How to win in an age of uncertainty
Sometimes, in the quiet moments, I feel it too – a sense of disorientation, as I think about the pace at which our world is changing.
It used to be that we’d have a few years to get used to big changes like the internet, or smart phones. It took at least 5-10 years before big parts of the economy were impacted by them.
But now, every month there seems to be a huge new release of AI stuff. Enabling us all to do things in minutes that used to take days or weeks by professionals. Feels a bit like vertigo - what will this all mean for our jobs/world etc?
NASA’s Mars missions
Then the other day, I read about NASA's Mars Rover Perseverance and its mission to the red planet. There was something deeply attractive about it.
I think it was the certainty with which the entire mission was planned and executed. Took 8 years to plan, and then 6 months to fly the 480 million kms to Mars. Due to the time lag they had to pre-program everything. And.. it landed just 5 meters from its targeted spot in the Jezero Crater! That’s 99.99999998% accuracy.
I think this kind of mission deeply appeals to us in times like this. It’s a nice clean concept. You can take 8 years to think of everything. Press a button, and 6 months later you arrived within 5 meters.
Our need for certainty is holding us back
But then it struck me – yearning for this level of certainty in our lives, is a trap. It’s just not real.
Reminds me of what Robert Greene wrote in his book Mastery:
"The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces."
In our quest for predictability, we risk missing out on the opportunities that come with change and uncertainty.
Any period of profound change is basically the universe reshuffling the deck. This means opportunities open up for those ‘open’ to it.
So what does being ‘open’ mean? I think it means bringing a growth mindset to the table:
be deeply curious about new tools like AI;
play with them without putting any pressure on yourself, see if you can have fun with it
once you are familiar with the new things that are coming out, it not only is less scary, it also means you’ll start to naturally spot opportunities for you, for your career and how to continue to add value in this changing world.
It won’t always be easy, but it’s worth remembering: how many people are not doing this right now precisely because it’s hard? It’s tempting to put our heads in the sand.
But by leaning in, you’ll be part of the select few working with the new world, not against it.
And that’s ultimately the safest place to be.
Thanks for being here,
Daniel