Videos

Margaret Heffernan: Human capacity for an uncharted future

Written by Future Talent Learning | Oct 20, 2022 3:51:03 PM

Note: If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio of this video. Transcripts and closed captions are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

 

As we face an uncharted future, Margaret explores why our quest for certainty is thwarted and agile leadership is needed now more than ever. She calls on us to learn and develop the 'human skills' to respond to change effectively. 

Key points

  • Traditional methods of predictive planning have been unreliable due to unexpected events, necessitating a shift toward adaptability.

  • Over-reliance on prediction has proven ineffective in dealing with unforeseen crises and challenges, such as 9/11, banking crises, Brexit and the Me Too movement.

  • The world has transitioned from a linear, predictable model to a complex, nonlinear one where patterns don't repeat predictably, making efficiency dangerous.

  • Creativity, curiosity and adaptability are crucial in this uncertain environment, requiring organisations to value these qualities in their workforce.

  • Organisations must encourage constructive conflict and diverse perspectives to foster innovative thinking and adaptability, moving away from rigid, hierarchical structures.

More about Margaret Heffernan 


Dr Margaret Heffernan's sixth and most recent book, Uncharted: How to map the future was published in 2020. It quickly became a bestseller and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award, was one of Bloomberg’s Best Books of 2021 and was chosen as the “Medium Best of the Best” business book.

 

Margaret’s third book, Willful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was  named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as “meticulously researched…engagingly written…universally relevant and hard to fault.” Her TED talks have been seen by over 27 million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes.

 

 

Future Talent Conference 2021 

This talk was filmed at the virtual Future Talent Conference 2021 on Transforming Skills and Inclusion. 

 

Learn how to accelerate your thinking about how we can transform the capabilities in our organisations to keep pace with the speed and scale of change. 

 

The conference explored questions including: 

  • What skills do we need to thrive?
  • How can cognitive diversity support a more creative approach to inclusion?
  • How has the talent landscape been transformed?

Our speakers included historian David Olusoga, Harvard Professor Francesca Gino and entrepreneur, CEO, writer and keynote speaker Margaret Heffernan. 

 

Watch more videos from the Future Talent Conference 2021 here

 

Change will be the foundational characteristic of the future of work. Find out how you can be best equipped to deal with change by bolstering the skills and behaviours of your teams.