MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

Experience the transformative power of our (Vistage) workshop, our flagship offering, designed to revolutionize your organizational strategies in just six hours.

Outcome: The program’s main purpose is to develop and refine organizational strategies, making them more adaptable by harmonizing current operations with future deliberate and emergent strategies through an applied complexity lens. It aims to enhance organizational coherence, collaboration, and commercial sustainability. The program emphasizes adaptability at various organizational levels by integrating immediate demands with future opportunities.

Desired Learning Objectives: This program is designed to enhance participants’ ability to develop and refine organizational strategies through the lens of applied complexity. It fosters adaptability and flexibility, integrates strategic thinking with action, and effectively equips participants to respond to rapid contextual changes. The program creates strategies that promote coherence and collaboration across all organizational levels by bridging the gap between immediate operational demands and long-term opportunities. Participants can leverage existing organizational materials and develop new strategies when needed, making informed, impactful decisions in a fast-paced environment. The program’s ultimate goal is to cultivate a continuous, intentional change culture, ensuring organizations flourish in dynamic environments. Furthermore, the program integrates organizational strategy with day-to-day performance, using ongoing performance as dynamic intelligence to evolve from static, deliberate strategies to a responsive, adaptive approach.

1. Understand Adaptive and Flexible Strategy Development

• Define adaptive and flexible strategies through an applied complexity lens.
• Identify the key characteristics of an adaptive organization.
• Explain how to create the capacity to sense and respond to the current context.

2. Enhance Strategic Thinking and Learning Action Integration

• Integrate strategic thinking with practical action learning through an applied complexity lens.
• Apply action learning to bring strategies to life in real-world contexts.
• Assess the effectiveness of strategic actions based on their impact on current organizational contexts.

3. Bridge the Gap Between Immediate Demands and Future Opportunities

• Recognize and mitigate the tension between immediate operational demands and long-term strategic opportunities through an applied complexity lens.
• Develop strategies that harmonize daily activities with future goals.
• Experience working at different organizational scales to balance current and future priorities.

4. Skilfully Move Forward Based on Organizational Context

• Identify and leverage existing organizational materials to inform strategic planning.
• Create or refine corporate strategies based on current organizational contexts through an applied complexity lens.
• Develop new strategies when existing ones are outdated or insufficient.

5. Respond Effectively to Rapid Contextual Changes

• Recognize the need for quick actions in rapidly changing contexts through an applied complexity lens.
• Understand the importance of making informed decisions based on current challenges or opportunities.
• Communicate learning and rationales effectively to reduce process loss and enhance strategic decision-making.

6. Create Conditions for Effective Organizational Collaboration

• Facilitate experiences that promote working at different organizational levels.
• Develop strategies to improve organizational coherence and collaboration through an applied complexity lens.
• Foster a culture of continuous intentional change for organizational advancement.

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Objectives

01. Clarifying Purpose: Understand the consequences and implications of how purpose, strategy planning, and implementation may or may not create strategic coherence at multiple levels. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Future Back: Understand how past, present, and future organizational patterns influence and impact the implementation of strategies. Each individual participant starts identifying patterns across their time continuum. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Trends that Matter: Enhance participants’ ability to understand and connect external events and trends to their organizational strategy, recognizing potential unintentional consequences. Strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Portfolio Analysis: Identify obstacles and opportunities for progress by analysing each participant’s project portfolio, work activities, and influential relationships. Strategy research & development and review of current pipeline. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Scenario Planning: Enhance participants’ adaptive capacity by enabling them to identify patterns, make sense of, and effectively respond to various disruptions. This includes creating scenarios based on selected trends identified. Strategy research and development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Organising: Enable participants to understand and optimize team relationship patterns to enhance functionality and productivity. Strategy implementation and management. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Simple Rules: Develop a coherent group strategy by creating and applying simple rules that foster consistent patterns of behaviour and decision-making aligned with the group’s strategic intent. Strategy development. 1 Month
08. Adaptive Planning: Participants develop an adaptive plan that is relevant, resource-effective, and responsive to organizational challenges and opportunities. Strategy planning & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Navigating Uncertainty: Participants learn to inquire effectively to open new possibilities and enhance their understanding of emerging situations. Strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Decision Making: Enable participants to engage in collaborative decision-making to understand and influence performance patterns that drive progress toward strategic goals. Strategy review & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Evaluating: Participants evaluate their work through a complex systems lens to understand interconnections and emerging patterns. Strategy review & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Monitoring Progress: Review progress to assess current actions, necessary changes, and future adaptations to enhance strategic effectiveness. On-going strategy development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

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Strategies

01. Clarifying Purpose: Participants will examine their role and unit purposes, mapping out generative friction or constraint points. They will observe these points from multiple and dynamic perspectives.
02. Future Back: Understand how past, present, and future organizational patterns influence and impact the implementation of strategies. Each individual participant starts identifying patterns across their time continuum.
03. Trends that Matter: Examine participants’ focus and attention patterns to understand how they interpret and prioritize external trends. Develop skills to evaluate the relevance and impact of these trends on organizational strategy and preferred patterns. Strategy review and emergent strategies.
04. Portfolio Analysis: Participants apply an ecological metaphor to review and assess the stages and dynamics of current activities and relationships connected to those activities. Each individual participant starts by reviewing and assessing the current portfolio of activities, including strategy review and potential change.
05. Scenario Planning: Create scenarios based on selected trends to anticipate potential impacts on the client’s contextual environment. Participants Identify and make sense of emergent patterns to be prepared to respond effectively. Strategy research, development, and implementation disruptions.
06. Organising. Participants explore and analyse the relationship dynamics to establish a baseline of current team functioning. They are then encouraged to selectively modify or maintain settings to foster highly functional and generative teams. Strategy implementation.
07. Simple Rules: Participants identify and create simple rules that promote cohesive behaviour and decision-making. Over time, ensure these rules become embedded as patterns supporting the group’s strategic goals. Strategy development and implementation.
08. Adaptive Planning: Participants identify and select the most relevant elements discovered throughout the sessions, ensuring they support and advance the organization’s strategic intent in their adaptive plan. Strategy planning & development.
09. Navigating Uncertainty: Participants map system tensions that articulate the contradictory challenges (such as speed and money) that the group must navigate to succeed. They are encouraged to let go of seeking definite answers and formulate questions that reveal new perspectives. Strategy research and development.
10. Decision Making: Participants explore various perspectives and approaches under uncertain conditions. Learn how to make decisions that shape performance patterns collaboratively, fostering forward movement toward achieving the organization’s strategic intent. Strategy review and development.
11. Evaluating: Participants identify and analyse the interconnections within a complex system, focusing on detecting emerging patterns. This approach will help them understand the impact and consequences of their strategic work. Strategy review & ongoing development.
12. Monitoring Progress: Participants apply inquiry techniques to evaluate what is happening, what needs to be done, and what should be changed or done differently. They dive deep into the strategy to learn from results and identify emerging patterns to incorporate into the next cycle. Strategy review and ongoing development.

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Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to analyse the coherence level between area and organisational purposes at multiple levels. Share observations on review.
02. Create a task on your calendar to identify and analyse past and present organisational patterns influencing current organizational strategy. This task should be completed within the next month.
03. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to choose and analyse relevant external events or trends that may impact the organizational strategies.
04. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to identify, analyse and map the current project portfolio, work activities and relationships required to get those done.
05. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to draft a viable scenario based on the selected patterns or trends identified.
06. Create a task on your calendar to identify and evaluate current relationship patterns among different groups that impact strategy implementation to be completed within the next month.
07. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to develop a draft of Simple Rules for your organisational area.
08. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to draft a relevant, resource-effective and responsive adaptive plan.
09. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month to choose a potential emergent trend or recurring issue and apply inquiry to it. Document new insights, which will be completed within the next month.
10. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month. Choose a topic or stream of work where you need to collaborate with others to ensure responsive strategic implementation. Do an Adaptive Action Cycle and take action.
11. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month. Evaluate the current performance measures through a complexity lens and decide their helpfulness in picking up weak signals, emerging patterns and recurrent issues. Choose one or two indicators: Do and Adaptive Action Cycle and take action.
12. Create a task on your calendar to be completed within the next month. Review and evaluate the current adaptive strategy, focus on actions you may have started, and check for consequences and lessons. Decide what needs to be amplified or dampened.

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Introduction

Clarifying Purpose – Adaptive Business Strategy

The ‘Clarifying Purpose’ module is a crucial part of the program, as it sets the tone and foundation for how executive groups can create conditions that support them in collaborating more easily in generating an adaptive organisational strategy that is more responsive to the changes, both fast and slow and everything in between, that occur within their internal and external contexts.

An adaptive strategy is a “dynamical” document that enables organisations to decide when to pivot, act swiftly, or maintain their current path. It involves deliberate decisions in markets and environments that change at varying rates. Adaptive strategy is not about being agile just for the sake of being agile; the strategy becomes nimble and agile through intentional choices and actions of those who work in it. Executives who actively participate in these sessions are able to transfer and apply these new ways of paying attention, making sense of what they see, and taking action in their own personal practice.

The creation of an adaptive strategy relies strongly on the ability of executives to be able to manage the ongoing tensions that feel at times like being pulled in different directions between:

Learning on their own < ------ > Learning together
Learning from each other < -------- > Learning from others
Pivoting < ------- > Staying the course
Unlearning < ------ > Reframing
Paying attention to what we know < ------ > Wondering what we don’t know
Doing < ----- > Reflecting
Filtering < --------- > Contextualizing
Present < -------- > Historical Context

A foundational frame used throughout the program is Jamais Casio’s BANI world description. The frame manages to describe the inner feelings and outer experiences of the current state of the world, a Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, and Incomprehensible world, better known by its acronym, BANI.

