Uncertainty is a bad thing. The better we can predict future events, the more control we have. That’s the thinking behind many business activities, and one reason companies spend so heavily on data, analytics and forecasting. But this line of thinking is fundamentally flawed.

The random events that affect us most are inherently unpredictable — just think about how you met your partner or ended up in your current job. And when it comes to complex systems like a business or the economy, minuscule changes in the behavior of any element can have massive impacts, a phenomenon popularly known as the butterfly effect. For prediction of the whole to be possible then, every individual element must perform in a predictable manner, including you.

As such, you either believe that you can analyze your way into knowing how future events will unfold, or you believe we have the freedom to make our own decisions in life. You can’t believe both since they're mutually exclusive.

In reality then, a predictable future would give us no control at all, and instead of being something to fear, uncertainty is our biggest source of opportunity.

The fact that the future isn’t pre-determined means we get to make it whatever we want, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a good thing!

See this post on LinkedIn