DLD Sync
Prediction Addiction
Uncertainty is a fact of life. We may try to calculate what’s to come but the future remains ambiguous. The complexity of modern life simply does not allow precise predictions – no matter how much we may crave them, renowned British author Margaret Heffernan says in her most recent book. “Ineradicable uncertainty is now a fact of life”, she writes. “In complex environments, efficiency is a hazard not a help; being robust is the better, safer option.”
In conversation with WeWork’s Niki Kolev, Margaret Heffernan elaborated on these thoughts and applied them to business and the economy: How can business leaders better prepare for future crises? Which changes are needed to make society more resilient?
Margaret Heffernan
Author
Dr. Margaret Heffernan is a former BBC producer, entrepreneur and author, most recently of Uncharted: How to map the future. She is Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations.
Niki Kolev
WeWork
Niki Kolev is Managing Director Northern & Central Europe at WeWork. He brings 13 years of entrepreneurial, management and investment experience. In 2014, Kolev co-founded Deloitte Digital Ventures and served on Deloitte’s Consulting Management Team (CMT) as Digital Transformation Lead from 2016-2019.
Video
Sync Scroll
| Time | Topic |
| 0:10 | Intro by Steffi Czerny |
| 2:00 | Learning from the coronavirus crisis: Make uncertainty your friend. |
| 3:30 | The best way to adapt to a new business environment. |
| 7:45 | Comfort zones, corporate assets and recipes for change. |
| 10:00 | The crisis as an opportunity for change. |
| 10:30 | A chance for young leaders of tomorrow to learn more in life than at university. |
| 15:30 | Advice to the CEO: Open up and “ask everybody” because “there’s always more knowledge at the edge than at the center”. |
| 16:55 | The reinvention of Nokia. |
| 18:40 | “How hungry are young people today?” |
| 19:35 | Office life and productivity. |
| 22:00 | Finding the right mix of fresh ideas and talent with experience. |
| 24:00 | “The best work is done by very rich, often very contentious collaboration.” |
| 26:00 | Planning the future in the middle of a worldwide crisis. |
| 27:30 | Why starting a book is similar to starting a business. |
| 29:10 | Age, creativity and entrepreneurship. |
| 33:15 | Women and minorities as much-needed drivers of change. |
| 40:40 | Don’t say anything… |
| 41:30 | Disruption in the consulting business. |
| 42:40 | Remote work and the future of the office. |
| 50:00 | Can optimism be taught? |
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