1. AW Slide 1
Complex cultures use Time as a key mechanism in their lives. They engineer reality and use Belief
as the basis for thinking. Things will be either believed or not believed. Have you ever tried to
capture someone in a magical moment when all they see is an understanding of the situation? It’s
like entering into a religious ceremony with someone of a different faith when you’ve never
experienced it before. Imagine someone who is not familiar with Christianity attending midnight
mass and, while everyone is singing Christmas carols, they are wondering why there is a man nailed
to a cross without proper clothing or why they use organs instead of a stereo. These seem like
reckless and possibly offensive questions to someone who is part of the Complex environment, but
if you are Transitory you are just trying to understand. If you are, however, from a different faith
and locked into a Complex culture, you may not even accept what you see and feel an uneasiness
about the entire experience of being in someone else’s place of worship.
2. AW Slide 2
A Complex operating environment is built between individuals or groups that spend time together, share
experiences, or homogenize in a particular way, such as sharing common values. The formation of a
common bond in a Complex culture can be quickly accelerated by a common threat, as seen in cases of
natural disasters, global crises, and acts of terrorism. Just by spending time, sharing experiences and
sharing values together, we synthesize our perception of reality and can communicate more "efficiently." I
use the word "efficiently" cautiously because, as previously discussed, a cultural slumber, where thoughts
are relegated to the brain stem and reactions tend to be emotional, may seem efficient within the
framework of low resources, but is not as adaptable to what we encounter in the diverse global world.
3. AW Slide 3
When Complex individuals spend a lot of time together they begin to synchronize to each other. This is
what happens in relationships where you can immediately "read" the other person or know what an
action means even if nothing is said directly. Small groups, as well as entire cultures, rely on this particular
operating environment to maximize their rewards, success, and access to resources. Given enough time
and limited resources, small groups of Complex cultures will gradually coalesce into massive, traditionally
Complex cultures such as China, Saudi Arabia, or Japan.
The most personal example of a Complex environment is that of a family. Think back to the airport. When
you are traveling and trying to get home, you don’t necessarily have to be physically home to have the
same interaction with your family. The dynamics of relationships between parents and children, husband
and wife, brother and sister, remain in place and impose themselves no matter the surroundings.
4. AW Slide 4
I’ve seen the threshold for reactions to be much higher for Transitory cultures than for Complex. In a
Transitory environment, you pretty much have to push the limits as far as you can by doing something
that is absolutely not tolerated before you get a reaction. In a Complex environment, you only need to
demonstrate a difference in accepted values to trigger a reaction.
This is an interesting paradox because it means you will be more warmly greeted in the South, in China, or
in Saudi Arabia as long as your behavior doesn’t trigger a threat to the accepted values. The reaction to a
contradictory value trigger will be much more swift and aggressive.
The level of tolerance in a Transitory environment that does not hinge on a need to accept may seem cold
at first glance. But the high level of tolerance actually provides a buffer for quite a large amount of
diversity in the environment. That diversity is allowed to grow until certain tolerance levels are
established. Those tolerance levels are enforced through laws and rules. The phrase "What you do in
your bedroom is your business" is a typical representation of a Transitory mindset. In highly Complex
cultures, they will attempt to be heavily involved in your private life.
5. AW Slide 5
To get a culture to fragment from Complex to Transitory you need only to add change, diversity, unpredictability,
or a new resource. Simultaneously acceptance will fragment into tolerance, collectives into individuals, and beliefs
will become understandings. Resources will be spent maintaining a cortex approach to society. Complex cultures
want stability while Transitory cultures want change. Change is driven by energy, resources, and intensity, while
stability is naturally driven by time. While cultures are made up of many components, they have very distinct
driving forces. Transitory cultures are more driven by Energy; Complex cultures are more driven by Time.
Keep in mind, the way the terms Transitory and Complex are used to describe cultures and human interaction are
specific to Unicultural. Do not get confused by whatever images, descriptions, or feelings those words may evoke
from use in your everyday life.To know thyself is to know if you are more Complex or more Transitory. Your
Unicultural Advantage is to know if your environment rewards you more for being more tolerant or accepting than
your really are. Before you can see the world around you, you will need to see yourself in this light. Then
consider how it is we see, how we think, how we feel and what we do, and how the other culture does exactly the
same thing and the cycle begins again. We are universally connected.
