The document discusses how lean agile methodologies can provide a holistic alternative to the reductionist perspectives dominating Western thought, advocating for a recognition of interconnectedness in systems. It explores concepts such as holons, autopoiesis, and the Cynefin framework to illustrate the complexity of living systems and decision-making processes. The author emphasizes the importance of adopting new values and beliefs to better align with the fabric of life.

2. Aims
• This
ligh*ng
talk
aims
to
explore,
from
an
holis*c
point
of
view
as
opposed
to
the
reduc*onist
thinking,
how
the
Lean
Agile
methodologies
can
be
considered
as
part
of
the
“turning
point”
in
the
crisis
of
Western
reduc*onist
way
of
thinking.

4. Yin
&
Yang
• In
the
Chinese
culture
and
are
never
associated
with
moral
values.

5. EARTH
SKY
MOON
SUN
NIGHT
DAY
WINTER
SUMMER
WET
DRY
COLD
HOT
INTERNAL
SURFACE

6. FEMALE
MALE
CONTRACTIVE
EXPANSIVE
CONSERVATIVE
DISSIPATIVE
RESPONSIVE
AGGRESSIVE
COOPERATIVE
COMPETITIVE
INTUITIVE
RATIONAL
SYNTHETIC
ANALYTIC

7. Our
culture
• If
you
consider
this
set
of
values
is
easy
to
see
how
our
society
has
constantly
favoured
the
at
the
expense
of
the
.

8. Yang
over
Yin
• ra*onal
knowledge
over
intui*ve
wisdom
• compe**on
over
coopera*on
• exploita*on
of
resources
with
respect
to
conserva*on

10. Two
Paradigms

11. Reduc*onism

12. Reduc*onism
can
mean
either
• (a)
an
approach
to
understanding
the
nature
of
complex
things
by
reducing
them
to
the
interac*ons
of
their
parts,
or
to
simpler
or
more
fundamental
things
or
• (b)
a
philosophical
posi*on
that
a
complex
system
is
nothing
but
the
sum
of
its
parts,
and
that
an
account
of
it
can
be
reduced
to
accounts
of
individual
cons*tuents.
from
Wikipedia,
the
free
encyclopedia

13. Holism
(from
ὂλος
holos,
a
Greek
word
meaning
all,
whole,
en*re,
total),
is
the
idea
that
natural
systems
(physical,
biological,
chemical,
social,
economic,
mental
linguis*c,
etc.)
and
their
proper*es,
should
be
viewed
as
wholes,
• not
as
collec*ons
of
parts.
from
Wikipedia,
the
free
encyclopedia

14. Holism
• Science
itself
is
demanding
a
new,
non-­‐fragmentary
world
view,
in
the
sense
that
the
present
approach
of
analysis
of
the
world
into
independent
elementary
parts
does
not
work
very
well
in
modern
physics.

15. Two
Paradigms

17. Holons
• A
(Greek:
ὅλον,
holon
neuter
form
of
ὅλος,
holos
"whole")
is
something
that
is
simultaneously
a
whole
and
a
part.
• The
word
was
coined
by
Arthur
Koestler
in
his
book
The
Ghost
in
the
Machine
(1967,
p.
48).

18. Holons
• Koestler
proposed
the
word
holon
to
describe
the
hybrid
nature
of
sub-­‐wholes
and
parts
within
in
vivo
systems.
• From
this
perspec*ve,
holons
exist
simultaneously
as
self-­‐contained
wholes
in
rela*on
to
their
sub-­‐ordinate
parts,
and
dependent
parts
when
considered
from
the
inverse
direc*on.

20. Holons
are
autonomous,
self-­‐reliant
units
that
possess
a
degree
of
independence
and
handle
con*ngencies
without
asking
higher
authori*es
for
instruc*ons.
• These
holons
are
also
simultaneously
subject
to
control
from
one
or
more
of
these
higher
authori*es.

21. Holons
• A
is
a
system
(or
phenomenon)
which
is
an
evolving
self-­‐organizing
dissipa*ve
structure,
composed
of
other
holons,
whose
structures
exist
at
a
balance
point
between
chaos
and
order.

25. Autopoiesis
(from
Greek
αὐτo-­‐
(auto-­‐),
meaning
"self",
and
ποίησις
(poiesis),
meaning
"crea*on,
produc*on")
literally
means
"self-­‐
crea*on"
and
expresses
a
fundamental
dialec*c
among
structure,
mechanism
and
func*on.
• The
term
was
introduced
in
1972
by
Chilean
biologists
Humberto
Maturana
and
Francisco
Varela.

28. Cynevin
framework
• The
draws
on
research
into
complex
adap*ve
systems
theory,
cogni*ve
science,
anthropology
and
narra*ve
pagerns,
as
well
as
evolu*onary
psychology.
• It
“explores
the
rela*onship
between
man,
experience
and
context”
and
proposes
new
approaches
to
communica*on,
decision-­‐
making,
policy-­‐making
and
knowledge
management
in
complex
social
environments.

29. Cynefin

34. How’d
we
do
it?
Quantum
theory

35. Bootstrap
model
• In
physics,
the
term
bootstrap
model
is
used
for
a
class
of
theories
that
use
very
general
consistency
criteria
to
determine
the
form
of
a
quantum
theory
from
some
assump*ons
on
the
spectrum
of
par*cles.
• It
is
a
form
of
S-­‐matrix
theory.

38. Living
systems
are
complex,
in
that
they
consist
of
a
great
many
agents
interac*ng
with
each
other
in
a
great
many
ways

40. The
interac*on
of
individual
agents
is
governed
by
simple,
localized
rules

41. The
richness
of
the
interac*ons
of
the
agents
allows
the
system
as
a
whole
to
undergo
spontaneous
self-­‐organiza*on

44. Agile
is
heavyweight
on
prac*ces
and
lightweight
on
theory
Dave
Snowden

45. How’d
we
do
it?
Theories
to
understand
why
Agile
works

46. and
:
the
science
of
uncertainty
:
the
nature
of
human
decision
making
&
:
the
origins
of
social
interac*on
&
its
nature

47. • Recent
scien*fic
discoveries
indicate
that
all
life
–
from
the
most
primi*ve
cells,
up
to
human
socie*es,
corpora*ons
and
na*on-­‐
states,
even
the
global
economy
–
is
organized
along
the
same
basic
pagerns
and
principles:
those
of

48. • Both
(Lean
&
Agile)
offer
a
thinking
tool
set
that
allow
us
to
create
new
models
and
different
approaches.

49. • Hence,
in
this
ligh*ng
talk
I
would
like
to
affirm
how
*ghtly
humans
are
connected
with
the
fabric
of
life
and
make
it
clear
that
it
is
impera*ve
to
organize
our
world
according
to
a
different
set
of
values
and
beliefs.

52. Agile
is
a
framework
or
frame
of
mind.

54. thanks

55. Fabio
Armani
www.open-­‐ware.org
@fabioarmani
f.armani@open-­‐ware.org