I’m a consultant, author, toolmaker, and professor of strategy. I’ve spent over a decade helping businesses, not-for-profits, and government agencies design themselves to profit from uncertainty.
I advise businesses and not-for-profits as a consultant and board member, working at the intersection of innovation management, product strategy, and organizational design. My expertise is in designing (or redesigning) organizations to be more innovative and resilient to uncertainty in the operating environment. Find out more about my consulting work here.
My first book, The Uncertainty Mindset (2020), is about how uncertainty can be used to drive innovation and adaptability. The book is based on nearly a decade working with some of the best R&D teams in cutting-edge cuisine, and it’s available worldwide from Columbia University Press. You can get a copy here. I cover some key ideas from the book in a 15-minute talk that you can watch below:
I also unpack these ideas in more detail in an 80-minute conversation that you can listen to below:
I make a training tool for productive discomfort called idk which is based on the research in The Uncertainty Mindset. You can get idk here.
I’m now working on a new book project about being in a state of not-knowing and what to do about it. You can read it as it takes shape here.
Since 2013, I’ve been an assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at University College London’s School of Management. Learn more about my research and teaching here. I’m currently on leave from UCL to work on a sociotechnical solution to a major problem in collective action.
To chat, find me on Twitter @vaughn_tan. For consulting and speaking inquiries, email me@vaughntan.org. For my strange photos, find me on Instagram @vaughn.tan. I regularly put up writing drafts for public comment here.