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In the first section of the program, we discuss what makes the world complex. We label the world complex not because we can’t understand it but to emphasise and describe the degree of interconnectedness and the intricacy of the patterns that are emerging, which are full of variety and infinite unpredictable detail that continues to shift and emerge, not just in consumer/user tastes. We see that, too, in the new technologies arising, such as the application of artificial technology and others that are being resurrected, like flip-flop phones and polaroid cameras, where consumers are demanding less technology rather than more—the impact of more significant environmental factors such as the on-going ecological disasters connected to earth warming. Service and product users are looking beyond product and quality of service and are demanding contextual responses, placing more emphasis on areas such as circular economy and sustainability issues. A case in point is the fashion industry.

Throughout this program, and especially in this module, we examine closely what is required from executives and others who have direct input and impact in setting and implementing the organisational direction. In many cases, this is a small group of folks who are tasked with making sense of what is happening “out there” as they make decisions about what may need to occur within their businesses and organisations to respond more adequately to the challenges and opportunities out on the broader environment.

As humans, we tend to filter out many details, especially those that we consider irrelevant or outside our context. As we climb the organisational ladder, we may become more specialised in certain aspects, which, over time, become our preferred lens through which we see the world. This is sometimes coupled with experiencing all issues that arise as problems that need to be solved rather than having a more nuanced understanding of these emergent issues as more intricate patterns that may need to be managed.

Creating an adaptive strategy depends on executives’ ability to navigate ongoing tensions, such as balancing individual learning with collective learning, knowing when to pivot versus when to stay the course, and being mindful not only of what and how we know but also of intentionally exploring the unknown.

Responsive Approaches

With the different types of change (e.g., social changes) and speed of change (driven by technology or customer/user) happening all around us, internally and externally, it is vital to actively make sense of what’s happening in real-time and what it means for your organisations. To jolt our memory, we can think back to the most recent global event: the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the health outcomes of many but impacted the way we work, what consumers bought, and continues to have ripple effects around hybrid work, return to office mandates, productivity levels, real estate footprint to name a few.

Responsive approaches will require working more closely with others, not because it is nice to have, but because it is now imperative. It is not about getting on the same page so that we are all aligned, and all see the same thing. Instead, it is to invite and work with different perspectives and find the most helpful move and direction for your organisation at this moment.

Your organisation may hesitate to join Olivetti, Smith-Corona, Remington, and Royal. These companies, along with IBM, were the dominant players in the typewriter market in the 1960s and 1970s. Only IBM survived. We are all sure that they were scanning the environment and predicting sales in previous years, making their machines sleeker, and certainly scanning the environment to see what the competition was doing. The question is what they were scanning for, and they totally missed the arrival of the computer.

Organisations need to ask different questions and engage in active inquiry to be more open and guard against developing widespread organisational blinkers. Inquiry is a method of exploring what is in front of us from various perspectives, allowing us to identify weak signals and current and emergent patterns. It also involves actively inviting multiple perspectives, holding and mining the tension that comes from differences rather than leaning too quickly or strongly toward agreeing on something in search of total consensus.

With time in short supply, it is difficult to find time to reflect beyond the gaps and consider the consequences and impact of the decisions made. We introduce a method called adaptive action that supports reflection as part of the action process.

As we are unsure what the future may bring, throughout the module, we create conditions for participants to engage in deep learning, which is based on generating questions that lead to thinking innovation. This new way of learning creates conditions for viewing what we see from a different perspective. These new ways of attending to the world have ripple effects that create supportive conditions for change and flexibility at many levels.

New Concepts and Language

Each section introduces new concepts and new language that help participants make sense of what initially appears to be challenging to understand through what we may consider current practices or logic and start noticing more events of regular irregularities, such as changes in consumption, employee expectations, and societal changes.

A key concept introduced is seeing organisations as Complex Adaptive Systems, or CAS. This concept challenges our current notions of total independence and highlights potential interdependencies and how we all contribute to the current system-wide patterns. It also moves us away from blame games. This gives us a first point of entry to what we call non-linearity, which is stepping away from seeing all issues that arise as problems to be solved, sending us down on track of a root cause to be found.

We explore the case of Semco, best known through its Founder Ricardo Semler, often used as evidence of innovative management and organisational transformation through an applied complexity lens.

Amid the turmoil of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, few noticed that certain players in the financial sector emerged relatively unscathed. One such figure is Bill Browder, though he’s now more widely recognised for his role in pushing for the Magnitsky Act—a U.S. law enabling sanctions against Russian officials involved in human rights abuses. We will learn through his story how he was able to use his experience (system history) to pick up and read the weak signals of the market and prevent himself and his clients from suffering the disastrous results of the financial crisis.

CAS Characteristics

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As we move through the different course manuals, we will explore some of the critical characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). If we use CAS as our dominant framework, we acknowledge that external and internal environments influence emerging patterns in our system. This influence is continuous, regardless of whether our organisation is displaying all the hallmarks of operational excellence and brand recognition. As recent as 2023, an example is what is happening in the weight-loss industry with the introduction of Ozempic. This new drug is making a dent in dealing with type 2 diabetes and is also well-known for its additional benefits for weight loss. While some companies like Weight Watchers, Noon, and Atkins are making shifts in their strategies to remain competitive, others like Jenny Craig are shutting down.

Participants start learning to pay attention to the broader context and explore how to set conditions within the organisation to pick up on these weak signals. In this case, the launch of a drug to manage type 2 diabetes had a non-linear but consequential impact on those companies working in the weight management industry.

To do this, organisational members scanning the environment can capitalise on their members’ differences to create new connections and more thoughtful and generative conversations. A key component will be creating conditions for more curiosity.

We will explore an example from Scandinavia’s premier annuity and insurance company that needed help to retain its annuity clients in the over 55+ age category. As the organisation became more curious about that age group, they discovered that their rigid population categories for market segmentation, helpful at one point, were no longer valid. These categories were connected to outdated notions of what aging meant. These implicit assumptions were impacting their retention rates. One can see that positioning around this is the way that we have always done it, but it could hinder rather than help get more clarity and traction on the issue at hand.

Unpacking Inconsistent Success: Understanding Why Some Strategies Falter

One of the most popular activities organisations engage in is creating and cascading strategic plans. In spite of that, strategies are seldom fully realised. The belief behind cascading is that if everyone knows what to do and contributes in the way that is expected, all will be achieved. This linear way of thinking may alleviate our discomfort with uncertainty. Still, it needs to take into account other internal systems (individuals, teams, business units, etc.), their fluctuations and their interactions with the broader ecosystem.

Obliquity is a critical term that describes non-linear moves to move us towards the desired direction, which allows for learning and corrections as we sense our way towards that desirable future. In this course manual, we will go over some of the comparative research economist John Kay did by looking at how organisations that had obliquus goals were able to withstand and surpass market challenges and, when those were changed to more direct, the focus of the companies changed, and within a few years these same companies lost their way. Such are the stories of the likes of ICI in Europe, as well as tracing the origins of the start of the issues with Boeing that continue to grow and be amplified over time.

Using a slightly different lens, we will explore how Ford Motor Company’s attempt to boost its sales of luxury cars in India proved ineffective. We will unbundle how their attempt to copy successful existing practices and transplant them into the Indian market fell short of the mark.

Another often overlooked factor in unrealised strategy is the impact that the actions of just one or a few individuals can have on an entire organisation. A classic example is the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995. Founded in 1762, Barings was a merchant bank with a prestigious history, known for its traditional banking, investment banking, and global financial management services. With over two centuries of success, the bank seemed unshakable—yet it was undone by the unchecked actions of a single trader, Nick Leeson. The bank was fixated on returns, ignoring the mounting risks Leeson’s trades were accumulating. In complex environments, even seemingly minor actions can set off a cascade of consequences, eventually leading to devastating outcomes.

In a similar vein, a more recent example is Jack Teixeira, who, in 2023, faced charges related to the unauthorised retention and transmission of classified information, compromising his organisation, the U.S. Air Force. This incident highlights how the actions of a single individual can undermine an entire institution, underscoring the vulnerability of organisations to internal risks in complex environments.

To provide contrast, we explore the lesser-known story of Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an unsung hero who, in September 1983, may have saved the world from nuclear war. Petrov, a Soviet military officer, was on duty when the Soviet early-warning system falsely indicated an incoming U.S. atomic strike. Trusting his judgment over protocol, he chose to report it as a false alarm, preventing a potential retaliatory strike and averting a global catastrophe. His decision underscores how the actions of a single individual can not only impact an organisation but also change the course of history.

The challenge—and genuine opportunity—for organisations lies not only in understanding why strategies go unrealised but also in proactively creating conditions for sustainable success. Rather than simply recognising setbacks, the focus is on fostering conditions for transparency around fluctuations and engaging employees in ways that reconnect them periodically with the strategy’s intent. This approach enables people to adapt, collaborate, and contribute actively, turning strategic intent into lasting results.

