An overview of Systems Thinking, and how to apply the ideas of Complexity Theory to management of systems, with the results being called "Complexity Thinking".
...
An overview of Systems Thinking, and how to apply the ideas of Complexity Theory to management of systems, with the results being called "Complexity Thinking".
This presentation is part of the Management 3.0 course created by Jurgen Appelo.
TheThinkingHotelVery clever, simple, too long, and somehow intriguing... at some point you claim metaphors are dangerous as it make us draw conclusions too fast, and towards the end, uses metaphors to give the conclusion! (of course, as I love metaphors, would love a greater discussion on its value)1 year ago
EkiLaitila, Systeemianalyytikko at GoodReason: Tuloksellinen systeemiajatteluHi Jurgen, I tried to find a definition for SYSTEM in this presentation, but there were none. Instead, I have created the archectype System for my research work. It enables using numerous tools and technologies in order to plan and understand system-specific implementations. B.R. Erkki1 year ago
Are you sure you want to
EnvJusticetheory put in perspective. Refreshing!1 year ago
Thomas DworschakA really fine walkthrough of the systems/complexity field - Thanks! Another great presentation of yours that will help me in my projects aka social systems :-)1 year ago
Are you sure you want to
Jim_BranderYour synthesis is built on some shaky elements. Slide 158 - re-examine these (Hint - existential logic is orthogonal to propositional logic, think how many bits of information are required to answer 'Have you stopped beating your wife'). A real peacock is not displaying a 'totally useless' idea - it finds peahens attractive. A magpie passes the mirror test, but that does not mean it engages in self-reflection.1 year ago
A lot of systems commonly known as complex or complicated aren't that compl-X, i.e. the systems can be reduced to subsystems that have shorter system time and are practically observable. The problem is that the subsystem's boundaries are not distinct in human perception. That is the boundaries can be statistically-sharp identified, but nobody wants to hit the hot button, since playing around at the boundary causes pain. The involved players 'kill' the agents, who stress the boundaries while gathering information. An example is banking stress-tests. The tests were meant to identify financial system body and integrity, but are deliberately too weak to do the job properly.
There are a lot of simple systems that can be controlled properly. Many humans are unwilling to sustain temporary individual discomfort for sake of continuous common good. It blows system copl-X-ty up beyond necessary levels. The problem of complexity science is more often the not being able to access absolutely attainable information. Necessarily, the science agents extend the high of abstractions to the level where it doesn't hurt anyone's interests. At the same moment the science becomes irrelevant and as a consequence presents unsolvable challenges as quipped at the slide #66. Resume: the role of scientists in the society defines practicality of scientific method and ability of the society to manage compl-X-ty.1 year ago
When we talk about things we always use abstractions. Incomplete representations of the world around us.
And we always have multiple options for choosing abstractions.
Engineers and scientists are particularly good at abstractions, which is why all system theories are created by “left-brainers”.Note: it is known that “left-brain” versus “right-brain” is bad science. But it is a useful metaphor.
But too much abstraction leads to problems. Such as executives only focusing on cold numbers in spreadsheets, instead of real human beings.
Or consultants trying to design organizations, without realizing that they cannot be objective observers.
Or the alienation of architects who create fantastic models that don’t make sense to people in real situations.
Or the idea that project management can predict and control the future.
Or the idea that there is always someone to blame whenever there is a problem.
Some people think we should strive for a holistic approach to organizations. We can call them the “right-brainers”.
In fact, it is impossible to be really holistic.
It is always necessary to place boundaries.And where to place them depends on the problem.
See book: page 41-45
This is the same as the Law of Requisite Variety. But this quote is easier to explain.Only the human mind is at least as complex as the complexity of the environment that software projects find themselves in.
