ABSTRACT
The idea that people's everyday practice is characterized by muddling through sits uncomfortably with established thinking on how organization works, how performance is supposed to happen, and what managers are supposed to be doing. Muddling through is precisely what the people each do in practice, as they seek to find their way through the "uncertainties, mysteries, doubts" of everyday life, to which Keats alludes. In many respects, the term “muddling through” might be considered to be an odd one to use in relation to management practice. There remains the challenge of getting people to integrate insights into their own practice – and way of life. The world is too complex, ambiguous, and uncertain to be dealt with in terms of abstract promises that are detached from the real-world demands of day-to-day governing. The notion and practice of bricolage highlights many of the practical aspects of muddling through skilfully.
