Almost exactly 6 years ago, as things started to shut down for Covid, I drew a cartoon about the challenges of planning in a time of uncertainty.
An executive holds up a coin and says, “We need to update our forecast. Heads, this will blow over soon. Tails, it’s the end of the world.”
At the time I shared a quote I’d heard that I found helpful: “The worst thing to do in a time of chaos is add to it.”
That of course hasn’t been the only moment of uncertainty in the last six years. Uncertainty makes it particularly hard to think about long-range planning.
Jim Hardison, co-founder of Character, shared some insights this week about brands in a time of uncertainty:
“For marketers, this volatility creates a specific problem: uncertainty undermines control. And control has always been central to how brands tell their stories.
“Traditional marketing assumes a relatively stable environment. Teams develop strategies months in advance, campaigns unfold in carefully sequenced phases, and brands guide audiences toward a narrative they have deliberately constructed. But when conditions change faster than plans can adapt, that narrative control begins to collapse. Strategies can be abandoned midstream. Messaging becomes reactive. Teams hesitate, waiting for clarity that never quite arrives.
“The result is often paralysis, or worse, generic behavior.”
Jim advises that brands take a cue from improvisational theater and learn to practice what he calls “disciplined adaptability.”
As he put it:
“Success depends less on executing a perfect plan and more on responding in character to changing circumstances.”
I like that framing. When things are uncertain is when we most need to “respond” instead of “react.”
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:
