During the last quarter of the 19^th century, many impressionist painters developed a strong hostility toward the art of photography. In the 1870s, Eadweard Muybridge developed fast camera shutters, more sensitive film, and remote devices to trip the shutters. As a result, he was able to freeze the motion of people and animals, capturing a fraction of a second, faster than the blink of an eye.

The first images, which settled a bet about whether all four of a trotting horse’s feet were ever off the ground at the same time, caused many painters to reassess their depictions of animals in motion, since Muybridge revealed details previously invisible to the naked eye.

But this was exactly why the impressionist painters labeled photography unrealistic, fraudulent, a lie. They made the point that photography may be able to “stop time,” but time itself never stops, and therefore an impressionistic painting provides a truer image of life than a photograph. The impressionists could see the details, but wished to capture – and communicate – the whole experience of a scene.

Entrepreneurs know that the impressionist painters were onto something. Time does not stop, so every hour of every day introduces new ambiguities into the running of a business. Innovation becomes a reflex in organizations that embrace this ambiguity. Some managers try to eliminate ambiguity through reports, spreadsheets and other snapshots, keeping themselves so busy looking backwards that they don’t have time to think about what’s ahead.

Your business is in constant motion, constantly connected to - and interdependent with - a million other constantly changing factors. Understanding the motion, and sensing the consequences of those connections, requires an impressionist’s vision.

Continuous change does not require a frantic, espresso-fueled management style. On the contrary, I think a leader achieves calm by accepting the reality of continuous change.In such company cultures, innovation becomes habitual rather than crisis-driven; the business adapts organically to its changing environment.

Too many business people are data-holics, believing they can see an entire company in a snapshot report.Spreadsheets and reports are most useful when recognized for what they are: a collection of data representing a mere sliver of time. The data is useful within its limits, but data is not information, information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom. Not without our thoughtful, creative and intuitive interpretation.

The toughest thing in business is managing ambiguity, but it’s also the reality of business. To face that reality, see like an impressionist painter, not a documentary photographer.