Uncertainty is everywhere

I’m Vaughn Tan, a strategy author, consultant, and professor. For more than a decade I’ve been thinking about uncertainty in daily and work life: how we barely understand the state of not-knowing, and how we often confuse it (fatally) with risk.

The Uncertainty Mindset tries to make sense of uncertainty. In this weekly newsletter, I write about how uncertainty influences everything from the food we eat to the way businesses are organized. I also offer ways to cope with uncertainty and even benefit from it. The first issue explains what the newsletter is about; you can see all the issues here.

If you sign up, you get one essay with some trimmings every week. Readers say:

“A rare combination of insight, originality & applicability.”

“Far too many newsletters about business try to solutionize everything. To find answers. Instead I'm always drawn towards provocations. @vaughn_tan's newsletter is a constant delight.”

“Every issue changes my mind about something fundamental.”

“So refreshing, finally content worth reading!”

“I’ve been steeped in working within the uncertainty mindset since I started with the Antarctic program 8 years ago. Each year my tasking becomes more amorphous as I delve deeper into uncovering the archaeological remnants of the construction of the south pole station, 15 years ago. The storage berms gradually become more and more drifted in, burying more and more material, along with the memory of what the material is/was/should be for. Today I downloaded the Woo album and listened to it on repeat as I had a great day pulling apart berms and dealing with uncertainty. So thanks! You’ve been making this season one of the best! It’s weird times, and uncertainty is awesome.”

“A++ stuff on developing an uncertainty mindset delivered to your inbox.”

“Love it.”

My first book, also titled The Uncertainty Mindset, is a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge high-end cuisine … and what it can teach us about designing organizations to be more adaptable and innovative. You can get it here. If you like it, help me out by leaving a review somewhere. Book events are coming soon—tell me what you’d like to see and sign up for notifications here.