Author Margaret Heffernan on Navigating Uncertainty with Experimentation | Think:Act Magazine No. 44

Why It Matters

Understanding Heffernan’s insights helps leaders turn rapid, interconnected change into competitive advantage through imagination, transparent data flow, and agile experimentation.

Key Takeaways

• History doesn't repeat; each generation has unique data sets
• Globalization and tech accelerate impact and reaction speed
• Imagination is humanity's superpower for creating future possibilities
• Transparency balances confidentiality with fostering internal innovation across organizations
• Faster internal information flow unlocks collective intelligence and problem solving

Summary

Margaret Heffernan’s interview centers on navigating today’s heightened uncertainty through experimentation, imagination, and information flow. She argues that history does not repeat because each generation operates with a distinct data set, making past patterns unreliable for forecasting.

She highlights two forces that have amplified complexity: globalization, which interlinks economies and industries, and pervasive communication technologies that speed up both awareness and reaction. Heffernan positions imagination as the human super‑power that lets leaders envision plausible futures and assess their potential business impact. She also stresses the paradox of transparency—balancing competitive secrecy with the need to share information internally to spark innovation.

Key quotations include, “The human superpower really is imagination,” and her description of companies as “information systems” where “the faster information travels… the more successful that business will be.” She underscores that unimpeded information enables rapid problem‑solving and taps the collective intelligence of the workforce.

The implications are clear: firms must cultivate a culture of experimental thinking, encourage imaginative scenario planning, and design transparent information architectures. By doing so, they can respond swiftly to global shocks, leverage internal talent, and turn uncertainty into a source of strategic advantage.

Original Description

In an era of constant disruption and unprecedented complexity, how should leaders navigate uncertainty? According to author and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan, the answer isn't in trying to predict the future, it's in building adaptability and embracing experimentation as core organizational capabilities.

In this Think:Act interview, Margaret Heffernan challenges conventional wisdom about planning and control. She explains why leaders must move away from rigid strategies and instead cultivate cultures that encourage constant experimentation, learning, and adaptation. Her insights reveal how organizations can not only survive uncertainty but thrive in it by developing resilience and flexibility at every level.

Read the full article to discover how embracing uncertainty can become your competitive advantage:

https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Insights/Publications/Margaret-Heffernan-on-embracing-uncertainty.html

Watch the other interviews of our Think:Act Magazine series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh5TMIQe-NDEG0FJ4mAj0bMfBx-qMby_p

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