To foster this change, organisations must embrace many layers of small, coordinated actions across all levels. Traditionally, systems are shaped by the assumption that a select few will set the strategic vision, which others will then implement. However, this approach often overlooks the importance of involving a broader base in understanding and connecting with strategic goals. This program invites participants to examine how their organisational systems either hinder or support sustainable change, encouraging a shift toward being more intentional and less reactive. Over time, without a clear, shared connection to the organisational strategy, effective execution and coherence across teams and individuals can falter, undermining success.

Openness to Strategic Contributions Across Levels for Sustaining Viability in an Open System

One aspect organisations often overlook is the shifting context in which they operate. This unpredictability, known as *dynamical change*, involves complex, emergent transformations within a system, shaped by sensitivity to initial conditions and minor shifts over time. Imagine an organisation as an “actor” trying to predict the future by capturing a snapshot with the backdrop of current events. In reality, they’re part of an unfolding movie—complete with plots, twists, and subplots driven by unknown agents within the system. In this module, we begin exploring how to monitor these continuous shifts, both internally and externally, and incorporate them into adaptive strategy development.

In a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) world, rigidly adhering to predefined strategic goals is often inadequate for navigating today’s complex landscape. The question then becomes: where can we seek the insights needed to make our strategies more adaptive and choiceful?

In this module, we examine what constitutes a strategic contribution, why it’s essential, and how it can emerge from all levels of the organisation—not just the boardroom or senior management. We’ll also explore actions organisations can take to amplify these contributions and better prepare themselves to respond effectively, fostering resilience and agility throughout.

Due to change’s inherent complexity and continuous nature, it’s challenging to interpret and make sense of everything that unfolds. Inevitably, there will be blind spots. Organisations can address this by recognising that every level offers unique perspectives—and each also has its blind spots. The focus shifts from determining which department is “correct” to exploring what seemingly contradictory data or the “spaces in between” (emerging patterns) reveal about strategy.

The way organisations respond to observations—like technical issues or changing customer preferences—can profoundly influence their strategic direction and performance. Such signals often serve as early indicators of broader shifts within the system, highlighting areas that may need timely attention.

One of the biggest challenges senior teams face in organisations is remaining open and receptive to others’ perspectives on critical issues. Every individual has the potential to offer meaningful contributions, regardless of the scale or perceived impact of their actions. In this workshop, participants are encouraged to reflect on their unique contributions to their teams and organisations, share insights, and collaborate to identify emerging patterns and challenges.

We delve into 3M’s Post-It Notes innovation journey to illustrate how unexpected challenges and opportunities can shape strategic contributions. This journey serves as a catalyst for participants to reflect on their unique roles and the potential impact they can make. By examining this case, we aim to foster a mindset of innovation, collaboration, and adaptability, encouraging individuals to embrace their and others’ contributions to the organisation.

Understanding the Importance of Context in Adaptive Strategy

In the fast-paced environment of organisations, we often focus on what is immediately in the foreground—the evident issues, the biggest headaches, and the low-hanging fruit. It takes the intention to shift our focus and recognise the background or broader context. In this chapter, we explore the importance of understanding both internal and external environments, the use of various analytical tools, and the significance of asking curious questions to navigate through diverse contexts.

Context is paramount in adaptive strategy, especially concerning the significance of both internal and external environments. This discussion draws on examples from various industries to introduce the concept of slow-moving variables and their role in organisational change. Understanding context encompasses all factors that influence an organisation, shaping the attention and decisions of its members. While we often focus on sudden changes, we may overlook the slow-moving variables that can lead to significant shifts within systems. These subtle changes can be identified through collaboration and a heightened awareness of emerging trends.

We examine traditional methods of environmental analysis, such as SWOT and PESTEL, and their limitations, particularly how they can overlook subtle emerging factors; an over-reliance on these frameworks may create a false sense of certainty, filtering out weak signals that do not conform to predefined categories.

The ability to see the context and what we can learn from it will be heavily dependent on the type of internal guiding questions that each of us carries. We examine the actions of a US Army major’s strategy to prevent riots in Iraq, which can reveal critical insights and effective interventions around skilful and helpful ways of reading context.

So, how does this play out in practice? We will take a closer look at the fashion industry, which exemplifies the impact of slow-moving variables, particularly the growing emphasis on sustainability and timeless fashion that is reshaping design and consumption practices. While we often focus on sudden changes, it’s crucial to recognise the slow-moving variables that can drive significant shifts within systems. These changes can be identified through collaboration and a heightened awareness of subtle developments. Few can deny the economic impact of the fashion industry, valued at $2.5 trillion in 2023, supporting over 60 million jobs and increasingly prioritising sustainable practices.

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Purpose as an Attractor: Exploring Its Role in Individual and Organizational Contexts

In this workshop, we explore the concept of purpose and its significance in both individual and organisational contexts. We accentuate the importance of harmonising individual and collective purposes with organisational strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Through various analogies and case studies, we illustrate how purpose acts as an attractor, guiding actions and influencing patterns within systems. The discussion highlights the urgency of ensuring coherence between individual and collective purposes and organisational strategies for greater effectiveness.

The concept of attractors in complex systems is introduced to help us understand the intricate patterns that emerge within these systems. The concept highlights how certain factors can draw behaviours and outcomes toward specific states. There are three main types of attractors: point attractors, periodic (or limit cycle) attractors, and strange attractors. We start by first examining how purpose operates as a point attractor at both individual and organisational levels, guiding actions and shaping trajectories toward desired outcomes. By understanding these dynamics, we can better navigate complexity and foster more effective strategies.

The program outlines the characteristics of strong and weak individual purposes, offering insights through examples from well-known personalities. A notable case study of Greta Thunberg illustrates how her robust sense of purpose has propelled her impactful climate activism. To further support individuals and organisations in crafting and assessing their purposes, we include practical exercises and thought-provoking questions designed to ensure that their purposes are compelling and harmonised with their overarching goals. By engaging with these concepts, participants can better understand the significance of purpose in driving meaningful and practical action.

Navigating Purpose, Boundaries, and Constraints: Key Insights for Complex Adaptive Systems

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We begin connecting the dots by exploring the concept of purpose and its profound impact. A clear purpose serves as a guiding force, providing direction, meaning, and motivation in both personal and organisational contexts. To pursue greater nuance, we differentiate between purpose and wants, emphasising that purpose is stable and enduring. In contrast, wants are impulsive desires that can distract from one’s core purpose if not managed carefully. Making this clear distinction at the individual level is essential for maintaining focus and harmonising with one’s true intentions.

We take special care in explaining that complex adaptive systems operate through dynamic interactions and are studied across various fields, blending insights from both natural and social sciences. Examples of such systems include ecosystems, social systems, immune systems, neural networks, and economies, which illustrate how complex systems adapt and evolve in response to new circumstances. Additionally, the concept of “osmosis learning” is introduced, highlighting how knowledge is absorbed informally through interactions. This method of learning is crucial in both physical and virtual work environments, fostering collaboration and innovation.

Boundaries are crucial as they define a complex system’s outer limits and the “in-between” spaces where changes occur due to differences, influencing interactions and system behaviour. Within these systems, constraints can be categorised into two types: enabling constraints, which foster creativity and innovation, and governing constraints, which maintain order and control. However, when governing constraints become excessive, they can lead to significant issues such as fragmentation, inflexibility, reduced job satisfaction, increased stress, and higher turnover intentions. Understanding the interplay between these types of constraints is essential for fostering a healthy and adaptive organisational environment.

We delve deeper into the case study of Dr Spencer Silver and Art Fry’s development of Post-It Notes, highlighting how they navigated various boundaries and constraints to bring the product to market. Silver and Fry faced functional and role boundaries, requiring them to bridge the gaps between inventor and marketer, researcher and product developer, and individual contributor and corporate support. Their ability to navigate these complexities was crucial to the successful launch of this innovative product.

Interweaving a We | Me Purpose

A hallmark of a complex adaptive system is its constant state of change, which reflects the evolving nature of personal and organisational purposes. This document highlights the limitations of pursuing traditional alignment and introduces the concept of coherence within complex systems. It emphasizes the critical importance of adaptability, creativity, and individual agency in organizations. Personal and organisational purposes are dynamical, evolving in response to internal and external conditions, ultimately influencing coherence and fulfilment.

While effective in some contexts, traditional alignment can stifle creativity and adaptability in human-centric roles, resulting in rigidity and reduced innovation. We examine the work of Lewin and Regine, who applied complexity science in business to emphasise the importance of relationships and challenge traditional mechanistic views. Similarly, through the lens of the Communicative Constitution of Organizations, Taylor and Van Every argue that relationships and connections are fundamental in shaping organisations. In contrast, Stohl and Cheney caution that strong dedication to organisational missions can lead to potential abuses, highlighting the need for a balanced approach.

We further expand on this perspective by incorporating John Kay’s analysis of ICI, which illustrates the pitfalls of prioritising “uber” clear visions over adaptability and creativity, ultimately contributing to the company’s decline. Additionally, Eoyang highlights the risks associated with traditional alignment, including the allure of foresight, sustainability challenges, irrelevance, and diminished resilience and adaptability in rigidly aligned systems. Together, these insights underscore the importance of maintaining flexibility and responsiveness in organisational strategies.

In the pursuit of nuance and a more detailed view of complexity, we unbundle the concept of coherence in complex systems. Coherence emerges from dynamic interactions and feedback loops, facilitating self-organisation and collective patterns that extend beyond individual capabilities. We also explore the concept of strange attractors. Different attractor patterns—point, periodic, and strange—shape organisational behaviour, with strange attractors providing flexibility and resilience while introducing an element of unpredictability. Together, these concepts enhance our understanding of how organisations can navigate complexity and foster adaptability.

