An Introduction to the Nature, Purpose, and Scope of Strategic Thinking
The most important thing is to find out what is the most important thing.
—Shunryu Suzuki
Q: What is one characteristic of strategy that is essential to understand, yet is mostly overlooked, even by expert strategists?
A: Ambiguity
The Latin roots of the word ambiguity suggest wandering, uncertainty, and multiple meanings. Figure 1.1 presents an example of a quaint form of graphic design known as pictorial ambiguity. Many know it as “the young lady and the old lady.” Some people can only see the old lady, and some can only see the young lady. (Hints: The young lady is looking away from you, and the old lady is looking downward. The young lady’s ...
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