I explain that the 360 degree evaluation is, in principle, a good idea. Because the point is to let the system (the team) generate its own feedback about its parts (team members).However, in some companies it is implemented badly. There are even HR tools that fully automate the 360-degree process, enabling people to fill out forms via email, anonymously, about each other. This is very bad for trust and respect in the organization.I explain that the last time I organized a 360 degree evaluation I did it during dinner with the whole team. It was a great and very useful experience.See book: page 242-245
I explain that complexity researcher Dave Snowden says in his keynotes that stories/narratives work better than values or vision statements. And I show with this picture that we used a lego model of metaphors, combined with photos and video, to craft the vision for the ALE network.
The “long tail” and the “strength of weak ties” are both metaphors that suggest that the sum of all small things in a social network can together be more powerful than the few strong things in the network.Likewise, several weak models can be more powerful than one strong model.In social systems we only have weak models (no strong mathematical models).Therefore, we need multiple models to make sense of the world around us.
What worked for you in the past may not work for you in the future.What works for somebody else may not work for you.
The practices you try will influence the system, but the system will also influence the practices you try.
Exploration is often forgotten on Agile teams.They only do (lots of) adaptation and (a bit of) anticipation.
Working models must be developed through their actual use by people, otherwise they won’t make sense to them.
In Scrum the whole team is required to participate in stand-ups and planning/demo meetings. Therefore Scrum wants us to use the complexity of the minds of the whole team to deal with the complexity of the environment.Scrum is just one model. For example, it specifically requires the use of timeboxes and is incompatible with iterationless models (such as Kanban). In fact, the term “ScrumBut” clearly suggests that there is a “proper” way of doing Scrum.Scrum does recognize that it is a framework and that other practices have to be filled in to make it work, but acknowledges that these practices depend on context.Scrum specifically suggests to iterate often because the demo of the product will influence the customer, and this will influence the backlog, and therefore the product.There is only focus on adaptation and anticipation in Scrum. There is no clear suggestion to explore.Scrum requires that the team changes its process model through regular retrospectives.
What happens whenyou go to a bar full ofsystems thinkers andcomplexity researchers
Russell L. Ackoff W. Edwards Deming Peter F. DruckerDonella H. Meadows Peter M. Senge Peter Checkland Gerald M. Weinberg Michael C. Jackson Ralph Stacey Dave Snowden John H. Holland John Seddon Max Boisot
“What exactly is the bar?”
“Are the peoplehere part of the bar?”
“Is the beer part of the bar?”
“If we drink the beer, isit still part of the bar?”
“What if my beer and I go outside?”
“Is the bar a system?”
“What is thepurpose of the bar?”
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
We converse about abstractionsAbstractions are imperfect and incomplete.
It is a form of interaction The activity of abstracting is basically a formof interaction between people in which theysimplify the complexity of their ownordinary, everyday interactions *…+ in an effortto make meaning of what they are doing *…+.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
To make sense of the world Sense-making is the way that humanschoose between multiple possible explanationsof sensory input.– Dave Snowdenhttp://kwork.org/Stars/Snowden/snowden3.html#Simplicity
reductionism əre·duc·tion·ism noun ri-ˈd k-shə-ˈni -zəm– explanation of complex life-science processes and phenomena in terms of the laws of physics and chemistry– a procedure or theory that reduces complex data and phenomena to simple termshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reductionism
The bar is... the building, inventory, employee s, guests, some interaction, etc...reductionism
A problem is that people have become addictedto the successes of reductionism.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductionism
“Left-brain” thinkingAll system theories were created by engineersand scientists (“left-brainers”).
Analysis in management This systems movement *…+ has come toform the foundation of today’s dominantmanagement discourse, so importing theengineer’s notion of control into understandinghuman activity.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
Problem: DehumanizationCold numbers in spreadsheets
Problem: Objectivation“Designing” human interaction
Problem: AlienationInstructions from ivory towers
Problem: Prediction“Controlling” the future
Problem: AttributionBlaming people for problems
• Problem: Dehumanization• Problem: Objectivization• Problem: Alienation• Problem: Prediction• Problem: AttributionThis list of five problems is myabstraction, and my attempt at sense-making!
