Category Archives: Experienced complexity
When technology alienates people
A friend sent me an email this week expressing his rage at the way we are treated by big tech – that reasonable people are being made into ‘cyberoutlaws’. He said: “… everyday someone’s b**tard web site changes or there … Continue reading
Why are ‘unintended consequences’ almost inevitable?
We so often hear politicians, managers and those in positions of authority wailing about the ‘unintended consequences’ of their actions – or worse, excusing damaging outcomes with a shrug of the shoulders and saying “But they were unintended consequences …” … Continue reading
Applying Complexity Thinking to the Real World
PRINCIPLES FOR [BRINGING ABOUT] EFFECTIVE CHANGE IN [REAL-WORLD] PRACTICE The eleven ‘Principles of Practice’ below have been derived from the experiences of practitioners (people who are responsible for bringing about real-world change) which are discussed in a companion book “Complexity … Continue reading
Prediction in the face of Deep Uncertainty
So what about prediction? What is the difference between a backward-looking approaches to decision-making and an anticipatory forward-looking ones (discussed here)? It’s partly about the difference between probability (and risk) and possibility (and deep uncertainty) and partly about people’s assumptions … Continue reading
Organisation forms and Contextual Complexities
‘Contextual complexity’ provides an ‘objective’ perspective (as far as it can be) on the realities of the context and is the basis of exposing givens, realities and unspoken assumptions. When practitioners wish to establish their Contextual complexity (by undertaking ‘Symptom … Continue reading
How do we define ‘Complexity’ – ways of talking about it
In our book, ‘Complexity Demystified – a Guide for Practitioners‘ (page 8) we differentiate four different ways of talking about complexity: as it is naturally; as academics see it generally in theory; as it is seen objectively when in some … Continue reading
Complexity-Worthiness in a nutshell
Having ‘Complexity-worthiness’ means being able to access, deploy and employ capabilities which are appropriately matched to the nature of things being worked with – and being able to adapt them dynamically as circumstances change. Whether or not you use the … Continue reading
Harnessing Dynamic Change 