Navigating Ambiguity.
When two or more teams need to work closely together, their projects can fall into chaos if they don’t have the same clear view of where they’re trying to get to. The lack of alignment can lead to power struggles and wasted effort as both sides try to “win” the technical direction.
Tanya Reilly • The Staff Engineer's Path
A more difficult situation is the gnarly-design challenge. Here there are no given alternatives, and there are no good engineering-type models to test your designs against. There is no guarantee of a solution of any kind. There are not clear causal connections between actions and outcomes. You solve a gnarly challenge by beginning to dig into the n
... See moreRichard P. Rumelt • The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists
As per the Cynefin framework (Chapter 0), in the “Clear” and “Complicated” quadrants work is predictable and a fixed, standard approach to mitigating risks may be appropriate. However, “Complex” product development is unique. It has not been done before, either at all or in context, and there are unknown-unknowns. There is a need to focus on outcom
... See moreJonathan Smart • Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility
to be comfortable with ambiguity. It can involve partnering not just with individuals but with their organizations and institutions, which have their own self-interest to protect and layers of hierarchy to manage.
David Ehrlichman • Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change
When you try a new route on a mountain, you do not have a clear map of exactly how you will get to the top. Your plan is normally more like “Let’s go up that gully and exit on the ledge to the left. Then we will see if that crack above goes.” On the ledge above, you may see that the crack doesn’t go and search for a different way forward, perhaps a
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