How to Not Know: Simone Stolzoff

How to Not Know: Simone Stolzoff

From Creative Confidence Podcast by IDEO U

May 21, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Mina Seetharaman discusses uncertainty and decision-making with Simone Stolzoff, exploring the importance of tolerance for uncertainty in leadership.

We have more information than any generation in history. And we're more anxious about the future than ever. So what's going wrong? In this episode, Mina Seetharaman talks with Simone Stolzoff, journalist, author, TED speaker, and former IDEO Design Lead, about why certainty is so seductive, how our hunger for it quietly gets us into trouble, and what it actually looks like to build uncertainty tolerance as a skill. Simone's new book, How to Not Know , draws on years of reporting to examine the three certainty traps that hold leaders back—comfort, hubris, and control—and offers practical tools for anyone navigating hard decisions, unclear direction, or rapid change. Together, Mina and Simone explore why the most resilient leaders are the ones willing to say "I don't know," how to make decisions when the path isn't clear, and a concept called ghost ships that reframes what it means to choose. This is one of several conversations on uncertainty coming to the Creative Confidence Podcast this year. Subscribe to catch them all. Related Resources: How to Not Know, by Simone Stolzoff — https://simonestolzoff.com/how-to-not-know Simone Stolzoff on LinkedIn —…

People in this episode

Host: Mina Seetharaman

Guest: Simone Stolzoff

Topics covered

  • uncertainty
  • leadership
  • decision making
  • resilience
  • comfort
  • hubris
  • control

Keywords

  • uncertainty tolerance
  • leadership
  • decision making
  • comfort traps
  • hubris
  • control
  • resilience
  • ghost ships

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IDEO, Harvard Business Review

Books & works: How to Not Know

More episodes of Creative Confidence Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Creative Confidence Podcast podcast page.