Vaughn Tan, author and Assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at University College London’s School of Management, joined Max Richardson for a conversation about the ‘Uncertainty Mindset‘, how we should distinguish uncertainty from risk and the opportunity that the pandemic has presented us with to build resilience through productive discomfort.

Drawing on years of unprecedented access to the best and most influential culinary R&D teams in the world, including Heston Blumenthal and his team at The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen, some of the conversation is set in the context of the restaurant industry and sourdough bread-making which we suspect some of our listeners will have turned to during lockdown. Can baking a loaf of bread can help to improve our overall resilience and understanding of risk versus uncertainty?

Vaughn is a PhD from Harvard, he spent time as an infantry signals logistician in the Singapore Army, worked at Google and then briefly as a furniture maker before joining UCL. He is also author of ‘The Uncertainty Mindset – innovation insights from the frontiers of food'.

They cover a lot of ground and also talk about climate change, luck vs skill, quality and innovation as well as how to be more discerning about what we eat and how to farm more sustainably.

This conversation should be particularly useful for everyone who manages risk and uncertainty on a daily basis and particularly for portfolio managers and business owners.

Here is a link to Vaughn's book website: https://uncertaintymindset.org

His newsletter: https://uncertaintymindset.substack.com/about

Or Vaughn's own website: https://vaughntan.org Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

In this latest video and podcast, sports presenter and former rugby union player David Flatman catches up with Investec ambassador Owen Farrell. They discuss life in lockdown, including how to practice kicking in your garden, what the return of rugby could look like and how it will feel playing without crowds. Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

Banks to use existing anti-money laundering architecture to clamp down on illegal wildlife trade, which up until now has been largely ignored as a financial crime. Valued at around $23-billion US, illegal wildlife trade is the fourth most profitable criminal trafficking enterprise worldwide. Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

So what? The ‘why’ we must all answer

Balance is an important destination that we are all trying to reach. But, how do we get there? Is there a correct route? Our 13 game-changing young professionals are ready to be your ‘Balance GPS’. Investec Ahead of the Curve · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

The how-to behind it all

Some people work too hard, some work too little. Very few have found that happy balance between the two.

How can our young professionals help you on your work-life balance journey? What tips and tricks do you need to attain balance? Investec Ahead of the Curve · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

It’s a jungle gym, not a ladder

A Google search of ‘How to find balance in your life’ brings up over 332 million results. Listen to what our young professionals reveal when asked the same question. Is balance a journey or a finite goal? Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

Work-life balance seems to be a complex concept. Either you are doing too much, too little or just enough in life. But how do you find that elusive equilibrium?

From artists, doctors, fashion gurus, serial-entrepreneurs and engineers, our young professionals have the answer. Investec Ahead of the Curve · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

Talking on a panel at the recent Virgin Atlantic Business is an Adventure event, Faith Popcorn, Thando Hopa, Marc Kahn and Tashmia Ismail-Saville discussed how diversity and inclusion has a direct impact on the bottom line. Read the full transcript · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

With new-generation immunotherapy drugs costing up to R1 million per patient in South Africa, the eye-watering cost of cancer treatment is blocking access to life-saving drugs. In this Investec Life podcast we discuss the financial, psychological and medical aspects of a cancer diagnosis. Read the full transcript · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn

In part two of Investec Life's three-part podcast series we tell the story of a 23-year-old non-smoker who was diagnosed with lung cancer, and ask the experts about the medical, psychological and financial aspects of a diagnosis. Get the full transcript here · Investec · Investec Facebook · Investec Twitter · Investec LinkedIn