A book and tool for thriving in uncertainty.

Uncertainty is not the same thing as risk — though many people use "uncertainty" and "risk" interchangeably. The world we live in is increasingly uncertain, not just risky. People, teams, and organisations need clearer ways to understand the difference between the two. This clarity is the only way we can take advantage of the opportunities that uncertainty offers (which are different from the opportunities that risk offers).

Nearly five years ago, I published a book based on over a decade of field research about the kind of mindset that truly innovative people and teams have. This is a mindset that sees the differences between uncertainty and risk, and which is able to use uncertainty as a prompt for doing new things. This mindset also happens to produce ways of organising teams and businesses so that they are more innovative.

My book is called The Uncertainty Mindset (Columbia University Press, 2021). It is even more relevant today in a world that has seen a global pandemic and is going through unexpected and ever-increasing social, political, and environmental uncertainty. It's available in bookstores worldwide (and yes, on Amazon too).

Based on insights from the book I also made a tool/game for building the ability to be comfortable with the discomfort created by uncertainty. Without this kind of productive discomfort, it's impossible to take advantage of uncertainty to do new and innovative things.

The tool/game is called idk. It is a deck of cards, each of which prompts to do something that is mindfully and intentionally uncomfortable. It could be something you’re reluctant to do, something you dislike, or something unfamiliar. No matter what the uncomfortable action is, it is always structured to be productive and to stimulate learning and growth. Early adopters have called it "sneakily life-changing" and "unexpectedly important." idk is designed to be used repeatedly and indefinitely.

So. This holiday season could be a good time to think about giving the gift of a better relationship with uncertainty — idk and/or The Uncertainty Mindset could be a great gift for someone you know (or even for yourself...).

Get The Uncertainty Mindset from a seller near you (BookFinder link), or read more about the book here.

Learn more about how idk works. Or, skip ahead and get idk here.

Finally, a quick shout-out to some others writing about uncertainty, already-published or soon-to-be-published: Margaret Heffernan , Susannah Harmon Furr and Nathan Furr , david spiegelhalter , Nassim Nicholas Taleb , Dave Snowden , John Kay , Jerry Neumann , James M. Sweeney , Chris Butler , Sam Conniff , Mervyn King, Pema Ch?dr?n, Alan Watts, Daniel Ellsberg, and the OG (as the kids say today) Frank Knight.