In the modern environment one of the few things that is certain in business and in your personal life is uncertainty. It’s here to stay and so we need to learn how to effectively deal with uncertainty.
First let us understand the difference between risk and uncertainty as they are not the same thing. Risk is quantifiable but uncertainty is not. I can calculate the risk of me dying in an air accident or my risk of not winning the lottery even if I buy a ticket. All of these are quantifiable because there is past experience of how often they have happened and so I can calculate how likely they are to happen again. Risk is not the problem of modern life but uncertainty is.
If I launch an entirely new product or service, then I cannot calculate the risk of failure as it has never been done before. It is therefore uncertain. When Apple introduced to iPhone there was no risk but a heck of a lot of uncertainty. The future of my business or job is uncertain as I cannot evaluate the possibility of someone appearing with a piece of technology that has made everything I have done so far redundant. Even the future of the world as a result of climate change is uncertain and all of these things and many, many more make people anxious and, in some cases very worried.
Given the speed of change in the world the level of uncertainty is likely to increase rather than plateau or reduce and this is why we all need to learn how to deal with uncertainty effectively. Worrying about something does not solve the problem but action might.
1.The main thing to accept is that uncertainty is here to stay. Embrace the idea and realise that the way we do things today will not be the way we do them tomorrow.
2.Look for opportunities in uncertainty. Those who see uncertainty as an opportunity will not only be able to deal with it better than those who don’t but may also be able to profit from it.
3.Accept mistakes as part of the journey. As you can’t quantify uncertainty you will almost certainly make mistakes. The trick is not to avoid mistakes but to recognise them and be prepared to change direction. The biggest mistake you can make is to do nothing How Risky Is The Future?
4.Don’t wait until you have the perfect answer before acting. As soon as you have a satisfactory amount of information to act in a satisfactory way then go for it. The ones that will have the biggest problem are not those that acted too soon but those who got left behind. It’s much easier to adjust your course than try to catch up.
Above all realise you can’t avoid uncertainty. It’s the way you deal with it that counts.
The future is uncertain – get over it.
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