The Care and Feeding of Ambiguity

by Lee Devin

The dictionary tells us that ambiguity means we can understand something in two or more ways. In his famous book, William Empson tells us there are Seven Types of Ambiguity in art and literature. In business we use the word metaphorically to mean that we're in a state of uncertainty, that we're doing something and don't know the outcome. That's mostly not a good thing. We like to know where we're going, when we'll get there, and who's going to meet us at the station. In some business activities, though, we seek ambiguity; we need uncertainty. Innovation, for instance, requires that we seek ambiguity, and to make innovations reliably, we need to thrive in it. If we know what it is we're making, and how to make it, how new can it be?