This document summarizes Rachel Happe's presentation on working in complex adaptive systems. It discusses how the pace of technology is accelerating rapidly while human performance is not improving at the same rate. This creates a "perfect storm" as technology and social currents change. Complex adaptive systems are made up of independent agents with boundaries that interact in non-linear ways, creating feedback loops. The document presents examples of Finnish schools and W.L. Gore that take a systems approach to push decision-making to individual agents. The Community Roundtable is introduced as providing training, networking, and research to help organizations succeed in this complex world.

1. Working in the Social World: Complex
Adaptive Systems
Rachel Happe
The Community Roundtable
@rhappe @TheCR

2. The World Is Changing

6. The Pace of Technology Is Accelerating
Source: http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2048601,00.html

7. …and cheaper and more pervasive and
more overwhelming

8. …But Human Performance Is Not Improving
Source: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/09/fun-with-homini-1.html

9. Humans Are Exposed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyfixedgear/51954864

10. A Perfect Storm of Change Is Rolling In
Technology Currents Social Currents
• Social media • Globalization
• Mobile • Economic insecurity
• Cloud • Political polarization
• Big data • Demographic shifts
• Pace of technology • Environment Changes
• Anxiety/Retrenchment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boobook48/4121533766/sizes/z/in/photostream

12. Complex Adaptive Systems
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stylegoddess/434337730/

13. Independent Agents

14. Boundaries
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86297125@N00/3985183893/in/set-72157622400913521

15. Catalysts

16. Hierarchical Groups of Agents

17. Compounding Feedback Loops
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8884133@N02/6846734328/

18. Hidden Levers

19. Non-Linear Performance

20. Tension: Agent Vs. System Optimization

21. Tension: Stability Vs. Resilience

22. Succeedin
g in A
Complex
World

23. Finnish Schools: A Systems Approach
• Goal: Equal access to quality
education
• Simplify requirements & governance
• Push decision-making and
responsibility to individual agents
(teachers)
• Focus on vetting new agents in the
system (inputs) rather than
measuring/fixing outputs
• Results: Finland ranks 2nd in the
world in performance and pays 33%
less than the U.S. per pupil

24. W.L.Gore: Democratizing Innovation
• Goal: Our products are designed to be
the highest quality in their class and
revolutionary in their effect.
• Simple governance: no
traditional organizational charts, no
chains of command, nor predetermined
channels of communication.
• Push decision-making and responsibility
to individual agents (associates)
• Focus on vetting new agents in the
system rather than measuring/fixing
outputs
• Results: $3B in annual sales

25. Community Maturity Model TM

26. 1. Simplify the core
Strategy 2. Build platforms
3. Stop competing

27. 1. Simplify
2. Trust
Leadership
3. Cede control

28. 1. More effective
barriers to entry
Culture 2. Push decision-
making to the edges
3. Systems that assume
competence

29. 1. Facilitate
performance
[Community]
2. Model behavior
Management
3. Translate

30. 1. Create scaffolding
Content/ 2. Ride waves
Programming 3. Enable advocacy

31. 1. Simplify
2. Enable agency
Policies &
3. Decentralize
Governance

32. 1. Develop platforms
2. Provide tiered
Tools information
architectures
3. Build for agility

33. 1. Understand obliquity
2. Measure system
inputs
Metrics &
3. Don’t measure Measurement
system outputs/
results in isolation

34. About The Community Roundtable
Mission:
Advance
the
Business
of
Community
Services
1. Champion:
Advocate
for
the
needs
of
community
• TheCR
Network
business
owners
and
teams
• TheCR
Focus
2. Educate:
Provide
training
soluGons
to
community
&
• TheCR
Advisory
social
business
leaders
• TheCR
Research
3. Curate:
Aggregate,
document,
and
share
community
• Community
Management
management
best
pracGces
Training
Member
OrganizaGons
&
Clients
Leadership
Team
Rachel
Happe
Principal
and
Co-­‐Founder
@rhappe
Jim
Storer
Principal
and
Co-­‐Founder
@jimstorer
www.community-roundtable.com

35. TheCR’s Solutions
We develop client competencies through training, professional
development and research
Start Build Grow
TheCR Training
TheCR Training
TheCR Training
• Community Lead
• Community Team
• Stakeholders
TheCR Network
TheCR Network
TheCR Network
• Community Lead
• Community Team
• Community Team
Stage Stage Stage Stage
1 Research
2 Research
3 Research
4
• TheCR Focus for • TheCR Focus for • TheCR Focus for
Executive Sponsors
Executive Sponsors
Executive Sponsors
• TheCR Focus for • TheCR Focus for
TheCR Advisory
Stakeholders
Stakeholders
• Executive Education
TheCR Advisory
TheCR Advisory
• Stakeholder • Stakeholder
Education
Education
• Workshop
• Workshop
www.community-roundtable.com

36. TheCR’s Services
Our services are designed to educate different audiences at different
stages of the social business journey
TheCR Network Training
A membership-based network of On demand and in person training
community, social media and social modules for a variety of community
business leaders which provides:
roles:
• Peer and expert interaction
• Report library of peer practices
• Specialist/Moderator
• Tools and templates
• Community Manager
• Professional concierge services
• Social or Community
Strategist
TheCR Focus TheCR Advisory
A monthly report subscription Industry experts that deliver
providing insights gleaned from customized solutions in the following
practitioners and for:
ways:
• Executive sponsors
• Keynotes
• Operational stakeholders
• Workshops
• Advocates and part-time • Retained Advisory
community managers

37. TheCR Thought Leadership
Our research platforms
educate the market, inform our services, and
enable partner services
State
of
Community
The
Social
Execu6ve
Management
TSE
looks
at
execu6ve
The
SOCM
provides
adop6on
and
the
insight
on
community
TheCR’s research portfolio linkage
between
programs
and
prac6ces,
business
strategy
and
learned
from
leading
is designed to provide a
the
use
of
social
prac66oners.
comprehensive view of technologies.
how leading organizations
are succeeding in social
business.
Career
Path
of
the
Community
Maturity
ModelTM
Community
Professional
By
capturing
the
This
research
looks
at
maturity
of
different
compensa6on,
roles
organiza6ons,
we
help
and
experience
of
the
market
mature
community
more
quickly.
professionals.
www.community-roundtable.com