Managing Uncertainty

(MoneyWatch)  How often have you heard veteran colleagues in your company say "We've never seen anything like this before"? When your company, your customers, and the economy are in uncharted waters, it's no time for management as usual. These days, everything you've been taught — and a lot of what you were sure you knew — simply doesn't apply.

Even so, there are proven techniques to help you prepare your team for the unknown. These tools are used every day by professionals like airline pilots, military officers, and entrepreneurs — people who routinely have to make crucial and even life-and-death decisions with incomplete knowledge. Navigating uncertainty requires deep situational awareness, excellent communication, superb teamwork, and constant flexibility. If you're looking for insight on how to steer your way through the fog of this unprecedented downturn, we'll help you find some clarity.

• Crash Course: How to Decide in a Time of Confusion
• What Went Right — and Wrong — in Three Real Cases of Uncertainty
• Three Tools to Manage Uncertainty
• Q&A with Carl Spetzler: The Six Elements of a Good Decision