Part I
What FLUX Is: A Compass in an Era Without Navigation Maps
The first time I heard the term VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous), I was leading a transformation project with a leadership team that felt at the mercy of the waves. The acronym fit, but it did not move us forward. Later I came across BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible), which started popping up in every slide deck I read. In the meantime, rough seas were turning into a storm. Naming the moment does not bring the ship into port.
FLUX is the mindset I proposed in 2025 for this moment, not because it is clever, but because it is actionable. If VUCA and BANI are descriptions of the climate, FLUX is seamanship. It doesn’t just acknowledge instability, it teaches us how to move within it. And in an AI era, where breakthroughs arrive weekly and compounding effects change the game mid-play, we need more than labels. We need motion.
Think of FLUX through four lenses – Fast, Liquid, Uncharted, eXperimental – not as a checklist but as the living conditions of leadership today.
Fast. Acceleration with Wisdom
Speed isn’t new; compounding acceleration is. AI has amplified the pace of iteration. One CEO told me, “We’re an F1 car with a bicycle’s reflexes.” The answer is not more speed alone, it’s collective reflexes that pair decisiveness with reflection. In practice, that looks like shortening decision cycles, clarifying who decides what (and when), and building in brief but disciplined reflection loops. The danger isn’t slowness; it’s reckless acceleration without wisdom.
Mini-case 1. Amazon institutionalized speed without losing judgment by distinguishing Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions. They defined Type 2 decisions as reversible choices, and the principle is to move quickly and locally. For Type 1 decisions, irreversible, high-impact bets, the principle is to slow down for stronger scrutiny. The cultural lesson: you can go fast and be smart if you know which door you’re walking through. Thousands of experiments thrive because not everything requires an executive summit.
Liquid. Boundaries That Flow
Traditional organizations were castles: well-defined walls, moats, and guard towers. Yet industries now bleed into each other. Teams span functions, geographies, and even employers. Liquidity means leading through connection rather than control, designing for flow, not fortification. Leaders become network architects: shaping interfaces, trust, and shared language so information and initiative can move where they’re needed.
Uncharted. From Maps to Compass
In the past, new maps replaced old ones. Today, the terrain itself keeps moving. We’re not replacing maps, we’re navigating without them. The key isn’t having a perfect route; it’s holding a compass, a North Star of purpose, values, and long-term aspiration that keeps direction stable while tactics evolve.
Experimental. Make Learning a Habit
Experimentation used to be a department (R&D) or a moment (pilot). In FLUX, it’s a habit, the default language of the enterprise. Every initiative is a hypothesis; every release is a test; every failure is paid tuition for learning.
Mini-case 2. Netflix didn’t just pivot once. It moved from DVDs by mail to streaming, then to original content, and more recently to new tiers and formats. None of these were blind leaps; they were compounded experiments guided by member value and data. The through-line wasn’t a perfect plan, it was an evolving logic supported by constant testing, clear guardrails, and the courage to cannibalize yesterday’s success for tomorrow’s relevance.
In summary, here is an explanation of FLUX in one line: Don’t predict the sea; learn to sail it – with rhythm, reflex, and a reliable star.
Part II
Leadership in FLUX: From Hero to Host (and Back Again)
FLUX is about mindset management, leadership in flux is about energy & focus management – personal, team, and organizational. Many leaders tell me they’re tired not because of work volume, but because of uncertainty debt: the mental tax of carrying too many unmade decisions for too long. The myth of the solitary herowhite-knuckling the wheel – exhausts leaders and weakens organizations. In FLUX, the leader’s role evolves: from hero to host, and occasionally back to hero when the moment demands it.
To make “living the FLUX mindset” tangible, I use a practical scaffolding: the 6Es of Leadership, how we embody clarity and enable motion, every day. Each “E” explains a key facet of leadership which requires energy and focus.
1. Envisioning. Strategy
This is not five-year plans. It’s directional clarity that fits on a page and updates in sprints. Leaders articulate a simple, memorable logic: who we serve, the value we create, and how we win. Then they keep adjusting the route while holding the North Star steady.
Micro-routines that help
Micro-routines that help:
- One-page logic narrative updated every 6–8 weeks
- Three “bets” visible to all, each with hypotheses and metrics
- Narrative check: “What story are we telling our customers and ourselves right now?”