We highlight how Nordstrom’s customer service approach exemplifies a strange attractor pattern, where simple rules lead to diverse and exceptional outcomes. This flexibility allows the organisation to respond creatively to customer needs, resulting in a unique and adaptable service experience.

Strategy Connection

We explore the intricate relationship between purpose and strategy within organizations, emphasising that purpose provides meaning and guidance while strategy offers a structured path for implementation. Participants embark on a guided tour contrasting traditional strategic approaches with complexity-based methods, highlighting key differences in the nature of organisations, strategy formation, planning, control, and adaptation. Understanding the connection between purpose and strategy is crucial for organisational and business unit success. Purpose encapsulates the fundamental reason for an entity’s existence and the deep-seated motivation behind its endeavours. In contrast, strategy represents a systematic blueprint crafted to address challenges, capitalise on opportunities, and achieve specific objectives. In a well-functioning system, these two elements are intricately intertwined, with purpose offering direction and strategy furnishing the means to realise that vision.

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Viewing organisations through a complexity lens reveals a nuanced and detailed picture of their internal and external environments. This perspective captures shades and undertones often overlooked by traditional strategy models, offering a richer understanding of the dynamics at play. Conventional strategy approaches treat organisations as machine-like entities that can be predicted and controlled through rational analysis and planning. They emphasise deliberate, top-down strategy formulation to achieve predetermined goals, operating under the assumption of a stable and predictable environment where the future can be forecasted. This traditional view optimises individual parts of the organisation for maximum efficiency, relying on rigid control to maintain stability and achieve set outcomes. It often fails to account for the complexities and emergent behaviours present in dynamic contexts.

In contrast, the complexity approach views organisations as dynamic, non-linear, and emergent complex adaptive systems (CAS). It treats strategy as an ongoing process of adaptation and response to environmental changes, recognising the future as unpredictable due to interconnected feedback loops and unintended consequences. This approach emphasises decentralised decision-making, experimentation, and managed emergence over rigid control, understanding that strategies arise from interactions and relationships within the organisation and its environment. Acknowledging that strategies can emerge from unplanned patterns encourages variety and experimentation while seizing opportunities. Finding a “middle ground” between chaos and control, this approach focuses on continuous adaptation and responsiveness to a dynamic environment, embracing uncertainty, emergence, and co-evolution with surroundings.

In summary, the key differences between traditional strategy and the complexity approach include the nature of organisations, strategy formation, planning methods, and the balance between control and emergence, as well as the underlying assumptions guiding each perspective.

We also discuss the resource-based view (RBV) introduced by Barney in the early 1990s. This view posits that an organisation’s competitive advantage is derived from its valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources and capabilities. This perspective, along with the complexity lens, emphasises the importance of internal dynamics, resources, and capabilities as key drivers of competitive advantage.

Furthermore, we highlight the concept of emergence in business, where unforeseen, spontaneous patterns, innovations, and strategies arise from dynamic interactions within the organisation and its environment. It underscores the importance of flexibility, experimentation, decentralised decision-making, and the ability to sense and respond to emerging trends and opportunities.

To illustrate how even the best purposes and strategies need to be responsive to context, we share the less publicised, recent case study on Facebook’s role in Myanmar, highlighting the critical importance of harmonising and revising an organisation’s purpose and strategy with the broader social and political context in which it operates. Initially, Facebook’s mission was to “give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”. However, this purpose did not account for the potential misuse of the platform in conflict-prone regions. The failure to curb hate speech and misinformation on Facebook contributed to violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. This case underscores the need for adaptive strategies that consider both present conditions and future impacts of current actions. In many cases, these consequences are unpredictable and beyond foresight.

Moreover, the case study illustrates the consequences of a rigid adherence to a singular purpose without considering its broader implications. Facebook’s reluctance to act swiftly against hate speech and misinformation was partly due to its commitment to its original mission. This highlights the necessity for organisations to continuously reassess and adapt their purposes and strategies to address emerging challenges and opportunities. By doing so, they can better navigate complex environments and mitigate unintended negative consequences.

Minding the Gaps

We explore the concept of gaps between purpose and strategy at various levels within an organisation, including individual, team, business unit, and the organisation as a whole. Emphasising the importance of intentional actions in influencing complex systems, it suggests ways to create conditions for new patterns to emerge. We highlight the importance of mutuality and coherence within teams and organisations while cautioning against the potential drawbacks of excessive cohesion, which can stifle innovation. Participants are encouraged to consider how purpose and strategy can harmonise across levels, creating a more adaptive and purpose-driven organisational culture.

At the individual level, the module explores how people often find themselves in roles by chance, which can affect both their performance and connection to a broader purpose. It emphasises the importance of pursuing work that harmonises with a one’s sense of purpose, setting meaningful goals, and crafting a personal development plan for lasting career fulfilment. Recognising the significant hours spent working over a lifetime highlights the need for this alignment.

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Critical points for creating a fulfilling career path include discovering one’s purpose, setting meaningful goals, crafting a development plan, building new skills, taking calculated risks, and cultivating a support network. The module also stresses the importance of remaining attuned to evolving needs and motivations to sustain personal and professional growth.

At the group level, we introduce the importance of mutuality and coherence among teams. Mutuality emphasises reciprocal, interdependent relationships that foster collaboration, while coherence refers to the overall unity and alignment within the group. However, too much cohesion can lead to unintended consequences such as groupthink, isolation, and resistance to external ideas.

At the organisational level, we highlight the concept of environmental fitness, where all parts of the organization work in harmony to form a cohesive system. We outline signs of organisational coherence and seven characteristics of coherent systems: shared goals, shared meaning, repeated patterns, adaptability, tension reduction, complementary functions, and conserved energy. These elements collectively support an organisation’s ability to respond and adapt effectively in complex environments.

Additionally, it includes a case study on Honda’s emergent strategy, illustrating how bottom-up feedback and adapting to market opportunities can lead to success.

The case study about Honda’s emergent strategy is connected to the topic of organisational coherence and adaptability in complex systems. It illustrates how aligning organisational purpose with strategy and context creates conditions for individuals to contribute effectively. In this case, Honda’s salesmen noticed a growing interest in smaller, more affordable motorcycles and provided bottom-up feedback to senior management. This feedback led to a shift in strategy, focusing on smaller bikes like the Super Cub, which ultimately became a significant market success.

This example highlights the importance of being open to feedback and adapting strategies based on emerging opportunities and customer preferences. It also demonstrates how individual actions and insights can influence the broader organisational strategy, leading to greater coherence and alignment with market demands.

Adaptive Action

Throughout this workshop, we’ve emphasised that organisations today operate in complex and rapidly evolving environments where constant, unpredictable changes are the norm. Traditional methods often fall short as new, unexpected patterns emerge, and in our hyper-connected world, systems become increasingly diverse, open, and nonlinear. This creates situations where even minor events can have disproportionate impacts. Within such uncertain conditions, tension can build up, diverting focus from strategic objectives and leading to confusion. To thrive, organisations must develop the ability to observe, understand, and respond to the dynamics around them.

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Our focus has been to enhance participants’ adaptive capabilities, equipping them with choices and empowering them to respond effectively. The Adaptive Action Cycle—a framework from Human Systems Dynamics (HSD)—is central to this approach. This framework acknowledges that in complex systems, the future is inherently unpredictable, and outcomes cannot be fully controlled. Adaptive Action encourages taking iterative steps, observing impacts, and refining actions based on real-time feedback.

Rather than seeking immediate, perfect solutions, this cycle embraces a responsive and evolving approach. Through Adaptive Action, organisations can bridge the gap between strategic intent and emergent reality, cultivating resilience and agility to navigate complexity with confidence.

The core of the Adaptive Action Cycle revolves around three questions: What? So what? Now what? Many use these three questions in learning cycles and action research. Their unique application in HSD lies in their ability to help us discover patterns within complex systems, derive meaning from them, and take informed action. Understanding what constitutes a “pattern” is crucial. Unlike the common notion of patterns as mere repetitions, Eoyang’s research defines patterns as configurations of similarities, differences, and connections that hold significance across space and time, emerging through self-organisation within the system.

The simplicity and flexibility of this approach make it applicable across various contexts, from individuals and teams to entire organisations facing complex challenges. Adaptive Action builds resilience by enhancing a system’s ability to sense changing conditions and respond appropriately. Engaging in iterative cycles of seeing, thinking, and acting is the most effective response to adaptation needs. Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) adapts this process to address the openness, high dimensionality, and nonlinearity of dynamic changes in complex human systems by framing it as a series of inquiry processes.

Iteration is critical in complex systems, where simple processes are repeated at different times and speeds and with various materials, resulting in diverse yet fundamentally coherent patterns. The adaptive action cycle is always framed as a series of questions to avoid the risk of letting past assumptions dominate future expectations. This method can be applied by any group, at any level, at any time, and across various domains. To reduce risk, it is essential to quickly and carefully assess how the system responds to an action and then take another action in response. Adaptive action supports ongoing adjustments when prediction and control are not possible.

The Adaptive Action Cycle is an intentional, reflective process designed to navigate complex adaptive systems. It asks three deceptively simple questions: What? So what? Now what? This cycle helps identify, understand, and influence patterns within a system. The “What?” stage focuses on identifying patterns rather than just listing facts or events. The “So What?” stage interprets patterns to generate options for action. The “Now What?” stage sets the conditions for action, emphasising practical action based on current understanding, even with incomplete information.

