Navigate
About This Tool
Navigate applies effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001), ACT values-based action (Hayes et al., 2013), and sensemaking research (Weick, 1995) to help you explore ambiguous situations where you can't yet define your options. Unlike decision tools that require defined choices, Navigate starts from what you have — your traits, knowledge, and connections — and builds understanding through small experiments. The landscape map normalizes not-knowing by making it visible. The values compass provides direction without requiring prediction.
How to Use
- Describe what you're exploring — the ambiguous situation, what makes it unclear, and how it feels right now
- Map your means (who you are, what you know, whom you know), your landscape (known, unknown, assumed), and your values compass
- Run small probes with bounded costs to learn something new — then reflect on what you discovered and how the landscape has shifted
Methodology
Navigate is grounded in three research traditions. Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001) shows that expert entrepreneurs start from available means rather than predefined goals, and bound affordable loss rather than predicting expected returns. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes et al., 2013; Pahnke et al., 2023) provides the values compass: values give direction without requiring certainty about outcomes. The NeuroACT randomized controlled trial found significant reductions in stress and cognitive fusion. Sensemaking research (Weick, 1995; Snowden & Boone, 2007) frames exploration as probe-sense-respond: meaning follows action, not the reverse. Retrospective reflection helps patterns emerge from experience. Experimental evidence suggests that tolerance of ambiguity is not a fixed trait but can be developed through structured practice (Endres et al., 2015). Research on negative capability — the capacity to remain in uncertainty without premature closure — finds it associated with higher resilience and lower anxiety in professionals who regularly make decisions under incomplete information (Ujihara et al., 2026).
Understanding Your Results
Navigate helps you explore ambiguous situations where you can't yet define your options or goals. The Means Inventory shows what resources you already have. The Landscape Map externalizes what you know, don't know, and assume. The Values Compass provides direction without requiring prediction. Probes are small experiments that teach you something within a bounded cost. Reflections help you notice patterns over time. There is no "right" answer or endpoint. Clarity emerges from the process of exploring, not from analysis.
Practical Examples
Example: Career exploration You're unsure whether to stay in your current field or try something new. Instead of listing pros and cons (you don't have enough information for that), you start with Navigate. Means: You list your skills (data analysis, project management, writing), your knowledge (healthcare industry, Python, research methods), and your contacts (a former colleague in consulting, a friend who switched careers last year). Landscape: You know you're bored. You don't know what would excite you. You assume changing fields means starting over. Probe: You set a loss budget of 2 hours and message your friend who switched careers to ask what the transition was actually like. Reflection after the conversation: "I assumed switching meant starting over, but she said 80% of her skills transferred. The thing I'm actually afraid of is being bad at something again." That reflection changes the landscape map. "I assume changing fields means starting over" moves from Assume to Know (it doesn't). A new question emerges. That's Navigate working.
Getting the Most from Navigate
Start with means, not goals. List who you are, what you know, and whom you know before trying to figure out what you want. Keep probes small. The ideal probe costs almost nothing if it fails but teaches you something either way. Reflect regularly, even briefly. One sentence about what surprised you is more useful than a long analysis. Don't rush toward a decision. If you knew what to decide, you'd be in Decide. Being here means the exploration itself is the work. Notice your body. A tight stomach or restless energy can signal something your thoughts haven't caught up with yet.
All calculations are performed locally in your browser. No data is sent to any server.