Hey :)
There’s a book I keep coming back to.
There’s a book I keep coming back to.
It’s called How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert.
What I’ve realised over time is that the reason I like this book so much is because it sits right at the heart of the work I do — even if it doesn’t obviously look like a “communication” book at first glance.
At its core, I’m in the business of communication.
Organisational communication, specifically.
Organisational communication, specifically.
Our work is about helping people understand each other better.
Helping ideas travel more clearly between people.
Helping leaders, teams, and businesses say what they actually mean — and hear what’s actually being said.
Helping ideas travel more clearly between people.
Helping leaders, teams, and businesses say what they actually mean — and hear what’s actually being said.
And a huge part of that work is sense-making.
Taking what’s in someone’s head — the half-formed thinking, the tangled ideas, the things they know but can’t quite articulate — and turning it into something clearer. Something ordered. Something you can point at and say, “Yes, that’s it.”
More and more of my time is spent helping business partners package their ideas.
Frameworks. Offers. Thinking. Intellectual property. Direction.
Not creating something new out of thin air, but organising what’s already there so it can be understood by other people.
That’s communication too.
Being able to organise ideas, visually represent them, and put structure around thinking is becoming increasingly important — especially if you want people to quickly understand what you’re trying to say, what you stand for, or what problem you actually solve.
This is where Abby’s work really resonates with me.
Her work sits in the world of Information Architecture — IA for short. It sounds a bit nerdy (and it is), but at its heart it’s about helping people make sense of complexity.
And I think there are certain people who are naturally drawn to this kind of work — even if they don’t realise it yet. People who enjoy stepping into mess, not to control it, but to clarify it.
That’s why I actually find this book quite hopeful.
It reframes making sense of a mess not as overthinking or fussing over details, but as valuable, meaningful work — especially for anyone whose job is to help others think more clearly.
Below are a few lines from the book that stood out to me. I’ve shared them in the order they appear, because this is one of those books where the ideas build on each other.
Have a read through them — and if they start speaking to you in that familiar oh… this is me kind of way, it’s probably worth picking the book up.
***
"The first step to taming any mess is to shine a light on it so you can outline its edges and depths."
"Sometimes we have to be the one without opinions and preferences so we can weigh all the options and find the best way forward for everyone involved."
"There’s a certain point when continuing to know at the expense of doing allows the mess to grow further."
"Without a clear understanding of what is good, bad can come out of nowhere."
"Beware of pretty things. Pretty things can lie and hide from reality."
"Without a clear reason for doing something, even the most committed and loyal person will eventually abandon the hope of finishing the task."
"Confronting your fears and knowing what is real is an important part of making sense of a mess."
"Beware of jumping into an existing solution or copying existing patterns. In my experience, too many people buy into an existing solution’s flexibility to later discover its rigidity."
"Start by choosing a direction to go toward. If you take one step in that direction each day, you’ll get to the finish line in due time."
"Sometimes we need to zoom all the way in on an object. Other times it’s more important to zoom out to look at the ecosystem. Being able to zoom in and out as you work is the key to seeing how these levels affect one another."
"Think about what you can do with the time and resources you have. Filtering and being realistic are part of the job. Keep reevaluating where you are in relation to where you want to go."
"Be careful not to fall in love with your plans or ideas. Instead, fall in love with the effects you can have when you communicate clearly."
"Once you figure out the distance you need to travel, momentum can replace the anxiety of not knowing how to move forward."
"When we determine what something won’t be, we often reveal a little more about what it will be."
"Trying to make something that will never change can be super frustrating. Sure, it’s work to move those boxes around as things change — but that is the work, not a reason to avoid making a plan."
"Taking in feedback from other people and continuously refining the pieces, as well as the whole, is what assures that something is good."
"Don’t procrastinate. Messes only grow with time."
"When you see the world through the eyes of other people, you can spot weaknesses and opportunities for improvement."
🗣️ 👀
Chris.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.