Becoming a Rain Master

Michael Schumacher was widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest F1 drivers.

He was known as The Rain Master.

When the track was wet and slippery and uncertain; it was Schumacher's time to shine.

Finding your way in the wet, or in the dark - is a skill that is very different to walking along in the day; it needs to be done slowly and carefully.

If you proceed too boldly and confidently based on how you assume the path should lead, you run the risk of quickly bumping into something that you didn't think would be there.

You might appear to look like you know what you're doing at first, but this approach is not likely to end well. Predicting single-outcomes and basing decisions on those single-route predictions is a great way to find disaster.

That's not to say that navigating in the dark can't be done.

Going slowly and feeling out the various possible routes that you might be able to take with your arms outstretched is a good tactic.

So too, making good decisions when faced with uncertainty also requires a different kind of approach.

Exploring alternatives imaginatively, evaluating risks and adopting an attitude of humility and an acceptance of 'not-knowing for sure' is the wise thing to do.

It might not be how we would want to move forward, but being bold enough to be able to adapt to leading into uncertainty when required, is a profoundly skilful act to master.

Schumacher did it at speed in the rain in a Formula 1 car under race conditions, but the same method of evaluating multiple alternatives and picking the most probably viable route in the moment is useful for all decision-making that needs to be made under less than ideal conditions.

Just like Schumacher in these times of great uncertainty, endeavour to learn to become a Rain Master.