How to take decisions and prosper in a world of surprises

The figure of the entrepreneur as an empathetic, agile and creative visionary is fashionable at the moment. He has even become a ‘super hero’ in business school teaching. Philippe Silberzahn claims that this image is as delusional as the opposite stereotype, that of a decider who is only concerned about rational forecasts and is trapped in his pursuit of unattainable targets. The future cannot be mastered by acts of heroism or allow itself to be caught up in the nets of Big Data. The future is tamed by forming bonds with other people, sharing values, and taking advantage of the many surprises and possibilities which exist in a complex world. Silberzahn claims that as far as the entrepreneur is concerned, the world of Montaigne and the constraints it offers overrides the lessons learned in business school of a Cartesian world characterised by certainty and control.