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
Revenge for “right-brainers”Some people have suggested more holisticapproaches.
See the whole system Living systems have integrity. Theircharacter depends on the whole. The same istrue for organizations.– Peter M. SengeThe Fifth Discipline
Greater than the sum of the parts The enterprise must be a genuine whole:greater than the sum of its parts, with its outputlarger than the sum of all inputs.– Peter F. DruckerManagement
Synthesis, not analysis Analysis is only one way of thinking;synthesis is another. [...] In analysis, somethingthat we want to understand is first taken apart.In synthesis, that which we want to understandis first identified as part of one or more largersystems.– Russell L. AckoffRecreating the Corporation
But what is the whole
Problem: ImpossibleIf everything is connected toeverything, what is the “whole”?
Problem: Unscientific new age fluffy bunnies– Dave Snowdenhttp://km4meu.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/radical-ideals-and-fluffy-bunnies/
An unquestioned assumption By formulating a research aim to uncoverthe fundamental characteristics of systems ofvarious kinds, we were making theunquestioned assumption that the worldcontained such systems.– Peter ChecklandSystems Thinking, Systems Practice
Actually, there are no systems Where to draw a boundary around asystem depends on the questions we want toask.– Donella H. MeadowsThinking in Systems
There are perspectives A system is a way of looking at the world.– Gerald M. WeinbergIntroduction to General Systems Thinking
Systems depend on contextThe boundaries of systems keepshifting, using reductionism and holism.How much to abstract or extend depends onwhat you want to understand.
No radical holism/reductionism Complexity theory does not embrace theradical holism of systems theory, the notion thateverything matters and everything has to betaken into account.– Steve PhelanThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
A team is a complex adaptive system (CAS), because itconsists of parts (people) that form a system(team), and the system shows complex behavior whileit keeps adapting to a changing environment.
One perspectiveThe properties of complex adaptive systems are:• Aggregation• Nonlinearity• Flows• Diversity– John H. HollandHidden Order
Another perspectiveThere are six notions in complexity theory:• Sensitivity to initial conditions (butterfly effect)• Strange attractors (unpredictability)• Self-similarity (fractals)• Self-organization (distributed control)• The edge of chaos (emergence)• Fitness landscapes (continuous improvement)– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
And it evolved like this...– Jeffrey GoldsteinComplexity and the Nexus of Leadership
Or like this...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Complex_systems_organizational_map.jpg
Or like this...http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurgenappelo/4948963883/
Of course, these are all just abstractions...
Complexity theory itself is complex Papers are being posted on the Web longbefore publication and there is rapid movementof what could be called precodified orprotocodified knowledge. *…+ I am not sayingwhether this is good or bad; I am merelysuggesting that this is one of the characteristicsaffecting the evolution of complexity sciences.– Max BoisotThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
Complexity theory is about change Complexity theory is not a cohesive theory.It is not one equation. It is really a collection ofideas about the concept of change incomplex adaptive systems *…+. It talks about thedynamics of change in a system.– Irene SandersThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
People and relationships We found that this new science leads to anew theory of business that places people andrelationships *…+ into dramatic relief.– Roger Lewin, Birute RegineThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
And about hype I think the next century will be the centuryof complexity.– Stephen HawkingSan Jose Mercury News, 23 January 2000
And about unification We can justifiably think of Complexity as asort of umbrella science – or even the Science ofall Sciences.– Neil JohnsonSimply Complexity
But who wants unification? Scholars *…+ have been understandablyreluctant to see their pet subject as simply onemore example of some broader generalsystem!– Peter ChecklandSystems Thinking, Systems Practice
No consensus, no unification Perhaps because the field has attractedresearchers from a wide diversity of homedisciplines, there is no consensus as to howto define, measure, describe, or interpret"complexity."– Steve MaguireThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
Complexity theory explains why complexproblems need multiple perspectives.It is successful in explaining its own failure atbeing one theory!
