When a financial downturn hit, outsiders encouraged the company to buy cheaper materials. For example, Patagonia adopted organic cotton before it became popular, when it was expensive and hard to source. Some of those innovations created uncertainty for the business. But rather than seeing himself as a failure, he recounts in his book Let My People Go Surfing, he “learned at an early age that it’s better to invent your own game then you can always be a winner.”Ĭhouinard not only created one of the world’s most successful outdoor-apparel brands but also changed production norms by adopting more-sustainable materials, altered the retail model by refitting old buildings for new shops, and challenged traditional HR policies by introducing practices like on-site childcare. As a kid he struggled to fit in, running away from one school, almost failing out of a second, and becoming a “dirtbag” climber after he graduated. Yvon Chouinard, the cofounder of Patagonia, is an infinite player. In contrast, infinite players recognize uncertainty as an essential part of the game-one that adds an element of surprise and possibility and enables them to challenge their roles and the game’s parameters. That puts you in a win-or-lose mentality in which uncertainty heightens your anxiety. His advice is to stop seeing the rules, boundaries, and purpose of the “game” you’re playing-the job you’re after, the project you’ve been assigned, the career path you’re on-as fixed. One of our favorite ways of doing this is the “infinite game” approach, developed by New York University professor James Carse. And though most of us instinctively focus on the latter, it’s possible to shift that mindset and decrease our fear. Every innovation, every change, every transformation-personal or professional-comes with potential upsides and downsides. The research shows, for instance, that if one treatment for a new disease is described as 95% effective and another as 5% ineffective, people prefer the former even though the two are statistically identical. Multiple studies demonstrate that the way you frame things affects how you make decisions. Applying the following four principles will help you do that. The findings are clear: We all can become adept at managing uncertainty and empower ourselves to step confidently into the unknown and seize the opportunity it presents. Over the past decade we have studied innovators and changemakers who’ve learned to navigate it well, and we’ve reviewed the research on topics like resilience and tolerance for ambiguity. Uncertainty doesn’t have to paralyze any of us. They couldn’t have achieved their breakthroughs if they had been afraid of uncertainty. Nearly everyone initially thought that Elon Musk and his team would fail when they set out to revolutionize electric vehicles and push the world toward a more environmentally friendly future. Rosa Parks faced great uncertainty when she refused to give up her seat, igniting the Montgomery bus boycott and paving the way for desegregation. Our modern-day heroes all have a similar story. But seven years later we are so grateful for all the possibilities the move opened up. When we moved abroad, for example, we faced uncertainty about making less money, paying higher taxes, doing more-challenging work, and introducing our children to new schools, a new language, and a new culture. We’ll bet that they all happened after a period of uncertainty-one that probably felt stressful but that you nevertheless pushed through to accomplish something great. However, that gut reaction leads people to miss a crucial fact: Uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin.Ĭonsider the achievements you’re most proud of, the moments that transformed your life, the relationships that make your life worth living. That’s why uncertainty-whether at the macro level of a global economic, health, or geopolitical crisis or at the micro level (Will I get that job? Will this venture be successful? Am I on the right career path?)-can feel nerve-racking, exhausting, and even debilitating.
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