2. Executing. Operations
In FLUX, execution is a cadence, not a crackdown. Weekly priorities, clear owners, and a short list of blockers to remove. Leaders create reliable rhythms where teams know the beat – and where learning can be folded back into the music.
Micro-routines that help:
Micro-routines that help:
- Monday 30-minute priority sync: “What matters this week?”
- Midweek unblock: leader removes two named obstacles
- Friday learning loop: one insight, one decision, one kill (what we’ll stop)
3. Engaging. Culture
Culture is not slogans; it’s experienced norms. In FLUX, the most valuable norm is curiosity with psychological safety. People must feel safe to bring weak signals, dissenting views, and early data. The leader’s presence sets the tone: curious, calm, decisive when needed.
Micro-routines that help:
Micro-routines that help:
- Rotate “contrarian-of-the-week” to pressure-test assumptions.
- Start meetings with a 90-second signal round: what’s emerging?
- End with learning circles: who learned something valuable?
4. Empowering. Coaching & Mentoring
From hero to host means growing deciders, not just doers. Coaching is not therapy at work; it’s a disciplined practice of questioning, feedback, and autonomy.
Micro-routines that help:
Micro-routines that help:
- The “coach’s arc” in one-on-ones: clarify intent → probe options → commit to one next test.Applicare l’“arco del coach” nei colloqui one-on-one: chiarire l’intento → sondare opzioni → prendere un impegno per il prossimo colloquio
- Decision ladders: what decisions can you make alone / with input / together?
- Debrief after the fact, not before: learning sticks when ownership is real.
5. Enabling. Technology
AI is not magic glitter. It’s a capability amplifier and a mirror. When processes are murky, AI scales confusion. When workflows are clear, AI scales value. Leaders should champion responsible adoption: clarity on use-cases, data ethics, and measurable outcomes.
Micro-routines that help:
Micro-routines that help:
- “AI hour” monthly: one use-case demoed by a team member, measured next sprint.
- Data sanity checks: What does this model not see? Where could it mislead us?
- Kill switch norms: if a tool degrades trust or quality, we pause it immediately.
6. Embodying. Values, Ethics & Wisdom
In high flux, trust is the only non-negotiable. People watch what leaders do more than what they say. Embodying means walking the talk, especially when it costs. It means acting from values, not vibes.
Micro-routines that help:
- Leader’s “line in the sand”: one value you’ll never trade for short-term gain – made explicit.
- Post-mortems that name ethical tradeoffs, not just performance gaps.
- Quiet resets: when you overextend or misspeak, repair swiftly and publicly.
A short client vignette
A European industrial company I supported had a brilliant strategy deck and a tired organization. “We don’t need more vision,” a frontline leader told me. “We need fewer whiplash priorities.” We shifted the CEO’s role from broadcasting new initiatives to hosting a monthly strategy cadence: three bets, each with a named hypothesis, owner, and 60-day test. Within two cycles, energy rebounded. People felt held by a rhythm and freed by clarity. That’s living FLUX: rhythm plus room.
The leadership pivot in one sentence: In FLUX, your job is to hold the direction, set the rhythm, grow deciders, and embody the standard.
Part III
Strategy in FLUX: Short Sprints, Real Skills
A common question I hear: “If everything changes so quickly, why bother with strategy?” Because without strategy, activity becomes noise. The mistake isn’t strategy itself, it’s treating strategy as a rigid plan. In FLUX, strategy is a living logic you update through short sprints of rapid adaptation.
Let’s be direct: except for genuine long-horizon capital plays (where assets and physics demand it), 5–10 year strategic plans are mostly theater. They soothe anxiety but rarely survive first contact with reality. What works instead is sprinting the strategy – tight loops that sense, decide, test, learn, and recalibrate.
The Strategy Sprint (8–12 Weeks)
The sprint follows five steps: First, sense by gathering weak signals from customer anecdotes, frontline data, and adjacent tech shifts. Second, decide by selecting 2–3 sharp hypotheses – if we do X for Y segment, we expect Z. Third, test by running bounded experiments that are time-boxed, budget-boxed, with clear owners. Fourth, learn by reviewing results together, then tightening the logic or killing the bet. Finally, recalibrate by updating the one-page strategic logic and communicating the story.
This is not “agile theater.” It’s disciplined adaptation. The North Star anchors direction; the sprint supplies motion.
