Cortex Leadership Consulting
Jun 20, 2025
Roanoke, VA & Cologne, Germany – In a bold and timely call to action, Lynda McNutt Foster, CEO of Cortex Leadership Consulting, and Holger Heinze, Director & Partner at O'Donovan Consulting AG, have co-authored a powerful new thought leadership piece titled “From VUCA to BANI: Leading in Today’s Chaotic World.” The article challenges today’s business leaders to move beyond the now-outdated VUCA framework and embrace a new, more relevant leadership model: BANI – Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible.
For decades, the VUCA framework (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) has guided executive decision-making amid change. However, Foster and Heinze argue that today’s disruptions – from pandemics and geopolitical instability to climate crises and AI-driven transformation – demand a more honest and actionable map. “VUCA no longer fully captures the intensity or emotional weight of our world,” says Foster. “BANI gives leaders a better language to interpret and respond to the stress fractures showing up across every industry.”
Why BANI, Why Now
First introduced by futurist Jamais Cascio, BANI captures the emotional and structural instability of modern systems. The article walks readers through how:
Brittleness reflects systems that break under pressure.
Anxiety is an ever-present emotional state due to constant uncertainty.
Nonlinearity means minor events can cause disproportionate impact.
Incomprehensibility challenges leaders’ ability to interpret fast-moving, ambiguous data.
The authors emphasize that BANI is not just a trend—it’s an urgent leadership imperative. “Our institutions, processes, and mindsets must evolve. We can no longer rely on planning cycles built for stability,” says Heinze. “BANI leadership demands resilience, empathy, improvisation, and intuition.”
A New Leadership Playbook
The article outlines a modern leadership toolkit suited for the BANI world. Leaders must:
Shift from reactive firefighting to resilient foresight.
Replace rigid, hierarchical workflows with agile and adaptive systems.
Invest in psychological capital (PsyCap) – Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism – to sustain teams amid stress and uncertainty.
Foster cross-functional collaboration and collective sensemaking as a strategic advantage.
“Leaders who thrive in BANI environments don’t seek perfect control—they build cultures prepared to bend without breaking,” says Foster.
Global Examples of BANI Leadership
Foster and Heinze back their insights with powerful case studies:
Home Depot chartered private ships to avoid supply chain chaos.
Tesla rewrote software to accommodate chip shortages.
GM & Ford pivoted to produce ventilators and PPE during COVID-19.
Microsoft focused on emotional intelligence and psychological safety through empathetic policies.
These real-world examples show that BANI-ready companies outperform not by avoiding chaos—but by being structurally and culturally prepared to engage with it.
Call to Action
The article closes with practical steps: forming a “BANI Response Team,” measuring adaptability alongside efficiency, and conducting team conversations about readiness. Leaders are encouraged to ask, “If our world is truly BANI, what’s one thing we should change today?”
As Foster notes, “Chaos favors the prepared, the courageous, and the flexible. That can be you and your company.”
Contact Information
For North America:
Lynda McNutt Foster
CEO, Cortex Leadership Consulting
For Europe:
Holger Heinze
Director & Partner, O'Donovan Consulting AG