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WW - Work Culture Festival. Learning from Chefs. Photo: © IBA

Embracing Uncertainty: Designing Teams and Businesses to do Innovation Work

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 summarized 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. Organizational 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 organizations 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 emphasized 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

 

Impact

Bernd Hufnagl

Purposeful Thinking: How We Can Live Better and Work in a Digital World

Dr Bernd Hufnagl in the IBA Forum interview at the Work Culture Festival 2024, ©IBA
Impact Okt. 22 10:45
H. Grempe, P. Bachmann, H. Steinbacher, Tobias Wilker

Developing the 2034 Office Concept: The Impact of AI and Technology

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Impact Okt. 22 11:30
Oliver Mack, Michael Zgoll

Future Workspace Technologies: What’s Next?

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Impact Okt. 22 14:00
T. Bisping, L. Kennedy, E. Eberhard, M. Jung

Employee retention: Between commitment and payment

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Impact Okt. 22 14:00
Tobias Revell

Redefining Work: Five Stories from a Distant Future

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Impact Okt. 22 10:00
Sascha Lobo

Digitalization in the World of Work: Germany Needs an AI Boost

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Impact Okt. 22 11:30
Stephan Grünewald, Micheal Trautmann

The Psychology of a Society Troubled by Uncertainty: The New Logic of Work

Impact Okt. 22 14:45
Maarten Jamin

The Future of Work is Shared: What’s Next for Co-working

Keynote Maarten Jamin, bs;bp, beim ersten WW - Work Culture Festival
Impact Okt. 22 11:30
Bernd Fels

From New Work to New Region: New Ways to Organize Office Work

Bernd Fels @ WW - Work Culture Festival, © Bernd Fels
Impact Okt. 22 14:00
Birgit Gebhardt, Clemens Wasner

Knowledge on Demand: How Will AI Change How (and Where) We Work?

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Impact Okt. 22 15:30
Christian Beinke, Erkan Karakoç

Rethinking Workspaces: Strategic Advantages Thanks to Clever Interior Design

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Impact Okt. 22 10:45
Andreas Loroch, Thorsten Heilig, Wolfram Sauer

Decision AI: How AI Is Changing the World of Work

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Impact Okt. 23 10:45
Axel Buether

Colour and Lighting Design: Impact on Wellbeing, Health and Work Motivation

Wherever Whenever - Work Culture Festival 2024: Prof. Dr. Axel Buether
Impact Okt. 23 15:30
Teddy Tewelde, Fetsum Sebhat, Thorsten Giersch

Future Skills: What Changes are Needed in Both Education and Work to Help Shape the Future World

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Impact Okt. 23 15:30
Heiner Hans

Good Lighting in Modern Office Concepts: Individual — Flexible — Sustainable

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Impact Okt. 23 14:00
K-U Schlegel, E Samaras, J A Brennig

Paths to Sustainability vs Greenwashing: Dos and Don’ts [Panel]

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Impact Okt. 23 15:30
Martin Führ

Sustainability: Eco-design regulations and chemicals in products and process

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Impact Okt. 23 14:45
I. Burroni, M. Führ, J. Knudsen, A.Tisch, V. Wessels

EU-Project R evolve: The Furniture Industry Goes Circular [Panel]

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Impact Okt. 23 11:30
Birgit Gebhardt, Axel Buether

Spatial Awareness: Where the Physical Office Still Needs to Catch up in its Offerings

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Impact Okt. 23 14:45
Katrin Mercsanits, Michael Wiebelt

Corporate Development and Corporate Space: The Courage to Shape the Future Positively

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Impact Okt. 24 14:45
Vaughn Tan

Embracing Uncertainty: Designing Teams and Businesses to do Innovation Work

WW - Work Culture Festival. Learning from Chefs. Photo: © IBA
Impact Okt. 24 10:00
D. Winzer, S. Ayoub, D. Reicherts, M. Jung

Moving the Firm: Between New Ways of Working and Efficient Relocation Management

Horváth & Partners @ Wherever Whenever – Work Culture Festival, Photo: © IBA
Impact Okt. 24 11:30
Valeria Segovia

Future Office: Inside-Out

Impact Okt. 24 10:45
Uli Blum

The Power of Data: How AI Transforms Workplace Design

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Impact Okt. 24 14:45
Sven Brookhuis

The Future Workplace: From Linear Space to Circular Service

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Impact Okt. 25 10:00
Remi Versteeg

The Future Workplace: From Functionality to Identity-Driven Design

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Impact Okt. 25 11:30
Nicola Bramkamp, Julia Wedlich, Berthold Pott

Whenever, Wherever — We’re Meant to be Together: Why Art and Work Belong Together

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Impact Okt. 25 10:45
Sascha Lindner

No Choice: Why All Companies Need to Embrace Change

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Impact Okt. 25 10:00
Wolfram Sauer, Ursula Hertewich, Peter Tauber

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Impact Okt. 25 11:30
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