Embracing Uncertainty - a conversation with Margaret Heffernan and Lauren Branston
Join us for a webinar inspired by Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians and artists thrive in an unpredictable world by renowned thinker and TED speaker Margaret Heffernan. Drawing from the wisdom of creative people, Margaret will share the ideas in her book and discuss with Lauren the implications for thinking about leadership, values and culture.
The discussion will explore traditional business thinking that uncertainty is to be feared and offer a perspective that in fact it can be a source of creativity and innovation. Further, that boldness, resilience and the discipline of artists can be an excellent guide to navigating turbulent times.
We will discuss key themes of the book:
- The psychology of uncertainty
- How artists live with and harness uncertainty to create, adapt and inspire
- How to foster creativity with discipline and resilience, even when outcomes aren’t guaranteed
- Discover why creativity is vital for leadership and culture especially in times of change
Who should attend: Open to all - an hour of thinking about values, decision-making, creativity, innovation and the benefits of uncertainty.
Panellists
Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the “Top 25” by Streaming Media magazine and one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter.
The author of six books, Margaret’s third book, Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as “meticulously researched…engagingly written…universally relevant and hard to fault.” Her TED talks have been seen by over 13 million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. In 2020, she published Uncharted: How to map the future, which quickly became a bestseller and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award, was one of Bloomberg’s Best Books of 2021 and was chosen as the “Medium Best of the Best” business book. 2025 saw the publication of Embracing Uncertainty: How Writers, Musicians and Artists Thrive in an Unpredictable World, described as ‘a timely, insightful book… Heffernan highlights what it takes to excel in turbulent times.’
In 2024, she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, in recognition of her lasting impact on management thinking. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She chairs the board of DACS and is a parish councillor.
Chief Executive, Institute of Business Ethics
Lauren joined the Institute of Business Ethics in September 2024. Lauren has previously led corporate affairs and sustainability functions in large corporates, dealing with social, environmental and governance issues. Before joining IBE, Lauren led her own strategic advisory firm, working with clients at the intersection of sustainability, corporate affairs, culture, strategy and governance. Lauren has an Ecology degree from UCL, is a guest lecturer at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Soil Association.
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Please note that our webinar panellists' views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Business Ethics
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