By: Ivsen Platcheck, MSC. ENG.
Along the evolution of the Agile Thinking paradigm for management, one concept came to life very strongly: Antifragility. Bit as an opposite of fragility, but as a new vision of how to use this concept, in environments where empiricism, fast learning, and adaptations, improve how things are done.
To understand what is antifragility, and how this concept affects managing groups of people on any kind of process, I will first define Fragility. It is a concept already incorporated into human knowledge.
Fragile is what breaks under strong impact. It can be an object, a feeling, an Organization, or anything that may result in something broken. The impact might be physical, emotional, virtual, financial, or any other way that may cause damage, loss, or ruin.
For example, we can use a crystal vase, a lover’s heart, or a bottle of any kind of beverage. All of those mentioned, under a strong impact, will break, and they will never be the same or recover their old shape or function.
The antifragile, instead, will evolve, after suffering any kind of impact. The antifragile returns stronger than before. This is the main feature of the antifragility concept.
The antifragile suffers the impact, learns about it, and returns stronger. The antifragile is not eternal, suffers some stress levels, and, eventually, will succumb.
As an example of antifragility, we can name the bacteria. When someone is infected by some colony, the use of the right antibiotics may eliminate the bacteria. But, if for some reason, the antibiotic is not strong enough to eliminate all the colony, or the treatment is not taken to its end, some bacteria might remain in the colony. And they will evolve stronger, and harder to eliminate, and the antibiotic used will no longer be effective.
In agile management, the antifragility concept is much used, once all the agile thinking is based on empiricism, do, inspect, learn, and adapt. Humankind practices these cycles of doing, inspecting, learning, adapting, and doing again, always improving the working process, and evolving the value produced and created.
References
[MM01] – “Liderança Antifrágil”, MindMaster, São Paulo, Brasil, 2022.
[MM02] – “Gestão Ágil 2.0 – Course presentations and material”, MindMaster, São Paulo, Brasil, 2022.
[Tn01] – TALEB, Nissin Nicholas, “Antifragile – Things that Gain From Disorder”, 1st.Ed, Random House, 2012.