Navigating Ambiguity with Andrea Small

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Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Yes, it’s a cliché and we are dealing with a lot of unknowns, both personally and professionally. Rapid change was happening before the pandemic and now it seems we are constantly changing. For example, what does “return to office” mean? Andrea Small joins Kevin to suggest we can create opportunities in times of uncertainty. There is no single toolkit to help us navigate the ambiguity, as we are in individual situations. However, we can employ strategies that help us find the balance between acting and adapting.

Key Points

Andrea Small shares the 3 attitudes about ambiguity.
She talks about the 5 balances to navigate ambiguity (perspective, pace, attention, process, and scale).
She shares her thoughts about the connection between ambiguity and leadership.

Meet Andrea

Name: Andrea Small
Her Story: Andrea Small is the co-author of Navigating Ambiguity: Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns with Kelly Schmutte. She currently teaches “Innovations in Inclusive Design” at Stanford. Previously, she was the Director of Product and Portfolio Strategy at Herman Miller, focused on the future of work. Her vast experience in design includes work with some of the world's most iconic brands, including the Nike Foundation, Nivea, GE, Starbucks, Samsung, and Steelcase, and several global and local social impact organizations and programs.
Worth Mentioning: Andrea studied architecture and metalsmithing at Miami University in Oxford, OH and has a Masters of Design in Human Centered Product Design from the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago, IL. Andrea is from Youngstown, OH, and resides in San Francisco, CA.

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Book Recommendations

Navigating Ambiguity: Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns by Andrea Small and Kelly Schmutte
The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson

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