Adaptive Action provides a powerful approach for individuals, teams, and organisations to engage productively with the complexity inherent in human systems by embracing patterns, relationships, and emergent dynamics rather than relying on linear cause-effect models.

In closing, the ‘Clarifying Purpose’ module serves as the programme’s cornerstone, providing participants with the insights and tools necessary to navigate and harness complexity. By integrating the Adaptive Action Cycle, we offer a practical approach to paying attention, making meaning, and taking action, helping organisations thrive amidst complexity by fostering a culture of continuous learning and responsiveness. This cycle bridges the gap between strategic intent and emergent reality, enabling teams to navigate uncertainty with agility and confidence. By embracing iterative inquiry and focusing on patterns of significance, organisations remain attuned to changing landscapes, make informed decisions, and sustain momentum toward their goals. Ultimately, Adaptive Action is not just a framework but a mindset—one that values adaptability, resilience, and the collective insight needed to shape a resilient future. Through this work, leaders gain not only clarity but also the capability to create an organisational strategy that is thoughtfully adaptive, guiding their organisations through the challenges and opportunities of continuous change.

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Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Learning Together

When we learn, we can expand existing or gain new skills, knowledge and/or insights. However, not all learning is the same or has the same intention behind it. We differentiate between conventional and deep learning.

Conventional learning is designed to deliver a particular, replicable outcome through a series of repeatable steps. Here, the learner’s role is to absorb predetermined knowledge to better comply with existing policy and procedural expectations and do the job described.

Deep learning facilitates capacity building, enabling each participant to customise the learning so developmental growth happens during sessions, between sessions, and beyond. The learner generates new questions and answers that build on existing knowledge and set conditions for success at different scales.

The key difference between these two aspects of learning is that conventional learning generates consistency, and deep learning generates innovation. Both learning approaches have their place. In this workshop, you are invited to engage in deep learning.

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Chapter 2: Key Concepts

This program examines strategy from a complexity science perspective. This section will explore two key concepts: Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Self-Organizing.

Complex adaptive systems are dynamical and interconnected systems comprised of many individual components or agents that interact with each other and change their behaviour based on what’s happening around them.

Each system is made up of many individual parts that interact with each other, creating new behaviours or patterns that are not necessarily expected by looking only at the individual parts.

In a complex adaptive system, small changes can have big effects. If one part of the system changes, it can cause a ripple effect that affects the whole system, sometimes leading to unexpected outcomes.

Complex adaptive systems have the capacity for self-organisation, whereby they spontaneously arrange and reconfigure themselves without external control or central authority.

Self-organisation refers to creating patterns in a complex adaptive system due to the interactions of semi-autonomous agents within the system. These agents can be individuals, groups, ideas, thoughts, or traditions that form the system’s components. While they operate within certain boundaries or constraints, they also have a degree of freedom to respond to the tensions or influences present in the system.

The behaviours of these agents within the system are unpredictable because they respond non-linearly to the dynamic and uncertain environment. While observers may be able to anticipate general trends or patterns over time or among a large group of agents, they cannot accurately predict the actions of any individual agent at a specific moment.

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Chapter 3: Setting Conditions

Because human systems are complex, we need to continually and purposefully collect different experiences to learn to understand what is happening – not only in the systems “out there” but also within the system of this workshop, our learning set, and ourselves.

To aid this, the four practices that will be introduced are:

● Levelling the playing field – there are no titles or other hierarchy markers
● Paying attention to what you bring – all is nuanced and additive in nature
● Be curious – explore, reflect, invite, ask
● Look for the “gold nuggets” in every interaction – they are there even in the most mundane ones

Every perspective is a snapshot of what other people see and experience. These practices ensure that we remain open and in continuous dialogue as we try to remain adaptive to a changing environment.

By following these practices, you will hone your listening skills, learn to synthesize information and find the sweet spot between advocating and inquiring. You can step back from influencing others and let others help you see things you cannot see at first glance.

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Chapter 4: Purpose Matters

It is often assumed that having and cascading “the” strategy works as an “over-arching super glue” that binds employees to achieve a “common” pre-selected objective.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that organizations often overlook their employees’ intricate inner systems. In critical moments, personal purpose can override organizational or team purpose, especially if it remains unexplored.

Often, this internal purpose remains unconscious or a vague afterthought, only revealing itself when self-interest-driven actions have a detrimental effect on the organization. The collapse of Barings Bank in 1995 was a stark example of how personal purpose can significantly impact organizational success.

As happened with the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995. Thriving for over two centuries, the bank was not sensitive to small changes created by Nick Leeson. The former derivatives trader was relentless in his pursuit of hiding mistakes and personal enrichment. He made fraudulent, unauthorised, speculative trades that brought down the Queen’s banker.

A different example of how purpose matters is when Honda accidentally discovered a new market after their strategy for introducing their big bikes (250cc and 305cc) failed in the US.
Some Honda employees privately used smaller bikes to ride around, which caught the eye of Sears and other private consumers. Despite early hesitation, Honda started selling their 50cc bikes, creating a US success.

If those decision makers had seen their purpose as strategy implementation rather than seeing strategy as an opportunity for creation, they wouldn’t have been able to sense and pay attention to what the market was signalling and capture that opportunity.

Understanding your purpose, roles, and how they interact with others is a crucial differentiator for sustainable strategic success.

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Chapter 5: Strategic Contribution

Your beliefs in your capabilities and the actions you feel you can take significantly contribute to the strategy and your overall success.

Sometimes, you may seek guidance from others or adhere to what you have been instructed. However, the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution arises mostly when you cease waiting and proactively take steps to address your needs and those of the organisation. Purposeful action serves both those interests most effectively.

To lever your beliefs and create purposeful action for effective contribution, you must look at the current context and the assets you feel you can contribute to moving the strategy forward. You must also clarify what else you may want to develop or achieve for yourselves and the motivation behind that.

As a group, you will have a chance to take stock of the group assets and how they fare in our current context and raise questions that allow us to find strategies to navigate commonalities and differences without seeking to squash the uniqueness of each group participant.

You will gain more confidence in developing your gradients between three key tensions: Opportunity and Caution, Risk and Protection, and Courage and Fear.

Understanding what’s behind what you want to achieve will help you take the necessary steps. It will function as an attractor and a source of courage to keep moving in the desired direction.

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Chapter 6: Your Context

Depending on whom you ask, several versions of what’s happening in your organisation are probably different. For the strategy and the purpose to succeed, you must understand how issues or opportunities are dealt with.

In this chapter, we invite you to reflect on these experiences and adopt a higher perspective of what happened. Consider an issue or opportunity that has recently impacted your strategy or role.

Think back to who dealt with the issue or who was not there that should have been. How was the whole situation dealt with? Was there something missing, or was there too much of something else? How do they evaluate the process? What does success mean in this particular case?

Although organisations may diligently engage in different aspects of data collection to measure success or failure, little time is given to understanding what the different data mean and how they are interconnected. Therefore, we encourage you to pay particular attention to what may be left out or where there may be an add-in.

Accepting what is happening is important to understand your current context. Acceptance does not mean agreement; it means acknowledging what is happening and respecting other people’s decisions.

With that as a backdrop, you can chart a path forward to clarify your purpose and how this can help achieve the organisational strategy or overcome its current challenges.

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Chapter 7: Purpose Strength

A powerful purpose is an attractor or magnet and can have two attributes: It can be a strong personal touchstone for you as an individual and a fundamental justification for the existence of your work in the larger community.

In either case, not all purposes are the same. Some are stronger than others. Weak purposes, for example, are platitudes, full of sentiment but without real power. They are presented as conventional mission statements, marketing slogans, or taglines. Typically, they will be meaningful only to a small subset of all relevant parties, require a lot of explanation, and can be achieved or made irrelevant.

On the other hand, a strong purpose speaks of an abiding and important activity within a healthy society. It is a purpose for every individual, the organisation, and for the community as a whole. Such a purpose is never exhausted, even as participants’ understanding evolves, and it gives meaning to every step of every agent in the system.

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Chapter 8: Purpose Limits

Your purpose is a point attractor that changes across the lifespan and major events. We are often unaware of our purpose, but it impacts our strategies. Furthermore, you cannot deliver on the organisation’s purpose if you do not clearly understand the purpose of your role and are unclear about your personal purpose.

Decision-making will be negatively impacted when a purpose is unclear, hidden, not understood, or overlooked. Therefore, a key part of this workshop is to gain clarity and insights about the different purposes that exist in the system.

Identifying a strong purpose requires reflection and exploration. Drawing on the four practices and the intention of deep learning, you will be invited to engage in a guided discovery of your purpose. You will have the opportunity, through a shared process of inquiry, to become clearer about the purpose of what you do at work and its link to your purpose.

As part of this discovery process, you will define your purpose and identify why your role exists and what it will contribute to and/or stop. Through this process, the purpose will crystalise itself, and you will become able to formulate a strong purpose with clear boundaries.

Boundaries can enable adaptability within a purpose. While boundaries provide structure, they can be adjusted or expanded as circumstances change. This flexibility allows for growth, innovation, and evolution within the defined purpose while still maintaining a sense of direction and coherence.

Furthermore, boundaries facilitate collaboration by providing a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities.

