The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle throws a large spanner in our quest to know, understand and decipher the future. It states, “If we know the present, we can calculate the future – it is not the conclusion that is wrong but the premise”. Seeing beyond the filters we have, filters that help us interpret and make sense of the world / information around us, is problematic at best and impossible at worse. If we are aware of these filters – let me give you just 4 that I have about which, without some creative interventions I can do nothing about – white, male, South African, Baby Boomer – we can understand how they skew or warp our prevailing worldview.

On the other hand, not being aware of our filters means we may make some serious errors of judgment or interpretation. So it would seem that assuming we have a grip on the present might just get in the way of how we are seeing the future. This certainly is something for those in leadership to think about. Very often their interpretation of the present is far removed from those roundabout them and how often have you come across a severe dislocation between how the ‘Exco’ see things as opposed to those ‘on the ground’?

Just a thought for leaders everywhere!

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