Navigating Ambiguity Quotes

“Parkinson’s law states that work will fill the time you set aside to do it.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Cognitive diversity is essential in reaching breakthrough ideas.” People gravitate toward people like themselves because it feels easy and predictable”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Declare a mission (or two). Sometimes it helps to write your focus down on paper. Try the simple structure of “I’m working on     in order to     because     .” Take a couple of stabs at it. Share it with your partners, friends, or team. What rings true when you read it out loud? What sounds amiss?”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Discomfort can help you learn, but too much discomfort can put you in the panic zone.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Design thrives on tensions. If you let conflicting ideas coexist, you create fertile ground for opportunity.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“If you can let go of an unhealthy need and instead achieve a dynamic “take/release” relationship with control, you get to something better: trust.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Being action-oriented is only as valuable as your ability to reflect on those actions—internal reflective work is critical and cannot be divorced from taking action.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Acting is taking purposeful initiative in the face of the unknown. Adapting is flexing to changing conditions.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Balancing purposeful vision with flexibility requires an intensely dynamic approach. Wayfinders are continually acting and adapting.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Vagueness and misdirection can keep people in turmoil looking for resolution, never knowing which way things will go, and often insinuating a consequence or imagining the worst.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“Designers call this reframing, or changing your point of view. Maybe your original goal or process no longer makes sense. Embracing ambiguity actually helps you find and evolve your path.”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns

“How would you describe your ability to act in your metaphor? Ambiguity happens to me. I can choose to take part in ambiguity. Ambiguity is a tool and a resource. What does your metaphor say about your openness and adaptability? I need to get to certainty and find the “right” outcome. I accept that there are many possible outcomes. The more possible outcomes, the better. Does your metaphor include any of these elements? Feeling lost or disoriented, like seeking the exit of a maze Overcoming a fear or challenge, like climbing to the top of a mountain Wrestling with the “right” choice, like standing at a crossroads Choosing or creating your own path, like swimming in the ocean Taking the plunge, like paragliding Sensing danger and excitement simultaneously, like watching a summer storm Working to find something of great value, like making a scientific discovery Actively making something better with time, like painting a blank canvas Choosing to turn challenges into opportunities”
― Andrea Small, Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns