When nothing is normal: Managing in extreme uncertainty

By Patrick Finn, Mihir Mysore and Ophelia Usher · McKinsey & Company · 2020 · CFE201-108-25

Study guide: Exam CFE-201

A McKinsey article of November 2020 on the new operating models leaders need in a uniquely severe global crisis to respond quickly to a rapidly shifting environment and sustain their organizations. It says uncertainty can be measured in magnitude and duration, that in a serious crisis uncertainty can reach extreme levels, and that the operating model must enable continuous learning and flexible responses as situations evolve.

On the syllabus

• Exam CFE-201 — outcomes 3c.

Understanding extreme uncertainty

Why existing operating models fail

Overcoming challenges

A suitable organizational structure

• Activating crisis response
• Operating in crisis mode: discover, design, execute
• A sustainable model

Sources

• When nothing is normal: Managing in extreme uncertainty (McKinsey & Company, 2 November 2020) — the document: title, authors, date, opening paragraphs and section headings; read through McKinsey's Brazil site, which serves the same article, because mckinsey.com refused automated fetches (mckinsey.com.br copy)
• CFE 201 Syllabus, Mar 2027/Jul 2027 (SOA) — the reading (CFE201-108-25) and its learning outcomes
• CFE 201 Introductory Study Note, March 2027 (SOA) — the study-note code CFE201-108-25 and its title (printed there with a colon after "Normal")