DISRUPTIONS Issue 4: Nervous Systems
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
PRECARIOUSNESS AS THE NEW NORMAL
2025 was a year of uncertainty, and 2026 has started in a similar vein. A matter of days into the year and we are already seeing new or intensified geo-political tensions and crises, not least the US ‘take-over’ of Venezuela and subsequent intimations that similar action could take place in other countries, from Columbia to Greenland and beyond.
Globally, political and economic systems continue to be fragile. The rise of extremist populism shows no sign of abating. Economic growth is a challenge for most nations. AI is the focus for unprecedented levels of investment, as well as the source of deepening concerns about how this investment will see a return. Perhaps more impactful is the stasis and uncertainty that is created by organisations waiting to see what happens with AI, causing significant downward pressures on employment and growth. ‘Redundancy’ is likely to be a word that continues to have a significant share of voice in 2026.
It’s fair to say we’re experiencing an unprecedented era in human history. One in which all the major ‘systems’ of everyday life – the political, the economic, the social, the cultural, the environmental, and the technological – are in a state of intense ‘nervousness’.
By nervousness we mean unsettled, reactive, on edge, at times incoherent,
volatile, unpredictable and both unstable and destabilising. These nervous systems combine to create a transformational melting-pot, one that is impacting all our lives and changing the very nature of the world in which we live and us as the people who live in it.
But bubbles, whether positive or negative, have a habit of bursting, and the unintended consequences that nervous systems create will continue to provide opportunities as well as challenges. Surviving and thriving in nervous systems will require new ways of thinking, new behaviours and greater responsiveness. This applies to business every bit as much as it does to government.
Are we really working optimally in systems that are now inherently nervous?
Are we able to respond to challenges that we cannot predict?
Is our planning organised to reflect systems that now rarely travel in straight lines?
Read the full report and our five practical tips for how brands can navigate Nervous Systems in 2026 — and make clearer, more confident decisions in an increasingly unsettled world:
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