DEEP Insight
Leading in Times of Uncertainty 
International experts highlight what you need to know - when you don't know what tomorrow might bring
This executive dossier includes the following articles:
Personal Testimonies to a Vital Paradox
Alvarez de Mon Pan de Soraluce, Santiago
Using case studies and his own experience of coaching a variety of professionals from the worlds of sport, the arts and management, the author explores the keys to embracing uncertainty, helping managers to lead a richer, more productive existence.
When the System Fails
Westerman, George; Hunter, Richard
Although IT risk can have wide-ranging business consequences, few executives feel comfortable discussing it. Risk is uncertainty, and addressing IT risk seems to require making sense of complex technical issues. In reality, executive-level trade-offs around IT risk are managerial, not technical. The Four A Framework of Availability, Access, Accuracy and Agility provides a common language you and your IT managers can use to manage IT risks without getting bogged down in technical details. Then you can start to take additional steps – improving the IT foundation, installing a risk governance process and creating a risk-aware culture – to build a capability that increases the returns from your IT risk management investments.
Cognitive Bias in Situations of Uncertainty
Baucells Alibés, Manel; Weber, Martin
In business, as in other areas of life, uncertainty lurks around every corner. What does the future hold? How can we prepare for the unexpected? What is the right decision at times like this? We humans have developed a repertoire of unconscious mechanisms to help us cope with insecurity. While these mechanisms may assuage feelings of helplessness and paralysis, they can also cloud our judgment. The authors explain how three such mind traps work: hindsight bias, overconfidence and risk seeking for losses.
The Trap of Conventional Thinking
Gunther McGrath, Rita
Past success can become tomorrow’s liability. But instead of throwing out the old and taking a bold leap into the new, leaders in uncertain times should focus on creating conditions for internally generated growth. Columbia’s Rita Gunther McGrath presents a portfolio of opportunities that managers can employ, including a questionnaire to help you pinpoint the greatest sources of uncertainty in the business, and thereby focus your investments in learning accordingly.
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