I have often been told by my friends and colleagues that my creative, intellectual and recreational pursuits seem too random and diverse to make any sense.  Some have even suggested that I get tested for ADHD.  I feel fortunate to have friends feel free to speak their minds and are genuinely interested in my growth and well-being.

Recently, I reached a point where my apparent random and diverse pursuits seemed to converge into a set of principles that I feel are the essence of what it takes to excel at anything in the face of the unknown and the uncertain.  Many of these realizations come more from my follies than wisdom.  Nothing I say here is new…but the realization of these principles has moved me enough to share them with you.

There is nothing more certain and unchanging,

than uncertainty and change.

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

This is more evident now more than ever before.  If you can master the leadership and management of change and uncertainty, you have very high chances of succeeding.  So how does one prepare oneself for uncertainty such that our reaction is not to resist or survive but to thrive in the face of it.

I must thank Dan Hoffman, CEO of M5 Networks for introducing me to The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin.  Having read the book and mentally walking through Josh’s quest to master learning, I am beginning to draw parallels in the disciplines of Learning, Agile methodology and Lean Startups.  I want to thank my tutor Barbara Salloway at the School of Practical Philosophy for teaching me this:

Whoever and whatever is in front of you, is your teacher.

And finally, my friend and colleague Yan, for being an eager listener and for engaging in discussions and debates that provoked these insights.

In the next three posts, I will draw parallels between the four disciplines of Philosophy, Learning, Agile and Lean and how each one of them is essentially a quest for mastering the unknown.  Each post will begin with one of the three principles that Josh outlines in The Art of Learning and then discuss its application to the other three disciplines.  I hope this exercise is as as enjoyable and meaningful for you as it is for me.

  1. nmerchant posted this