But complexity is growing Accelerating economic and social change inthe global economy, the consequent imperativefor ever faster innovation, the emergence ofglobal networks of partners, *…+ themultiplication of media channels, andburgeoning diversity in both the workplace andmarketplace.– Steve DenningRadical Management
And complicated is not complex Analysis works in complicated cases (plic incomplicated means "fold"), but theinterweavings (plex) of the complex do not yieldto reductionist analysis or to a concentration ondetails.– Michael L. LissackThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
You can try to simplify a system to make it understandableBut you cannot linearize the system to make it predictable
Complicated vs. Complex is itself is reductionism(and a false dichotomy)!Some systems can be seen as both complicatedand complex.
This is all great, buthow do we use allthese ideas aboutcomplexity
The Scientific MethodThe traditional approach...1. Observations2. Hypotheses3. Predictions4. Experimentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
Houston, we have a problem This makes the standard method ofaccumulating evidence highlyproblematic, because it is based on theassumption of repetitive events. Evidence isaccumulated by observing repetitions intraditional science but rather different notionsof evidence need to be developed for thecomplexity sciences.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
Complexity invalidates prediction! The crucial problem which science faces isits ability to cope with complexity.– Peter ChecklandSystems Thinking, Systems Practice
Complexity theory predicts that we cannot relyon predictions.
That doesn’t seemvery helpful.Is there anythingelse we can do
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
modelmod·el noun ˈmädəl -– a usually miniature representation of something– a description or analogy used to help visualize something (as an atom) that cannot be directly observed– a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/model
We use models for two reasonsConfirmatory models: prediction & controlExploratory models: insight & understanding– Steve PhelanThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
We’ll focus on exploratory modelsConfirmatory models are impossible to make incomplexity theory. But we can use exploratorymodels to aid in sense-making.
Making sense of improvementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCAhttp://gumption.typepad.com/blog/entrepreneuria/
Making sense of learning Shu Beginner Advanced Beginner Ha Competent Proficient Ri Experthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuharihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition
Making sense of complexity Ralph Stacey Dave Snowden
There’s only 1 criterion for modelsDoes the model help people to make sense ofthe world (insight and understanding)?
Of course, it requires a balanceHow detailed (complicated) will you make themodel to make it useful?The usefulness of a model depends on thecomplexity of the mind and of the environment.
A simple model of Londonhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FHHhq9JdAXg/TIUalCWz_zI/AAAAAAAAAUg/C0CTOtV6iiw/s1600/cowshed-spasmap-aw8-low+res.jpg
A complicated model of Londonhttp://www.bestcitymaps.com/citymaps/images/london.jpg
A simple model for projectshttp://effectiveagiledev.com/AgileTraining/ScrumImplementationWorkshop/tabid/74/Default.aspx
A complicated model for projectshttp://wyzsadvies.blogspot.com/2010/08/project-beheer-en-de-papierwinkel.html
A simple model for managers– Jurgen AppeloManagement 3.0
A complicated model for managers– Dan LevinthalThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
Models are never perfect All models wrong, some are useful.– George BoxUsefulness is context-dependent. It dependson the people and their environment.
metaphormet·a·phor noun ˈmetə-ˈ r also -fər - fȯ– a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between themhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor
Metaphors in science• Butterfy Effect• Edge of Chaos• Survival of the FittestMetaphors are fuzzy but effective models.
Metaphors in management• organizations as machines;• organizations as organisms;• organizations as brains;• organizations as flux and transformation;• organizations as cultures;• organizations as political systems;• organizations as psychic prisons;• organizations as instruments of domination;• organizations as carnivals.– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
Organizations as machines Machine images pervade managementjargon. We have managers who “run” acompany, much the way you would run amachine. We have the “owners” of thecompany, which is perfectly appropriateterminology for a machine but somewhatproblematic when applied to a humancommunity. And of course there are leaderswho “drive change.”– Peter M. SengeThe Fifth Discipline
Danger of metaphors Reminiscence syndromeJumping to conclusions because things look “the same”– Jack Cowan
Example: inventory as wasteThe metaphor of inventory applied toknowledge work can be useful, but it fails fast.It leads people to draw conclusions about“waste” that make no sense (to me).
Useful question: when do they fail?Metaphors are the weakest of all models.They fail fast.Science likes mathematical models.They fail much later.
A key point of complexity theoryMultiple weak models can make just as muchsense as one strong model. (And it’s certainlybetter than no models.)In the end all models fail.
This point makes it clear you also need otherpeople’s views on complexity thinking.A single perspective is not enough!
mathematicsmath·e·mat·ics noun ˈmathˈmatiks, ˈmathə- - - -– the science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizat ions, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizationshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mathematics
Scientific management (Taylorism)The earliest attempt at applying mathematics tomanagement of organizations.• Improving efficiency• Reducing variation• Increasing outputhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management
simulationsim·u·la·tion noun ˈsim -yə-ˈlāshən -– the imitative representation of the functioning of one system or process by means of the functioning of another– examination of a problem often not subject to direct experimentation by means of a simulating devicehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simulation
The heart of complexity theory At the heart of complexity theory are theseformal models that utilize new techniques inartificial intelligence to motivate artificialagents. Behind them are some heavy-dutymathematics and computer science.– Steve PhelanThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
Problem: prediction & control For systems dynamics thinkers, the aim is toidentify leverage points for interventions thatwill enable them to identify where, when andhow to initiate change and so stay in control.However, the ability to do this in a system that issensitive to tiny changes is called into question.That obviously has serious implications for thehuman ability to stay ‘in control’.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
patternpat·tern noun ˈpatərn -– a form or model proposed for imitation– a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution– a discernible coherent system based on the intended interrelationship of component partshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pattern
Causal Loop DiagramsSeekingpatterns
Archetype: Shifting the burden Shifting the burden, dependence, andaddiction arise when a solution to a systemicproblem reduces (or disguises) thesymptoms, but does nothing to solve theunderlying problem.– Donella H. MeadowsThinking in Systems
Archetype: Shifting problems Solutions that merely shift problems fromone part of a system to another often goundetected because, unlike the rugmerchant, those who “solved” the first problemare different from those who inherit the newproblem.– Peter M. SengeThe Fifth Discipline
Archetype: The easy way out We all find comfort applying familiarsolutions to problems, sticking to what we knowbest.– Peter M. SengeThe Fifth Discipline
Problem : objectivation Consider how this systems thinkingcompares with the earlier framework ofscientific management. The manager continuesto be equated with the natural scientist, theobjective observer, and just as the scientist isconcerned with a natural phenomenon, so themanager is concerned with an organization.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
Problem : objectivation Hard systems thinking is unable to dealsatisfactorily with multiple perceptions ofreality. *…+ Different stakeholders will havediverse opinions about the nature of the systemthey are involved with and about its properpurposes.– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
So, how shouldwe use thosemodels in asocial system
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
“Soft Systems Thinking”– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
“Soft Complexity”Systems theory -> Hard systems thinking Soft systems thinkingComplexity theory -> Hard complexity Soft complexity– Steve MaguireThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
“Social Complexity”– Dave Snowdenhttp://emergentpublications.com/ECO/ECO_other/Issue_6_1-2_19_FM.pdf
Complexity Thinking (as I see it)
1) Address complexity with complexity The complexity of a system must beadequate to the complexity of the environmentthat it finds itself in.– Max BoisotThe Interaction of Complexity and ManagementThe human mind is more complex than toolsUse stories, metaphors, pictures…
Law of Requisite Variety If a system is to be stable the number ofstates of its control mechanism must be greaterthan or equal to the number of states in thesystem being controlled.– William Ross Ashby
Law of Requisite Variety Ashbys law of requisite variety is asimportant to managers as Einsteins law ofrelativity to physicists.– Anthony Stafford BeerDesigning Freedom
The Kanban board is complicated, not complex.http://www.xqa.com.ar/visualmanagement/tag/kanban/
360 Degree evaluations
Narratives useful for sense-making [Complexity thinkers] argue that complexthinking is best accomplished in a narrativemode of thinking rather than the propositionalthinking of the traditional scientific method. *…+Both involverecursiveness, nonlinearity, sensitivedependency on initialconditions, indeterminacy, unpredictability andemergence.
