Chaos Has a Cost: How Leaders Can Avoid Paying It

Abstract The author is a high‐growth strategy specialist and CEO and executive advisor, with extensive teaching experience. Based on her work with “hundreds of leaders across the private, public, and social sectors as they attempt to steer organizational performance through uncertainty,” she delineates what is behind the cost of chaos. In her words, and described further in the article, they include: the paralysis of stalled decision‐making; ineffective decision‐making; elevated operational cost; lack of confidence; employee burn‐out and lack of engagement; and mindshare shift away from the long‐term. In her words, under “avoiding the chaos tax,” and described in detail in the article are: reframe uncertainty; re‐anchor on value creation; set, test, and communicate strategic beliefs: identify kickers and killers; improve decision‐making speed; isolate, and take, no‐regret moves; and learn faster, grow faster. For instance, under reframe uncertainty, she writes: “Our job as leaders is to determine what it is that we are trying to accomplish and then position the organization to achieve it, no matter the events that occur.” and in re‐anchoring on value creation: “With a laser focus on value creation, we can bring nuance relevant to value creation in and filter the noise, or mere distractions, out.”