Strategy Competencies
I love good frameworks as much as any strategist (and co-created some). But in FLUX, frameworks are instruments, not the music. What matters most is the skill of playing, the human capabilities to sense, decide, and learn faster than the context shifts. That’s why our research built the Big Five of Strategy as a competency model, a practical way to develop strategic individuals and teams, not just beautiful slides.
Without canonizing labels here, the Big Five emphasizes 5 core strategy capabilities:
Grasping the Present involves sense-making, not just looking at data or trends, but seeing the system, understanding complex dynamics, noticing early signals, and mapping stakeholders at every level.
Shaping the Future requires decision-making power, defining the North Star, bold thinking, and navigating complex choices to chart a compelling path forward.
Moving the System means mobilizing people, understanding the emotions of change, leading transformation with principles, and moving the pack forward.
Delivering the Results focuses on execution, turning plans into outcomes through effective action planning, wise resource allocation, and progress control.
Finally, Adapting to Change builds versatility, resilience, flexibility, and learning agility in responding constructively to disruption, setbacks, and surprises.
Treat these not as ideas to admire but skills to practice. Put them in performance conversations. Hire, promote, and coach for them. Strategy in FLUX is a people capability before it is a plan.
Coherence Without Rigidity
The paradox in FLUX is simple: if you experiment wildly, you lose unity; if you enforce unity, you lose learning. The way through is guardrails, purpose, values, and a few crisp strategic rules, paired with many small bets within those boundaries. Think of a river: banks (coherence) plus flow (experimentation).
Putting it together: an integrated cadence
The rhythm of FLUX strategy operates across multiple time horizons.
Weekly, you run priority syncs asking what changes this week, make fast Type 2 decisions, and remove blockers.
Bi-weekly, you review experiments to understand what you’ve learned and make early kill/scale calls.
Every 6–8 weeks, you conduct a Strategy Sprint Review to update the one-page logic and reset bets.
Quarterly, you take a portfolio view to rebalance investment across horizons.
Annually, you reconfirm the North Star and conduct a deep sensemaking offsite.
Over time, this cadence does more than keep you “agile.” It builds organizational wisdom: the ability to learn the right lessons at the right altitude.
Netflix again, briefly. Its moves weren’t random. They aligned around a simple story – bring more of what members value, more conveniently, with better discovery – and then cycled fast. When a bet underperformed, they pivoted. When a bet produced signal, they doubled down. That’s not chaos; that’s coherent adaptation.
Amazon again, briefly. Its two-door decision norm shapes the sprint. Most choices are reversible – make them locally, quickly, and learn. A few are not – then slow down, widen the aperture, and be explicit about risk. This shared language keeps sprints fast where they should be and thoughtful where they must be.
What Makes Strategy Stick in FLUX
Strategy sticks when it’s told as a story, not just a slide – people move on narratives. It needs to be owned broadly; strategy can’t be a corner-office monologue but must be a team dialogue. Success is measured by learning speed: the key KPI is how quickly we convert uncertainty into knowledge. And it must be grounded in values and competencies – when choices cut across ethics, the long-term bill always comes due.
What to Stop and Start
Stop commissioning annual strategy decks that no one reads by March. Stop running ten priorities in parallel – run fewer main objectives and do them deeply. Stop treating AI as an ornament – tie it to one measurable use-case per sprint.
And what should we start doing?
Start by writing your one-page logic – who we serve, what value, how we win – and date-stamp it. Publish three hypotheses for the next 6–8 weeks with named owners and measures. Create a decision log distinguishing Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions – it will transform speed and clarity. Put the Big Five of Strategy capabilities into your talent conversations and coach to them.
Closing: The North Star and the Next Wave
Leaders often ask me for certainty. I can’t give it, and neither can anyone else. What I can offer is orientation and craft. Orientation is your North Star – why you exist, the values you won’t trade, the aspiration that deserves your best. Craft is what you practice – short strategy sprints, clean cadences, learning as habit, courage in decision, humility in revision.
FLUX is not a crisis to endure; it’s our new ocean. The leaders who will thrive aren’t those with perfect maps, but those who sail well: steady hand on the compass, crisp rhythm in the crew, experiments in the water, and a story worth moving toward.
When the next wave rises – and it will – look up. Check the star. Then, together, trim the sails and move.
Important Disclaimer on Intellectual Property Rights
The content of this article is the Intellectual Property of Dr. Timothy Tiryaki and may not be copied, adapted, or reused without prior written permission.