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Chapter 9: We | Me Purpose

People experience the greatest fulfilment in their work when their personal purpose is related to their business unit/team and their organisation. Instead of seeking complete alignment among different purposes, however, it is more advantageous to strive for coherence. This approach enables you to communicate and navigate potential constraints effectively.

None of us operates in a vacuum, and individual and group purposes are rarely identical. Effective and high-impact collaboration is impossible if they are misunderstood, or differences are hidden. It is, therefore, important to learn to acknowledge the collective wants and clarify how to collaborate moving forward.

The more you communicate with relevant others about your purpose, the more likely you will be to navigate in ways that are helpful to everybody—even in situations where purposes may compete.

Communicating about purpose can increase awareness of potential stumbling blocks to effective collaboration and insights about how we can influence the system to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

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Chapter 10: Strategy Connection

Returning the focus to the organisational/business unit strategy, the task is to examine how purpose and strategy connect. While purpose refers to the fundamental reason for an entity’s existence and the deep motivation to act, strategy is a deliberate and systematic approach to addressing challenges, exploiting opportunities, and accomplishing desired outcomes.

In short, purpose provides meaning and direction, while strategy provides a roadmap for action. In a functioning system, both are harmoniously connected.

In this process step, you are not looking for hard connections but indirect ways in which your purpose creates conditions for the strategy to move forward. You are also looking to identify what the group, the organisation, and you as an individual can learn from that integration.

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Chapter 11: Minding the Gaps

As you identify and analyse the specific gaps between the purpose and strategy, you may notice where the strategy falls short in achieving the group’s intended purpose or is not coherent.

While assessing the current strategy in light of the purpose, you will also identify areas with no coherence and gaps in understanding or knowledge. Look for discrepancies between the strategy’s intended outcomes and the underlying purpose. Examine whether the strategy adequately addresses the key aspects of the purpose or if adjustments are necessary.

Addressing the gaps between your purpose and the strategy will teach you how to manage tension, which can be a source of creativity.

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Chapter 12: Adaptive Action

The introduction of a sense-making, learning and action process (inspired by HSD) called the Adaptive Action Cycle will give you a tool to take stock of what you notice, what that means to you, and what you commit to doing in the next four weeks to move your purpose forward.

The encouragement is to take wise actions in the form of small experiments, aiming to learn how to create movement and influence the strategy forward.

The outcomes of your experiments are reviewed in the following session and discussed not just in terms of outcome (completed or not) but also of its impact (consequences and implications), context, and process (the “manner” in which it happens rather than the means, e.g., machine-like). This will then impact the original observations and guide subsequent adaptive action cycles.

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Curriculum

Adaptive Business Strategy – WDP1 (Clarifying Purpose)

1. Learning Together
2. Key Concepts
3. Setting Conditions
4. Purpose Matters
5. Strategic Contribution
6. Your Context
7. Purpose Strength
8. Purpose Limits
9. We | Me Purpose
10. Strategy Connection
11. Minding the Gaps
12. Adaptive Action

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Distance Learning

Introduction

Welcome to Appleton Greene, and thank you for enrolling in the Adaptive Business Strategy corporate training program! Our unique distance-learning facilitation will help you apply what you learn academically and practically. The methods and materials are designed to ensure maximum benefits and enjoyment from the program.

We hope you find the program challenging and fun. If you’re new to distance learning, you might feel some initial apprehension. To help you get started, we’ll provide basic information and guidance on how to best use the modules, manage the materials, and navigate the program.

This guide will point you in the most helpful direction and support you become an effective distance learner. Before diving into your studies, study this guide and the tutorial support guide for students, making notes as you go.

Study environment

Find a quiet and private place to study, ideally a room where you can isolate yourself from external disturbances and distractions. Ensure the room is well-lit and creates a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere. Spoil yourself in your study environment to ensure you’re always in the right frame of mind. For instance, consider a cozy fire, soft background music, gentle lighting, a nice view if possible, and a spacious desk with a comfortable chair.

It’s important that your family knows when you’re studying, supports and respects your study rules. If you can have a separate study dedicated to your needs, that’s ideal. Otherwise, carefully developing and managing your study schedule is essential, considering its impact on you and others. A conducive study environment significantly enhances your productivity.

Study tools & rules

Ensure your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You’ll need internet access to a computer, scanner, and printer. Invest in a comfortable chair that supports your lower back and maintain a sound filing system. It’s crucial to avoid wasting valuable study time dealing with unreliable or inadequate tools. Keep your tools updated and functional.

Establish study rules to maintain discipline in your study routine. This distance-learning guide will assist you in developing these rules. Consider what works best for you after reading it. Additionally, negotiate study rules with your family, friends, or housemates to ensure they support your study schedule. They are vital to your study team, offering crucial encouragement and assistance. Involve them as much as possible to enhance your chances of successfully completing the program.

Successful distance-learning

Distance learners enjoy the flexibility of studying at their own pace and for their own purposes without the constraints of regular classes or workshops. However, unlike traditional internal training, the responsibility of a distance-learning program lies with the student in managing their study efforts effectively. This demands strong self-discipline, self-motivation, and a determined attitude to succeed. Successful distance learners typically excel in self-management, enjoy working independently, and are adept at motivating themselves.

It’s crucial to remember why you are studying and the objectives you aim to achieve. Keep these goals in focus to stay motivated. In distance learning, no one can coddle or provide information on a platter, so finding ways to self-encourage and acknowledge your efforts is important. Track your study progress to celebrate achievements and reassess your goals and objectives regularly. Maintaining awareness of your long-term aspirations and short-term targets ensures you stay on track toward success in your studies.

Self-assessment

Appleton Greene training programs are exclusively post-graduate, assuming you have already earned a business-related degree and are an experienced learner. By now, you should have a good understanding of your study habits, strengths, and areas for improvement. Reflect on questions such as when you are most productive during the day—whether you’re a morning person or a night owl—and which study methods work best for you. Evaluate your consistency in learning, maintaining discipline, and keeping your study sessions enjoyable.

Self-assessment is crucial at this stage. Conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student: identify your internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. This analysis will guide you in developing a personalized study plan. Focus on leveraging your strengths while addressing your weaknesses. Capitalize on opportunities and mitigate potential threats to ensure your success in the program.

Accepting responsibility as a student

Training programs require a significant investment in both cost and time commitment from students. The responsibility for successfully completing these programs rests entirely on the student, which becomes especially evident in distance learning settings. Taking ownership of this responsibility is crucial for ensuring your success.

It’s tempting to blame others or external factors when things go wrong, but true empowerment comes from acknowledging that your successes and failures are in your hands. Each student has unique learning preferences and needs. To succeed, you must be responsible for developing and executing a study plan that suits your individual style. If you don’t succeed, the responsibility rests with you.

Planning

The feeling of not being in control is often the biggest source of stress. Without planning, we tend to react rather than act purposefully, hoping for the best but often facing unexpected challenges. To maintain oversight, it’s essential to have clear plans for how and when tasks will be tackled and anticipate various scenarios.

Self-initiated changes are generally easier to handle and adjust to compared to changes imposed by others. This principle holds true in distance learning as well. Feeling in control and sticking to your plan can make learning smoother and more enjoyable. Even when unexpected issues arise, proper planning allows you to respond calmly and effectively, minimizing unnecessary stress. Therefore, investing time in thorough study planning is crucial.

Management

Once you’ve crafted a clear study plan, managing its implementation is equally crucial. While many of us excel at planning, it’s often during execution that challenges arise. Targets may go unmet, and reasons for these failures can be unclear. It’s insufficient to label a study plan as unsuccessful simply; understanding why it faltered is essential for making effective adjustments.

Conversely, if your study plan proves successful, understanding its success enables you to enhance and build upon it. Therefore, establishing self-assessment guidelines ensures consistent performance improvement throughout the program. With proper management, your performance should steadily improve as you progress.

Study objectives & tasks

To start, develop your program objectives by outlining the primary reasons for undertaking the training program in order of importance. Keep these objectives concise to maintain clarity. Avoid rushing the process; instead, organize your thoughts systematically.

For example, you can begin by categorizing departmental areas such as Customer Service, E-business, Finance, Globalization, Human Resources, Technology, Legal, Management, Marketing, and Production. Under each category, brainstorm and list all the specific achievements you aim to accomplish. Later, prioritize these items within each category.

Next, identify the top priority item from each department heading to form your program objectives. Limit yourself to around five objectives to maintain focus. Achieving these top objectives should naturally lead to accomplishing the other listed items. If this alignment doesn’t occur, repeat the process until your objectives align clearly with your goals.

Study forecast

The Adaptive Business Strategy corporate training program typically spans 12-18 months for completion, depending on your availability and current commitments. Productivity levels and existing obligations vary among students, and the program’s practical project studies, based on real scenarios, demand careful decision-making and patience.

To plan effectively, assess your weekly study availability and estimate your program’s duration using the guidelines. Align each phase with current business cycles and allocate appropriate time as milestones within logical modules. Utilise tools like spreadsheets, MS Outlook, or project management software for detailed time management. Incorporate adaptive action cycles into your study plan to adjust based on actual progress and insights gained from applied learning.

Consider business cycles’ impact on work demands to refine your study time estimates and ensure your approach remains flexible. This semi-structured method provides a clear and realistic timeline for achieving program objectives while adapting to evolving needs.

Performance management

Monitoring your progress is essential in distance learning. Keeping your study forecast updated and realistic based on your actual performance is more critical than strictly adhering to your initial plan. As you progress through the program, you’ll gain insights into your personal performance and productivity levels as a distance learner.

