Working definition. Orientation is the relation that makes movement intelligible: a position, a horizon, and a direction by which choices can cohere.
Inherited meaning
Navigation begins with orientation, but philosophy and phenomenology extend it to lived experience. We find our way through worlds by learning what is near, possible, permitted, valued, and shared—not by holding coordinates alone.
Meaning in the imagination economy
AI expands the map faster than individuals and institutions can update their bearings. More capability can therefore produce disorientation rather than freedom. Orientation is the work of reconnecting tools to purpose, change to values, and personal action to a larger horizon.
What changes in practice
When a team feels overwhelmed, stop listing capabilities. Re-state where you are, what must not be lost, whose future is in view, and what direction would make the next step meaningful.