“I’m very ambidextrous, so to speak, I can do a lot of things at one time,” he said.
Okayyy.
Actually, ambidexterity can be confused with multitasking. I know, I was surprised too.
In the quote above, ambidextrous is misused — the speaker meant multitask.
However, I ran across a definition — on multiple websites — that combines ambidexterity and multitasking when it comes to companies.
Wouldn’t ya know. It seems that a firm that multitasks by operating in more than one area, using multiple approaches is being ambidextrous.
So put that in your pipe and smoke it, lol.
In general, ambidexterity means that you can use your right and left hand equally well (or that an object can be used by either hand).
Multitasking is about being able to engage in a variety of activities all at the same time. Yep, lookin’ at you, Moms.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Ambidexterity | Multitasking |
|---|---|
 — |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: ambidexterity |
Noun
Plural: multitasking |
| Noun: Ability to use the right and left hands equally well
Deceit or hypocrisy Unusual cleverness Duplicity [Slang] Bisexual The ability to apply multiple approaches to strategy either concurrently or successively, since many firms operate in more than one strategic environment at once |
Noun: The performance of more than one task at the same time or serially
The execution by a computer of more than one program or task simultaneously |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: He credits his ambidexterity to all the broken arms he suffered as a child. “Talk about ambidexterity — Martin didn’t know what it would be like to use one hand at a time” (Spearman). Gur Keren, a contemporary artist, not only exhibited an ambidexterity with his hands but also his feet. There are four types of ambidexterity: structural, sequential, contextual, and managerial. It features an exposed hammer with ambidextrous decocking levers (on the slide). He has quite the depressing ambidexterity for expressing truths. “But Hoyle likes the movie beyond Montoya’s renowned ambidexterity” (Ortega). Her ambidexterity in relationships must take a lot of thought. He expresses an ambidexterity in his approach to sex. “Companies need ambidexterity when operating in diverse environments that require different styles of strategy simultaneously, or in dynamic environments that require them to transition between styles over time” (Reeves). “In due course, firms with this ambidexterity became the digital winners of the new era — Amazon, Apple, Facebook Google, Microsoft, and Tesla” (Denning). |
Noun: Parenting skills such as multitasking and concentrating amid distractions are easily transferable to the workplace. “One of AT&T’s most recent ads foreshadows a frightening prospect: relentless, mind-numbing multitasking” (AT&T). “Murray defended herself at a press conference, saying that multitasking is something every mom knows how to do” (Murphy). Multitasking didn’t slow down the smartphone at any point. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: ambidexter, ambidexterity, ambidextral Adverb: ambidextrously Noun: ambidextrousness |
Noun: multitasker Verb: multitask |
| History of the Word: | |
| First recorded in 1645–55; ambidexter + -ity, from the Late Latin, dating back to 1525–35 ambi- dexter. | First recorded in 1960–65 multi- + task + -ing. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Ambidexterity versus Multitasking
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
“Ambidexterity.” Boston Consulting Group. n.d. Accessed 10 May 20242. <https://www.bcg.com/publications/collections/your-strategy-needs-strategy/ambidexterity>.
Apple Dictionary.com
“AT&T’s Dizzying Tizzy.” Variety. 20 May 2013. Accessed 10 May 2024. <https://www.thefreelibrary.com/AT%26T%27s+dizzying+tizzy-a0333331410>.
Collins Dictionary: ambidextrous
Denning, Steve. “How A New Kind Of Business Model Creates Digital Winners.” Forbes. 9 Aug 2022. Accessed 10 May 2024. <https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2022/08/09/how-a-new-kind-of-business-model-created-digital-winners/?sh=1e1d2fc26fc0>.
Dictionary.com: ambidexterity
The Free Dictionary: ambidexterity
Murphy, Patricia. “Patty Murray, Deficit-Reduction Supercommittee’s Double Agent?” The Daily Beast. 13 July 2011. Accessed 13 May 2024. <Uhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/patty-murray-deficit-reduction-supercommittees-double-agentRL>.
Ortega, Christian. “For Some Olympic Fencers, Movies Deepen Their Connection to the Sport.” USA Today. 28 July 2021. Accessed 10 May 2024. <https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/07/28/us-olympic-fencers-were-inspired-movies-when-they-started-sport/8079722002/>.
Reeves, Martin, Knut Haanæs, James Hollingsworth, and Filippo Scognamiglio. “Ambidexterity: The Art of Thriving in Complex Environments.” Boston Consulting Group. 19 Feb 2013. Accessed 10 May 2024. <https://www.bcg.com/publications/2013/strategy-growth-ambidexterity-art-thriving-complex-environments>.
Spearman, Frank H. Held for Orders. Project Gutenberg, 2010. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34365/34365-h/34365-h.htm>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Panicked Multitasking Cartoon Man is Free Clip Art‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
