BCG Henderson Institute

Uncertainty and Enterprise with Amar Bhidé

"Uncertainty is a part of life. We would not want to go to see a movie where we knew the ending. Similarly, entrepreneurs [are] impelled to proceed with their venture because they may not know where it is going."

In Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known, Amar Bhidé revisits and modernizes the concept of Knightian uncertainty. Introduced more than 100 years ago, the concept offers great potential for better understanding corporate decision-making.

A renowned expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and finance, Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, as well as a professor emeritus of Business at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Bhidé discusses the important distinction between repeated and unique events, the relationship between uncertainty and imagination, how corporations can use persuasive narratives and social routes to navigate the future, and whether AI will help or hinder these practices.

Key topics discussed:

[01:16] The definition of uncertainty
[04:49] The relation between uncertainty and imagination
[09:32] The power of corporate routines
[15:57] The changing nature of uncertainty
[17:25] How AI impacts uncertainty
[21:02] Corporate implications
[22:38] Implications for business education

Additional inspirations from Amar Bhidé:

Interviewed by
Listen more