I’ve always been a big-picture thinker. Whether working with clients, leading teams, or facilitating workshops, I instinctively zoom out to understand how each project connects to a larger vision. This natural tendency has always served me well—but now I’ve been challenged by adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy.
In her exploration of fractals, brown introduces a transformative concept: “Small is all.” She writes, “How we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale. The patterns of the universe repeat at scale. There is a structural echo that suggests…what we practice at the small scale can reverberate to the largest scale” .
“How we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale.”
adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy
This perspective challenges my habitual focus on the macro. Instead of always seeking the overarching narrative, brown urges us to pay attention to the micro—the daily decisions, interactions, and patterns that shape our lives and communities.
This idea resonates deeply with the concept of the Futures Cone, introduced by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby in Speculative Everything. The cone illustrates a range of potential futures: possible, plausible, probable, and preferable. The “preferable” futures represent the outcomes we desire, which may not align with current trajectories but can be achieved through deliberate, value-driven actions today.
By integrating brown’s fractal approach with futures thinking, we recognize that our present choices—how we collaborate, communicate, and uphold values like equity, inclusion, and sustainability—are foundational to shaping the futures we aspire to. As brown asserts, “In a fractal conception, I am a cell-sized unit of the human organism, and I have to use my life to leverage a shift in the system by how I am, as much as with the things I do” .
By examining the patterns in our immediate work—how we make decisions, who we include, how we communicate—we can align our daily practices with the larger visions we hold. That big-picture orientation of mine needs to complement a deeper awareness of the small.
In essence, embracing the fractal nature of change means acknowledging that the small is not insignificant. It’s in the small that we find the seeds of transformation. By nurturing these seeds with intention and care, we contribute to the emergence of the futures we desire.
So, as I continue my work, I carry with me this dual awareness: the vastness of the vision and the power of the present moment. Because, indeed, small is all.