The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown

A science-backed guide for navigating and thriving through uncertainty--based on interviews and insights from world-renowned leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives.

Whether you’re searching for courage to start a new project, change careers, launch a business, develop an idea, or reinvent yourself after a disappointment or life change, you will face uncertainty--that ambiguous and uncomfortable state that often makes us feel confused, anxious, and afraid to act. Though these moments are difficult, they offer opportunities for personal growth, innovation, and creativity.

In The Upside of Uncertainty, INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr provide a sweeping guide to embracing uncertainty and transforming it into a force for good. Drawing from hundreds of interviews, along with pioneering research in psychology, innovation, and behavioral economics, Nathan and Susannah provide dozens of tools--including mental models, techniques, and reflections--for seeing the upside of uncertainty, developing a vision for what to do next, and opening ourselves up to new possibilities.

In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, uncertainty is on the rise. We face it every day. But few of us have been taught the techniques to navigate it well. The Upside of Uncertainty provides the inspiration, tools, and strategies you need to thrive through the inevitable plot twists in your life and career.

Nathan Furr is a professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD in Paris and a recognized expert in the fields of innovation and technology strategy. Professor Furr earned his PhD from Stanford University, where he studied how innovators commercialize their ideas. His bestselling books include The Innovator’s Method, Leading Transformation, and Innovation Capital. He has published broadly in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Inc., and numerous academic journals. He is an Innosight Fellow, has been nominated for the Thinkers50 Innovation Award, and works with leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, Citi, ING, Philips, Solvay, and others.

Susannah Harmon Furr is an entrepreneur, designer, art historian, and contrarian. She founded a women’s clothing line inspired by her research on the intricate embroidery Dutch women found the time to painstakingly render on their otherwise unadorned uniforms—details often invisible to all but the wearer—and its significance in their daily lives. She has also founded a design firm that provides commercial design services to retail and commercial operations. She is the mother of four teenagers.