Tag: complexity

Taking Steps Forward Through Ambiguity (6-10-26)

We are now on week 3 of lessons I’ve learned from working in a central role.  Last week was about leadership and power.  This week is about the importance of taking steps forward when you’re mired in ambiguity.

I’ve been in a few central roles in my career.  Generally, these roles are pretty ambiguous.  For example, in my career role I’m supposed to lead innovation and lead us to the future.  Let’s be honest.  I have no idea what that means.  I can’t say with certainty what will happen.  Recently, I’ve been sharing thoughts on what a future agentic insights ecosystem could look like.  If more than 40% of that ends up being true, I’ll consider that a miracle.  All of this complexity and ambiguity can feel overwhelming.  It can stop me from taking action.

Let’s make some connections.  Have you ever felt paralyzed by ambiguity?  It’s easy to get stuck thinking and thinking and overthinking every possible angle and every possible contingency.  While that thinking might make us feel like we are doing something, the truth is that thinking isn’t always the same thing as taking action.

I don’t with certainty the exact coordinates of where we need to go in the future.  I do have a north star though.  I do have things I believe will likely continue to be true.  The value of data will continue to increase in a world of AI.  Getting data AI ready will continue to grow in importance.  Having tools to help get the most of the data will be critical.  As there are more and more tools, being clear on the tool and the problem they solve will be more important than ever. 

I know that if I take action toward solving those problems, I’ll likely be walking in the right direction.  I’m humble enough to know I can always redirect along the way.  Instead of being paralyzed, I’ll keep taking steps and keep taking steps and keep taking steps until we finally get to that future.

The challenge- How will you keep taking steps forward through ambiguity?

By the way, the picture is from a Tough Mudder last year.  I crawl through mud as a hobby, which explains a lot about how weird I am 😉

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Seismic Chess and Preparing for a Shifting Board (3-4-26)

Last week was about chess, glorps, and dealing with obstacles.  This week we will talk about seismic chess and preparing for shifts.

Cam has an older chess board that has been ripped in half.  Instead of throwing it away, we now use this board to create new versions of the game.  One of the iterations is seismic chess.  In this game all of the normal rules apply, but there is a 5 minute timer.  When the timer goes off, we shift one half of the board down and one half of the board up, so they are no longer a square but create a brand new shape.  This timer keeps repeating until the game is over.

Anyway, I was playing the game with Cameron.  I knew the rules.  I knew the board would shift.  Still, I hadn’t factored that into how I was playing the game.  Everything was going fine until the timer went off.  When it did the board shifted and all of a sudden I was at a major disadvantage.  Cameron beat me in the next move.  Now, I could complain and say he was lucky, but the truth is that he anticipated the shifting board better than I did.

How does this connect to work?  Right now we are all playing the game the best way we know how.  At the same time, AI, political environment, changing consumer demands, and so many other factors are combining and it’s only a matter of time before the entire board massively shifts. It’s hard to evolve. At the same time, if we aren’t making the right moves NOW then we will find ourselves in a place of disadvantage when the board moves.  Here are a few things to think about.  How might the game board change in the future?  What are you doing now and how will that be impacted when the board moves?  What could you do to put yourself in a better position?

The challenge: How will you prepare for the shifting board?

Bonus 1: I know I mainly used this metaphor to connect to work, but it can connect to life too.  Think about the different ways your board could shift.  Maybe you are getting older.  Maybe you are retiring.  Maybe you are starting a new family.  Spending time to get ourselves right puts us in the best position to move with these shifts.

Bonus 2: I recently had a convo like this with my boss.  I shared that I can feel the board shifting and that changes my job.  Year 1 was all about casting a dream for where we are going with AI and building infrastructure.  Year 2 was about making that dream tangible by leading product strategy.  In year 3, the river is coming and it’s my job to help us navigate it so we ride the wave instead of being swept away. I’m trying to think through how I can continue to pivot.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry