Naturalistic Decision Making #50: Strategies for thriving in uncertainty with Vaughn Tan
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Feb 9, 2024 Consultant, author, and professor Vaughn Tan discusses strategies for thriving in uncertainty. Topics include the uncertainty mindset, innovation in R&D teams, productive discomfort, managing certainty and embracing uncertainty in organizations, and memorable meals at an evolutionary restaurant.
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From Quantitative to Qualitative
- Vaughn Tan's interest in organizational behavior and sociology stemmed from observing teams at Google.
- He realized that the most interesting organizational problems, especially in innovation, are difficult to quantify.
Coffee with Becker
- Vaughn Tan had coffee with sociologist Howard Becker early in his graduate studies.
- This conversation sparked a shift in Tan's research focus from quantitative to qualitative approaches.
Embracing Not Knowing
- Vaughn Tan distinguishes between risk (quantifiable unknowns) and uncertainty (unquantifiable unknowns).
- Culinary R&D teams, unlike tech teams, readily acknowledged their lack of knowledge about future outcomes.