Companies need to do everything they can to strengthen their innovative capacity. Even during his time at Google, where Vaughn Tan helped launch Google Street View, the opening speaker on the third day of the festival was interested in what makes innovative teams tick. After leaving the tech giant, Tan focused his research on the hospitality industry, which experienced a real surge of innovation through the use of new technologies in the early 2010s. Today, Vaughn Tan consults across many industries. His book ‘The Uncertainty Mindset’ was published in 2020. In his keynote speech, he summarised the book’s core propositions about uncertainty and innovation:
1. risk and uncertainty are two different things – while risks are more or less calculable, uncertainty is not. Therefore, trying to counter uncertainty with risk management strategies cannot lead to success.
2. innovation needs uncertainty – uncertainty, and the insecurity that comes with it, is the engine of innovation.
3. uncertainty as a state of mind – only companies that understand the difference between risk and uncertainty and act accordingly can be innovative.
4. organisational design for innovation – to create the necessary space for innovation, both goals and work tasks must be formulated in an open, flexible and adaptable way. Rather than rewarding the achievement of predefined goals, incentives must be created for learning and change.
Vaughn Tan is convinced that organisations become stronger when they move from a risk-assessing mindset to one of uncertainty. In this context, innovation does not just mean radical inventions or the creation of entirely new businesses. Innovation can also lie in the breeding of new cereals or in innovations for specific target markets. This is where European SMEs could score.
In the concluding question and answer session, Vaughn Tan emphasised the role of experimentation and the need to develop a shared understanding of corporate culture – preferably in person, in spaces designed for that purpose.
An interview with Prof Vaughn Tan conducted by the IBA team shortly before the start of the Work Culture Festival 2024 is available in the IBA Forum Newsroom.
Photo: © IBA
