Andrew Blades — EPA Victoria | Manager, Risk and Compliance

A deep dive into complexity with a leading 'uncertainty navigator'

Can you tell from the title of this episode that I've been watching a LOT of Frozen 2 while on lock down? In this episode I talk to Andrew Blades, an uncertainty navigator and polymath, about how to lead in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world.

Andrew is based out of Melbourne, Australia, and serves as the risk and and compliance manager in the state of Victoria's EPA (Environment Protection Authority). He started his professional career in the intelligence section of the Australian Air Force, focusing on planning the Force's response to ""low probability, high impact"" events, lectured in university, spent time in the private sector, and today holds four Master's degrees together with a range of certifications that match his substantial experience.

Andrew has a truly remarkable intellect and his views on the current global COVID-19 crisis (both from a health and economic perspective) were insightful and helpful, particularly from a leadership perspective.

Key quote:

'This (pandemic) is a systemic risk to all humans, and we're not used to thinking in terms of systemic risk - we're used to thinking in a much smaller level of risk ... I think there's a possibility ... that what we start to see out of this is people start think in a much broader (way)' -- Andrew Blades The Harvard Business Review article on Dave Snowden's Cynefin framework for strategic decision making in uncertainty and complexity · Margaret Heffernan's new book, 'Uncharted' · MikeStopforth.com · Connect with Mike on LinkedIn · Follow Mike on Twitter · 48h crisis communication consultancy