Consider stories, metaphors, pictures or videohttps://picasaweb.google.com/114043888000663006020/ALENetworkWorldCafeAtXP2011Results
Reduction vs. Absorption Complexity reduction entails getting tounderstand the complexity and acting on itdirectly, including attempting environmentalenactment. Complexity absorption entailscreating options and risk-hedging strategies.– Max BoisotThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
From reduction to absorption Top-down rules reduce an organization’sability to deal with variety.– John SeddonFreedom from Command & Control
Reduction vs. Absorption Insofar as the business environment isbecoming more complex, firms will need to shiftfrom the complexity-reducing strategies thatsecured their success from the end of thenineteenth until the end of the twentiethcentury and place more stress on complexity-absorbing ones-a shift away from bureaucraciesand toward fiefs, markets, and clans.– Max BoisotThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
2) Use a diversity of models Complexity itself is anti-methodology. It isagainst "one size fits all."– Tom PetzingerThe Interaction of Complexity and ManagementMultiple weak models can make just as muchsense as one strong model.
Multiple approaches Each systems approach is useful for certainpurposes and in particular types of problemsituation. A diversity ofapproaches, therefore, heralds not a crisis butincreased competence in a variety of problemcontexts.– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
Multiple approaches• Different people and tools• Different metaphors and analogies• Different patterns and simulations• Different methods and practices
3) Assume dependence on context Best practice is past practice.– Dave SnowdenThe Interaction of Complexity and Management
Retrospective coherence Any evidence provided will depend on theperiod selected and the place in which theevents are occurring as well as other aspects ofcontext. It follows that any relationship anyoneidentifies between a management action and anoutcome could have far more to do with aparticular time and place where the sample isselected than anything else.– Ralph StaceyComplexity and Organizational Reality
4) Assume subjectivity and coevolutionThe observer influences the system, and thesystem influences the observer.The people form the culture, and the cultureforms the people.
Feedback changesthe whole system.
5) Anticipate, adapt, exploreAnticipationLooking forward, proactive, imagining improvementAdaptationLooking backward, reactive, responding to changeExplorationTrying things out, safe-to-fail experiments
6) Develop models in collaborationDoes the model help people to make sense ofthe world (insight and understanding)?
1. Address complexity with complexity2. Use a diversity of models3. Assume dependence on context4. Assume subjectivity and coevolution5. Anticipate, adapt, and explore6. Develop models in collaboration
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
Does Scrum Match Complexity Thinking?1. Address complexity with complexity Yes2. Use a diversity of models No3. Assume dependence on context Yes4. Assume subjectivity and coevolution Yes5. Anticipate, adapt, and explore No6. Develop models in collaboration Yes
1. Address complexity with complexity2. Use a diversity of models3. Assume dependence on context4. Assume subjectivity and coevolution5. Anticipate, adapt, and explore6. Develop models in collaboration
ExampleWhat is the purpose of an organization?
