformation.

2) Open a Flux Mindset.

A Flux Mindset is one’s ability to see change consistently as an opportunity, not a threat, and to take advantage of it. It’s the ability to see every change — loved or hated, small or large, expected or unexpected, welcome or unwanted — as an opportunity to do things better. Having a Flux Mindset doesn’t mean merely accepting change, but rather, developing an eagerness to harness it well.

A Flux Mindset isn’t a magic wand that — poof! — makes unwelcome change disappear. Rather, it is a mental muscle that’s grooved to not resist change, nor does it delude you about change or that somehow you’re above change. Rather, a Flux Mindset treats constant change and uncertainty as a feature, not a bug — and empowers you to lean into life on that basis.

A Flux Mindset also knows how to answer the question: What makes you, you — even when everything else changes?

The word flux is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it means continuous change or movement. As a verb, it means to learn to become fluid. So in a world in flux, people and organizations must learn how to flux. Enter a Flux Mindset.

Keep in mind, both individuals and organizations can develop Flux Mindsets. At an organizational level, fluxiness becomes an essential element of organizational culture. What makes your organization — unique and resilient — even when everything else changes? Hint: This goes far beyond quarterly earnings, marketing pitches, or even customer loyalty. It touches upon company values, yet goes deeper. This gets to the heart of why your company or organization exists in the first place — and whether that stands up to the reality of a world in flux.

Today, how would you rate your organization’s ability to flux? Are certain topics trigger points? Are select people, teams, or departments more capable and comfortable embracing change than others?

If you’ve never thought about these questions, that’s already a helpful signal — and a great place to start.

Moving forward, organizations that can flux will be better positioned not only to navigate constant change, but to harness perpetual transformation. In fact, perpetual transformation will be part of their cultural DNA.

3) Reset your relationship to control.

On the whole, humans tend to love changes that we opt into: a new relationship, a new job, a new adventure, even a new song to listen to or a new food to taste. But we tend to really struggle with change that we don’t control: the kind of change that blindsides you on a Tuesday afternoon, that goes against your expectations, or that disrupts your plans. We fear these changes, we resist them, and we mistakenly believe we can control them.

What’s more, technology often exacerbates this situation. The more devices we have in our pockets — or the more apps on any given device — the more we tend to buy into the belief that we can control what happens next.

A change in location or traffic? GPS will solve that. A change in financial markets? A trading app can fix that. Meeting change? No problem, your calendar app is at the ready. A change in your refrigerator, and ran out of milk? An instant delivery app and you’re good to go.

Granted, these are tiny changes in the grand scheme of things. But bit by bit, they lead us to believe that technology somehow has the answer. And yet, when change really hits — when the future is uncertain, when the world flips upside-down, when things don’t go to plan — nothing could be further from the truth. We wake up to the reality that neither you nor I nor anyone has ever been able to control the future: whether that future is this afternoon, next week, or a decade or century from now. What we’re after is merely the illusion of control.

Sure, GPS can help us navigate across town. But it will never be able to navigate life. Only you can do that, for your own life, which brings us back to the same question: What makes you, you — even when everything else changes? Moreover, in a world of certain uncertainty, what does control even mean?

A Flux Mindset sees through this illusion of control of external circumstances and the outside world, and it shifts its focus to what you can control: how you respond. No one can control a specific outcome, but you can control whether and how you contribute to an outcome you’d like to see. No one can predict the future, but you can prepare for many different possible futures.

This shift — from predict to prepare — is an essential piece of the perpetual transformation puzzle. In fact, this is what perpetual transformation is all about. Reassessing and resetting your relationship to control is key to your ability to deliver on it.

Scenario mapping (or scenario planning) is one powerful tool that can help power a shift from predict to prepare. The purpose of scenario mapping is to shift away from getting fixated on any one particular result that must happen, and toward a wide range of outcomes that may happen. The scenario mapping process does exactly that: imagining and mapping out as many different possibilities as you can, from amazing to apocalyptic and myriad others in between.

As Winston Churchill said, “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” The point of scenario planning is not that any one scenario will actually happen (and typically, none do) however what often does happen is that some combination of factors and events that were part of different scenarios comes to bear. Because you’ve already imagined these possible realities, you’re not caught off-guard. You’re better able to respond, and you might even find a sense of peace.

4) Reframe the Chief Transformation Officer role.

