Tackle Wicked Challenges with Human Ingenuity: Ken Tencer

Build Innovation Teams That Thrive in Ambiguity Human Ingenuity: Clever, Inventive and Fearless Thinking

Episode 271 (Ken is based in the Greater Toronto Area)

In this conversation we explore…

• why innovation often stalls in organizations

• the difference between innovation, entrepreneurship, and ingenuity

• how to measure and manage openness to ambiguity

• why diversity of thought and background is essential for innovation

• how leadership roles should rotate during the innovation cycle

• why bias is the greatest barrier to new thinking

• the role of students and external control groups in innovation

• the difference between simple, complex, and wicked challenges

• why human ingenuity requires clever, inventive, and fearless thinking

• how the 90% Rule honors the past while pushing toward the future

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About our guest, Ken Tencer:

Ken is a long time entrepreneur, author and global speaker.

He is completing a doctorate in human ingenuity - clever, inventive an fearless thinking in the faces of wicked challenges (incomplete information, ambiguity, and uncertainty)

Ken works with organizations to help them identify and resolve their wicked challenges, (strategy, team development and tactics). Learn more and contact him at:   https://sayhitothefuture.ca/

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Key Learning Points

1. Innovation requires three dimensions: innovation (process), entrepreneurship (team), and ingenuity (thinking).

2. Ambiguity is a core skill: successful innovation teams must measure and embrace tolerance for ambiguity.

3. Diversity fuels innovation: variety in backgrounds, perspectives, and disciplines prevents groupthink.

4. Leadership should rotate: the right leader shifts depending on the stage of the innovation cycle.

5. Bias is the biggest barrier: more than money or time, it blocks new thinking.

6. External voices help: student or alumni “control groups” bring fresh, unbiased perspectives.

7. Understand the three challenge types: simple, complex, and wicked — each requires different approaches.

8. Human ingenuity demands fearlessness: decisions must be made even without certainty.

9. The 90% Rule: honor the past while pushing forward to the next 10%.

10. Future readiness means “saying hi to the future”: embracing macro trends, empathy, and new thinking tools.

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