After completing each study module, re-evaluate both your time and task forecasts to align them with your achieved performance. Use an alarm clock to time yourself periodically during study sessions and compare your progress with your plan. Analyse the reasons behind your performance, whether positive or negative, and adjust your future forecasts accordingly. With time, you’ll improve your forecasting accuracy and consistently meet your targets.

Regarding time management, track and record the time spent studying in your plan. Note your successes and failures in time efficiency, adjusting future planning based on these insights to maintain realistic expectations and consistent progress. Consistency in time management is crucial for completing your studies effectively.

Document the tasks undertaken during study sessions and analyse their efficiency for task management. Learn from successful approaches and identify areas for improvement to refine your task planning. Regularly reassess your task forecasts to ensure they remain achievable and aligned with your program objectives.

Maintaining oversight over your studies is key to avoiding unnecessary stress. Effective time and task management will help you stay on track towards successfully completing your training program.

Keeping in touch

You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who provide tutorial support for your specific training program. Don’t hesitate to update them on your progress. We maintain electronic records of all tutorial support emails to ensure professors and tutors can review previous communications before responding, minimizing duplication, misunderstandings, or misinterpretations.

If you encounter any program-related challenges, share them via email. Chances are, they’ve encountered similar issues before and can offer valuable suggestions to guide you. For detailed guidance on utilizing tutorial support effectively, consult the Tutorial Support section of your student information guide. This resource will help you maximize the available support, enhancing your overall success and enjoyment in the training program.

Work colleagues and family

Discuss your progress in your program study with your colleagues, friends, and family. Appleton Greene’s training programs are highly practical, requiring collaboration to effectively gather information, plan, develop processes, and implement them. Seeking feedback from others on feasibility and productivity is integral to these programs, offering ample opportunities to test your ideas and gather diverse perspectives.

Distance learners often find support from others, so don’t keep your experiences to yourself. Share them openly! Your family and colleagues will likely benefit from your program endeavours and may be more interested in participating than you realize. Embrace delegating tasks to those who can benefit, fostering understanding and commitment from potential collaborators for future process implementations. Engage with your friends and family by sharing your learning journey with them.

Making it relevant

The key to successful learning lies in making it relevant to your own circumstances. Continuously strive to connect the program’s content with your personal situation, whether through introspection or interactive discussions with colleagues, client partners, or family. This alignment is crucial for transforming your studies into meaningful self-improvement.

Clarify how you intend to benefit from the program by setting clear study objectives related to course content. These objectives may evolve as you progress through the program. Update your study plan to clearly record what you aim to achieve, when, and why. This approach ensures you stay focused and motivated towards reaching your goals.

Distance-learning check-list

Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.

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Tutorial Support

Programs

Appleton Greene’s corporate training programs stand out for their unique blend of standard and bespoke approaches. These programs serve as effective conduits for instilling business process improvement knowledge at the core of our client’s organizations. Each program is meticulously designed to focus on implementing a specific business process, making it easy for clients to measure their return on investment.

Hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products are now available to clients in customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing, and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office or an unlimited number of international offices; we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization ensures that clients receive a truly international service with an all-important personal touch. Appleton Greene, corporate training programs, can be provided virtually or locally, and they are all unique in that they individually focus on a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time, and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.

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Support available

You will be paired with a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant upon enrolment. We strongly advocate for regular communication with them. All tutorial support is conducted online to ensure consistent recording of communications. Your work will be forwarded to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive personalized feedback on each task you complete and specific recommendations to achieve a pass with merit or distinction. You’ll have multiple opportunities to re-submit project studies until they meet the required standard. Therefore, the only reason for potential failure (CLP) would be a lack of submission.

The duration of your program, whether 12 or 18 months, does not affect the quality standards maintained throughout. What matters is consistently achieving the same high standard of work, ensuring that you can have full confidence in the quality of our programs.

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Support Process

Please direct all future emails to the designated email address provided by the (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit. To minimize unnecessary administration, avoid duplicating or copying emails to other AGC email accounts.

We aim to respond to emails promptly, though during busy periods, please allow up to 20 business days for replies to general tutorial support inquiries. Please allow up to 30 business days for project study evaluations, excluding weekends and public holidays. Please factor these timelines into your planning.

All communications are managed online via email, enabling our tutorial support managers to review all relevant communications before responding. This ensures all correspondence is documented and stored in your personal (CLP) study file at Appleton Greene for future reference.

If you require assistance or clarification, please don’t hesitate to email us. We’re here to support you. When posing questions, please list and number them clearly to ensure specific answers to each query.

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Time Management

The Adaptive Business Strategy corporate training program typically lasts one year and comprises 12 monthly workshops, each lasting six hours. Students are also expected to dedicate approximately four hours per week of personal study time over the course of the year.

Students have the flexibility to study from home or work at their own pace, managing their study plans independently. The program does not involve formal examinations; students are evaluated based on their project study submissions, internal analysis, and supporting documents. This approach allows students to adjust their study commitment according to their availability, whether they allocate more or less time depending on their schedules.

Many students are employed full-time, and the program is designed to accommodate their professional commitments, offering ample flexibility in time management. At Appleton Greene, we prioritize maintaining consistent quality across standard and customized program durations, whether students complete the program in 12 or 18 months. What matters most is achieving the same high standard of learning outcomes.

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Distance Learning Guide

The distance learning guide is indispensable for starting your training program. It helps you plan your study schedule effectively, create an optimal study environment, and foster a productive mindset. Establishing these foundations early on enhances your overall enjoyment and productivity throughout your training journey.

This guide also aids in adapting your lifestyle to accommodate study time and cultivating effective study habits. It provides tools for tracking progress, setting and achieving goals, and applying academic theory to practical scenarios.

Take the time now to thoroughly review your distance learning guide to ensure you have a solid foundation for maximizing your distance learning experience. At Appleton Greene, all program components—including course manuals and project studies—are conducted online via the Appleton Greene website and email. This setup allows you to study at your own pace, whether at home or in the office, provided you can access a computer and the internet.

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How To Study

The how-to study guide provides students a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods. It enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the required research and development and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required to achieve merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies.

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Tutorial Support

Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Adaptive Business Strategy corporate training program is facilitated online through the Appleton Client Support Portal (CSP) or email. A designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) oversees all tutorial support requests. The PAM determines the appropriate professor or tutor to address specific support needs and forwards the request accordingly. Once the professor or tutor has addressed the request and answered any questions, the PAM sends the response back to the student via email.

All tutorial support interactions among students, professors, and tutors are efficiently managed and securely facilitated by the PAM through email. General support queries may take up to 20 business days for responses, while evaluation and assessment of project studies may require up to 30 business days. Requests are processed in the order received, excluding weekends and public holidays.

To effectively manage your tutorial support process and maximize its benefit during your study period, carefully planning your study schedule is crucial. Retain copies of all tutorial support emails for future reference and ensure they adhere to the format outlined in your tutorial support guide. Each email should clearly reference the relevant part of the course manual or project study you are working on and list up to five numbered questions to ensure clarity and specificity in responses. This approach minimizes misunderstandings and duplications.

Appleton Greene’s training programs are designed to empower you to apply what you learn independently. Tutorial support facilitates this process, enhancing sustainable learning outcomes compared to traditional short-term knowledge sharing. Learning how and when to utilize tutorial support effectively is key to maximizing the benefits of your Appleton Greene’s training experience.

Refer to your tutorial support guide for detailed instructions on utilizing each training function and best practices, ensuring you gain the most from your learning journey with Appleton Greene.

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Tutorial Support Tips

Students are often unsure how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This tip list will help you make the most of this resource. Refer to it regularly to ensure you use the service effectively.

Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience. Understanding when and how to use it is key to maximizing its benefits. Successful students are positive, proactive, and productive when using tutorial support.

Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails

Consider the impression that you want to create

You create an impression whenever you communicate, so think about the one you want to make. All tutorial support emails are stored electronically, and tutors refer to prior correspondence before responding. Over time, this will shape their opinion of your character, attitude, and ability.

As our daily stresses and context change, our responses may differ, so be more aware of your frustrations, mood swings, and temperament. Manage these professionally without involving the tutorial support team, as demonstrating frustration or impatience can impact your ongoing relationship with them.

Written communication gives you time to consider, review, and proofread your content before sending it to Appleton Greene, helping you communicate professionally and consistently. Remember, the CLP Tutorial Support Unit evaluates your work and provides recommendations to other learning providers and client contacts within the Appleton Greene global network. Control your emotions and strive to create a positive impression.

Remember that quality is preferred to quantity

When emailing the tutorial support team, remember you are not using instant messaging or texting. Avoid sending an email whenever you have a thought, as this is unproductive for you and the tutorial support team. Instead, prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague. Make a list of your queries and incorporate them into one comprehensive email, perhaps once a month. This approach helps the tutorial support team understand the context, application, and study methodology.

Establish a consistent routine with tutorial support requests, and always use the provided tutorial support template in your emails. The CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you information; they must evaluate and assess your requests carefully and professionally.

Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers

To make the most of tutorial support emails, be concise and specific. Avoid writing long, unfocussed messages, which can make your needs unclear. Instead, clearly state your questions and number them. This helps ensure you receive precise answers to each query. Remember, the main purpose of tutorial support via email is to address your specific questions effectively.

Keep a record of your tutorial support emails

It’s important to record all tutorial support emails forwarded to you. This helps you refer to them as needed and prevents duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.