Chief Transformation Officer is a peculiar and often ill-fitting title. On the one hand, it shows up in organizational charts from time to time, most often in the context of digital transformation: this person is tasked with overseeing a company’s shift to digital business operations, services, online presence and the ripple effects (operational, financial, cultural, technological and otherwise) that entails. On the other hand, a range of other CXOs are expected to add transformation to their respective portfolios and domains. CEOs, COOs, CHROs, CTOs, Chief Innovation Officers, Chief Insights Officers, and Chief Culture Officers: all of these are part transformation officer, too — though you would be hard-pressed to find a common definition among their roles. Worst of all, some companies appoint a Chief Transformation Officer in what amounts to little more than a marketing stint.

But in a world in flux, the role of a Chief Transformation Officer takes on new meaning and new urgency. When change is rattling and whipsawing organizations every day — from top to bottom, in-person and virtually, from executives to new joiners and everyone in between — a Chief Transformation Officer can no longer be defined in relation to how other roles are changing, nor defined to one function, department, project, or end goal.

To achieve continuous transformation, it’s time to rethink and overhaul the Chief Transformation Officer role in two ways: first, with a cross-functional Change Navigation role that addresses the pervasive, relentless change and uncertainty in the world at large and, second, toward adopting change navigator status at all levels of the organization, helping all talent strengthen their change muscle (that is, open a Flux Mindset) and ultimately embedding this within organizational culture.

5) Remember: Moving forward, there is no steady state, and no end game other than change. Perpetual transformation is the future.

This is a huge break from what we’re often taught and how organizations typically operate. That said, if we can get comfortable with it, a whole new universe — new opportunities, new ways of building and leading business, new ways of being — open up.

By and large, most people are taught that when we reach a certain goal or milestone, you’ll be rewarded: for example, that you’ll have made it once you’ve earned a certain amount of money, or that you’ll be happy when you’ve tackled a certain problem. Organizations often exacerbate this: from climbing the corporate ladder rung-by-rung, to our obsession with productivity and more.

Yet, for example, in our quest for productivity, do we stop and ask: Productive to what end? Productive for whom?

Having more meetings in a given day does not make you more productive, if the meetings themselves are void of meaning. A CEO who asks his or her direct reports to be more productive accomplishes very little if that talent is overworked, burning out, without meaning, or resents being micromanaged in the first place.

Moreover, this way of thinking — that productivity is inherently good, or that more is inherently better — keeps people stuck in a cycle of insufficiency, unhappiness, and wondering: Isn’t there more to life? (To be clear: I am not saying don’t have dreams and goals and strive to be happy. But keep in mind: There is no end point after which happiness, or success, or certainty is guaranteed. All of these things will themselves change… and this is what we need to get radically and completely comfortable with.)

Ironically, it’s usually when change hits — when a window for transformation appears — that these disconnects are most acutely felt. So part of the answer of how to deliver on perpetual transformation is to ask these questions: Productive for what end? Productive for whom? Is more better, or is enough, enough? — on a continuous, daily basis. This is how you create cultures where transformation is always underway.

Coming full circle, the pace of change has never been as fast as it is today, yet it is likely to never again be this slow. This reality isn’t about a pandemic, or any one change, or any one year. The future is in flux. The new-now-next-never normal is more constant change, not more certainty or stability. Against this backdrop, the five steps highlighted above represent a sea change in how we think about, talk about, relate to, lead through, and ultimately thrive in perpetual transformation. Only by reshaping our relationships to change and uncertainty — individually and collectively — will we be able to build, grow, and lead fluxy organizations and forge a brighter future for all.

About the author

A World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and ranked one of the “50 Leading Female Futurists” by Forbes, April Rinne is a change navigator: she helps individuals and organizations rethink and reshape their relationship with change, uncertainty, and a world in flux. She is a trusted advisor to well-known startups, companies, financial institutions, nonprofits, and think tanks worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, NESTA, Trōv, AnyRoad, and Unsettled, as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, Italy to India. April is the author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change (Berrett-Koehler, 2021).

A graduate of Harvard Law School, April has been weaving a story about how to thrive amid flux for as long as she can remember, drawing on her history as a futurist, advisor, global development executive, microfinance lawyer, investor, mental health advocate, certified yoga teacher, globetrotter (100+ countries), and insatiable handstander. April also harnesses her very personal experiences with flux, including the death of both of her parents in a car accident when she was 20. Through her travels and tragedy, vision and values, global perspective and grounded sense of purpose, April helps others better understand how we see, think about, struggle with, and ultimately forge positive relationships with change. More at fluxmindset.com.