Tag: complexity and resilience

Seeing complexity

THE SECRET WEAPON IN PLAIN SIGHT

There is a quiet assumption that sits at the heart of modern organisations. It is rarely stated, yet widely believed. The assumption is that direction determines outcome. That those at the top, by virtue of their position, clarity, and authority, shape not only the strategy of an organisation, but also its culture, performance, and ultimately its success.
This assumption has served us well in simpler times. In systems where causality could be traced, where decisions could be followed through with reasonable predictability, where the distance between intent and outcome was manageable. In such systems, it made sense to look upward for explanation and downward for execution. But most organisations today no longer operate in such conditions. They operate in complexity.

LISBON AND THE CONCEPTUAL EARTHQUAKE OF RESILIENCE

In recent years another intellectual development has been reshaping how scientists think about systems and disturbances. Complexity science, systems thinking and ecological research have revealed that many natural and social systems operate through dynamic interactions, feedback loops and adaptive processes.