Archive for 1996

The ability to handle ambiguity and how comfortable you are with ambiguity is one of the defining characteristics of successful entrepreneurs who ship product.

Your product development is a series of small decisions that result in trade-offs.

Ambiguity comes when each trade-off seems viable (or none seem viable) and there is no clear path forward.

Being able to pick a direction and move, even if it is not the right direction or the perfect choice, is preferable to deferring to later.

Deferring to later is a choice that only ever leads to no product.

Imagine you’re driving along a dark road late and night and you glance down at your dash and you see a little dial in the corner measuring the oil pressure of your car.

Everything is great with the world, the oil pressure on the car is right in the sweet spot.

But where are you going?

You don’t know.

You’re lost.

But where are you?

You don’t know.

You’re lost.

How long will take?

You don’t know.

You’re lost.

Do we have enough fuel to get there?

You don’t know.

You’re lost.

Can we stay awake long enough to get to place where we can find out?

You don’t know.

You’re lost.

But the oil pressure gauge tells you everything is fine, so you keep driving.

Ridiculous.

But startups adhere to this kind of thinking all the time.

We’re measuring our car’s oil pressure, and it is right where it needs to be, therefore, let’s keep doing what we’re doing.