Navigating Uncertainty

We started Superior Branding Company as a vehicle to navigate uncertainty for ourselves and for the organizations we support. We do this by listening to the world around us and putting into practice the discoveries we make along the way.

You can't rehearse for the unknown.

– Wayne Shorter

Let’s acknowledge this time of transition that has most industries and institutions facing a great deal of uncertainty. The long-standing centers of power: charismatic entrepreneurs, political figures, and technology companies, are either failing or stubbornly protecting models that don’t serve the majority. What will refigure or replace them has not yet arrived, so here we are between an outmoded past and an unwritten future. 

This in-between space is called “liminality”, the transition from one state of being to the next. In liminality, things can feel confused, with no immediate solutions or obvious next steps. It is the “upside down world” in mythology, part of a necessary initiation of the hero’s journey.

This liminal space is tremendously important for the creation of something new, but because we’re pre-disposed to the certainty of knowing what is ahead, we rarely feel comfortable enough to inhabit this space in a way that grows us. Ultimately, uncertainty is our most powerful (and yes, scary) creative ally. Those that take advantage of liminal space can set themselves up for the next phase with increased awareness, flexibility and stamina.

To make the most of our time spent in liminality, we have to give up two things: our attachment to where we’ve been, and our idealizations about where we are going.

What follows are suggestions on how we can approach the space in-between: 

Let Go

It is our habit to hold onto the status quo. If we’ve achieved success with a consistent worldview, why would we intentionally reposition? For one, rigidity is the enemy of creativity. For two, the present conditions of the world are demanding that we do: the health of our relationships, our communities, and our planet depend on our ability to change. 

Ushering in a new phase begins with letting go of existing beliefs and habits that have grown outdated. As a cultural example, we are attempting to let go of binary thinking as a prevailing model. Binary thinking has gotten us into an awful mess culturally. It holds that one party is right, and another is wrong, it assigns traditional roles to gender, it pits science and religion against one another - it is the either/or mentality that stalls creative outcomes. As we collectively tread liminal space, we have the opportunity to let go of binary thinking and include a both/and mindset, where perceived “opposites” are held in complementarity rather than conflict.

Begin by asking a question: As an individual or organization in transition, what long-held belief systems or habituated patterns could be evaluated for change? Are we holding onto a habit that is no longer effective? We probably don’t know what its replacement will be, but just the act of letting go creates an atmosphere of possibility for something new to arrive.

Experiment

When we are looking to establish new norms, we can’t expect that our attempts at change will always be effective, or that new tactics will have staying power. Liminality affords us the space to try many things with an open mind and unstick our expectations of “rightness.” When dealing with uncertainty, it is the act of testing something new that is important, not the outcome. 

In many ways our environment is built for experimentation. Social media in particular is a dynamic medium where campaigns, messages, and questions can be deployed that seek to understand audiences and meet them where they are, in real-time. Don’t take for granted the conversations with customers that can be had every day.

During this time, there is no need to invest significant capital or resources. This is an opportunity to do more and spend less. Learn quickly, adjust, and wait for a more informed near-future to double-down. 

The most important thing to remember is that experiments are vehicles for controlled risk, and are not fixed solutions. It is critical not to stake our identity or the health of our organization on their success. There is a dramatic internal shift that happens when we give ourselves the space to say “I am experimenting in this phase.” With this mindset, failures don’t exist, only more information to move forward with.

Listen

Listening is a hugely important skill when we lack clarity on a next step. As the world changes around us, themes begin to present themselves, and it is our job to stay receptive and associative. Right now, with so many opportunities to fill space, listening is a significantly underutilized power. 

In a time of increased interconnectedness, when we listen for new ideas or themes, chances are that they will apply to areas outside of our own. The opportunity is to build solutions that will scale across industries.

In the past, it was possible for legacy brands and institutions to say almost anything to their consumers and constituents have it believed. With the increase of knowledge and options available to us, this is fortunately no longer the case. Brands instead must speak with their audiences directly and with integrity. Claims and actions are being evaluated by an intelligent public every day.

Likewise as individuals, this is an opportunity to start lining up what we do and how we act with what we say. With AR and VR, behavior is fast-approaching as a dominant social paradigm to replace curation. Going forward, what we do, not what we post, will be established as the new social credit. 

Inquire

Continued self-inquiry is essential at all times, but is especially important during in a period when we are reevaluating ourselves. As a strategic and creative workshop, self-inquiry is the basis for our approach to brand strategy and organizational health. [For more, read part three of our Engagement Archetypes, a tool for self-inquiry.]

The relationship between our conscious and unconscious (both personal and collective) is dynamic and creative. Our conscious minds are incredibly powerful, but they have limitations (remember binary thinking?). The unconscious - by definition, what is unknown to us and about us - can be seen as an infinite storehouse of new ideas and archetypes, waiting to be mediated into consciousness through our hard work. Inquiring into ourselves means being aware of this relationship of known and unknown, and intentionally engaging with it for growth.

The key to our success is found in the unexplored areas of ourselves. This appears to be an intuitive truth, but as leaders, we rarely put it into practice, choosing rather to rely on engrained strategies for problem solving. If we make a formalized, active inquiry into unexplored dimensions of our psyche (whether as individuals or organization), we are accessing the supercomputer of the unconscious that has an unlimited creative potential.

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As we navigate liminal space together, let’s redefine our metrics for success to be approach oriented, rather than outcome oriented. Are we learning? Are we supporting others? Are we remaining in integrity as we face the unknown? As always, continued self-inquiry will ensure that the discoveries we make now will define how we show up in the next phase. 

With more tools at our disposal than we thought, let’s celebrate this time of uncertainty for what it is: a fertile space to create a world that is more connected, more empathic, more inclusive, and with more creative possibility.