It’s about the shareholder Our aim is to be the biggest or secondbiggest market player, and to return maximumvalue to stockholders.– Jack Welch (General Electric)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_value
It’s about the customer There is only one valid definition of businesspurpose: to create a customer.– Peter F. DruckerManagement
It’s about the employee When we talk to our People, we proudlydraw a pyramid on the chalkboard and tellthem: You are at the top of the pyramid. You arethe most important person to us. You are ourmost important Customer in terms of priority.– Colleen Barrett (Southwest Airlines)http://leaderchat.org/2011/01/10/customers-employees-and-shareholders%E2%80%94who-comes-first-in-your-organization/
It’s about the organization The fundamental mission of an organizationis to survive.– W. Warner BurkeOrganization Change
It’s about the environment The function of firms is to produce anddistribute wealth.– Russell L. AckoffRecreating the Organization
It’s about all of them Organizations must be viewed as socialsystems serving three sets of purposes: theirown, those of their parts and those of the widersystems of which they are part.– Michael C. JacksonSystems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
It’s about none of them A system has no purpose. Purpose is arelation, not a thing to have.– Gerald M. WeinbergIntroduction to General Systems Thinking
Well, it depends... Purposes are deduced from behavior, notfrom rhetoric or stated goals.– Donella H. MeadowsThinking in Systems
My view (with complexity thinking hat)They all have a good point.Sometimes we need a simple model.Sometimes we need a complicated model.
The Shu-Ha-Ri of purposeShu Delight customersHa Delight all stakeholdersRi Delight yourself
ReductionismHolismComplexity TheoryModelsComplexity ThinkingExampleFinal words
All models can be useful.Some fail faster than others.– Jurgen Appelo
There is nothing as practical as good theory.– Kurt Lewin
We should not take our models tooseriously.– Gerald M. WeinbergIntroduction to Systems Thinking
Is it Complexity Thinkingor Systems Thinking ++
The magpieFinds what’s valuable and uses it in its nestThe only bird capable of self-reflection
1. Address complexity with complexity2. Use a diversity of models3. Assume dependence on context4. Assume subjectivity and coevolution5. Anticipate, adapt, and explore6. Develop models in collaboration7. Copy and change
The peacockShowing off a complicated but totally useless ideaNot capable of self-reflection
Dont take speakers too seriously.Listen (critically) to the magpiesBe wary of the peacocks.
Did you like this presentation?Check out the Management 3.0 coursewhich contains much more...
Richard Straub
I tried to find a definition for SYSTEM in this presentation, but there were none.
Instead, I have created the archectype System for my research work. It enables using numerous tools and technologies in order to plan and understand system-specific implementations.
B.R. Erkki 1 year ago
Mind boggling and though provoking. 1 year ago
Slide 158 - re-examine these (Hint - existential logic is orthogonal to propositional logic, think how many bits of information are required to answer 'Have you stopped beating your wife').
A real peacock is not displaying a 'totally useless' idea - it finds peahens attractive.
A magpie passes the mirror test, but that does not mean it engages in self-reflection. 1 year ago
A lot of systems commonly known as complex or complicated aren't that compl-X, i.e. the systems can be reduced to subsystems that have shorter system time and are practically observable. The problem is that the subsystem's boundaries are not distinct in human perception. That is the boundaries can be statistically-sharp identified, but nobody wants to hit the hot button, since playing around at the boundary causes pain. The involved players 'kill' the agents, who stress the boundaries while gathering information. An example is banking stress-tests. The tests were meant to identify financial system body and integrity, but are deliberately too weak to do the job properly.
There are a lot of simple systems that can be controlled properly. Many humans are unwilling to sustain temporary individual discomfort for sake of continuous common good. It blows system copl-X-ty up beyond necessary levels. The problem of complexity science is more often the not being able to access absolutely attainable information. Necessarily, the science agents extend the high of abstractions to the level where it doesn't hurt anyone's interests. At the same moment the science becomes irrelevant and as a consequence presents unsolvable challenges as quipped at the slide #66. Resume: the role of scientists in the society defines practicality of scientific method and ability of the society to manage compl-X-ty. 1 year ago