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Individual training workshops or telephone support

Appleton Greene does not offer separate tutorial support meetings, workshops, or telephone support for individual students. As an equal opportunities learning provider, we treat all students equally and cannot arrange special financial or study arrangements for individual circumstances. All tutorial support is conducted online, allowing Appleton Greene to maintain a comprehensive record of communications between students, professors, and tutors, per our quality management procedures and your terms of enrolment.

Online tutorial support via email ensures careful consideration of support content and guarantees a thoughtful and detailed response to your queries. Number your questions to articulate areas needing clarification or understanding clearly. This approach ensures specific answers to each query and provides a documented record of all support received. By eliminating duplication, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation, this system enhances the efficiency of tutorial support administration.

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Tutorial Support Email Format

Please use the designated tutorial support format to request clarification or assistance during your training program. All tutorial support request emails must adhere to this format. It’s advisable to create a standard email template you can use whenever necessary.

Please be aware that emails not following this format may be rejected and returned by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. You can expect a detailed response via email, typically within 20 business days for general support queries and 30 business days for project evaluations, excluding weekends and public holidays. Your tutorial support request and the corresponding TSU reply will be archived in your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.

The Subject line of your email

Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.

Main body of your email

Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)

Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.

Question 1

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 2

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 3

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 4

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 5

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.

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Procedure

* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.

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How To Study

Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.

Planning your study environment

Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.

Planning your program objectives

It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.

Planning how and when to study

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.

Planning your study tasks

You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.

Planning your time

You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.

Keeping in touch

Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.

Charting your progress

Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.

Making it work

To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.

Reading methods

Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.

Speed reading

When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.

Content reading

Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.

Making structured notes on the course manuals

When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.

Organizing structured notes separately

You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.

Question your understanding

Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.

Clarifying your understanding

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.

Question your interpretation

Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.

Clarifying your interpretation

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.

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Qualification Requirements

The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Adaptive Business Strategy corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Adaptive Business Strategy Specialist. All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.

Adaptive Business Strategy – Grading Contribution

Project Study – Grading Contribution

Clarifying Purpose – 8%
Future Back – 8%
Trends that Matter -8%
Portfolio Analysis – 10%
Scenario Planning 10%
Organising -8%
Simple Rules – 8%
Adaptive Planning- 10%
Navigating Uncertainty –10%
Decision Making – 10%
Evaluating – 5 %
Monitoring Progress – 5%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%

Qualification grades

A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.

When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:

Pass with merit

A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory

Pass with distinction

An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory

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Preliminary Analysis

Online Article

By KJ Dooley: A Complex Adaptive Systems Model of Organization Change

The article appeared in Nonlinear Dynamics Psychology and Life Sciences · January 1997- Springer.

Abstract:

Studying complex adaptive systems has yielded great insight into how complex, organic-like structures can evolve order and purpose over time. Business organizations, typified by semi-autonomous organizational members interacting at many levels of cognition and action, can be portrayed by the generic constructs and driving mechanisms of complex adaptive systems theory. This paper aims to forge a unified description of complex adaptive systems from several sources and then investigate the issue of change in a business organization via the complex adaptive systems framework. The theory of complex adaptive systems uses components from three paradigms of management thought: systems theory, population ecology, and information processing. Specific propositions regarding the nature of dynamical change will be developed, driven by the complex adaptive systems model. Supporting evidence for these propositions is then sought within the existing management theory literature. In doing so, the complex adaptive systems approach to understanding organisational change will be better grounded in domain-specific theory and bring about new transformative insights and research areas.

Summary:

The article, authored by Kevin Dooley, presents a compelling model of organizational change based on complex adaptive systems. It offers a theoretical framework that redefines how we understand and manage change within organizations. Central to this model is the idea that organizations should be viewed as dynamic and evolving systems, not static entities. Key elements such as feedback loops, self-organization, and emergent behaviour play crucial roles in organizational change.

According to Dooley, the model emphasizes creating conditions that foster self-organization and adaptation for change initiatives to succeed. By leveraging these principles, organizations can better navigate the complexities of change and enhance their capacity for continuous evolution.

More about this article can be found here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022375910940

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Online Article

By I Kopaneva, PM Sias: Lost in translation: Employee and organizational constructions of mission and vision

This article appeared in Management Communication Quarterly, 2015,
journals.sagepub.com

Abstract:

Research on organizational mission and vision has primarily centered on the leader’s role in developing and implementing these while neglecting employee worldviews on mission and vision. Guided by the communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) perspective, this exploratory study acknowledges that employees, as well as leaders, contribute to the shared knowledge about what their organization stands for and where it is heading. Toward this end, we explored the extent to which employee constructions and official mission/vision statements were congruent and how they differed. Analysis revealed substantial lack of congruence between employees and their organizations. In general, employee and official versions shared less than half of the same themes. With respect to substance, official statements tended to be far broader and more complex than employee versions. These differences suggest problems with the inclusion of employee worldviews into higher-level organizational texts.

Summary:

The article discusses a research study examining the alignment between employee constructions of mission and vision and their organisations’ official mission/vision statements. The study found a low congruence between employees and their organizations in mission and vision. Employees had different views on the organisation’s purpose, with some focusing on customers and others on products/services. There was also a lack of congruence in the themes mentioned in the mission statements. In terms of vision, employees had different perspectives on the ideal future state of the organization, including striving for excellence and organizational growth, which were not reflected in the official vision statements. The study highlights the gaps in communication and understanding between employees and their organizations, emphasizing the need for shared purpose and the inclusion of employee voices in discussions about mission and vision.

More about this article can be found here:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0893318915581648

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Online Article

By H Mintzberg, RT Pascale, M Goold, R. Rumelt, CMR forum: the “Honda effect” revisited

This article appeared in the California Management Review, 1996
journals.sagepub.com

Summary

Richard Pascale’s influential article in the California Management Review delves into the “Honda Effect,” comparing the interpretations of Honda’s success in the American motorcycle market by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Honda’s executives. This piece has sparked extensive debate, including contributions published in the Strategic Management Journal. Initially focusing on these contrasting narratives, Pascale’s article prompted responses from scholars like Igor Ansoff and Michael Goold, co-author of the BCG report. The discussion culminates with Richard Rumelt and Pascale’s commissioned articles, offering differing perspectives on strategic management approaches.

“The Honda Effect” revisited examines two contrasting perspectives on Honda’s successful entry into the U.S. motorcycle market in the 1960s:

• The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report attributed Honda’s success to a deliberate, well-planned strategy focused on cost leadership and economies of scale.
• Honda executives, conversely, described a more emergent approach, with success arising from adaptability, experimentation, and learning from unexpected market developments.

The “Honda Effect” highlights the contrast between Western preferences for simplified, linear explanations of business success and the more complex reality of how organizations adapt and learn over time. It challenges the notion that strategy is always deliberately planned, suggesting that emergent strategies and the ability to respond to unforeseen circumstances play crucial roles in business success. This case has become influential in strategic management literature, prompting debates about the nature of strategy formation and the balance between deliberate planning and emergent approaches.

More about this article can be found here:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/41165855

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Book

By G Eoyang and Royce Holladay: Adaptive-Action-Leveraging-Uncertainty-Organization, 2013

Summary:

Rooted in the study of chaos and complexity, Adaptive Action introduces a simple, common-sense process that guides individuals and organizations into reflective action through three key questions: What? So what? Now what?
The first question prompts careful observation. The second invites thoughtful consideration of options and implications. The third ignites effective action. These questions and supporting tools create a dynamic and creative engagement with uncertainty.

This adaptable method can solve various challenges and improve performance, scaling from individuals to work groups and organizations to entire communities. Glenda H. Eoyang and Royce J. Holladay outline the adaptive action framework and its protocols. They share best practices from professionals who have successfully used this approach in leadership, consulting, healthcare, education reform, political advocacy, and cultural engagement. This equips readers with a versatile toolkit for meeting their goals with ingenuity and flexibility.

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Course Manuals 1-12

Course Manual 1: Learning Together

What is the connection between learning together and adaptive strategy?

There are a few names to describe our current world conditions; Jamais Casio’s is probably the most suitable as it describes our inner feelings and outer experiences of the world, a Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, and Incomprehensible world, better known as BANI.

Events around us are changing rapidly, cause and effect seem disproportionate, and something tiny like a tweet or the single actions or behaviours of a single person can bring revolutions or fortunes down. On the one hand, we have examples of disruptions that affect many, such as the Arab Spring, the Weinstein Company and Barings Bank collapse, and the unintended consequences of “over-sharing” by Jack Teixeira. On the other hand, we have documented the growth results of Honda and Stanislav Petrov’s prevention of nuclear war well. We must add to this the ongoing impacts and long-term consequences of the global COVID-19 responses, emerging issues of Global Boiling and new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

To foster a “more responsive approach” instead of getting stuck in paralysis or reactive modes to the ever-changing conditions and genuinely develop an “Adaptive Strategy,” it is essential to actively make sense of real-time developments in the world. This involves gaining a broader perspective of unfolding events. To achieve this, we must enlist the help of others to interpret and enrich our understanding of the situation and determine the most helpful actions to take.

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Too many things are all happening at once.

What makes the world complex?

It is complex as it is interconnected, intricate and full of variety and infinite detail; here is where we as humans touch the edges of what we can know, as we can only pay attention to particular aspects of an experience. We filter out many details as a product of our interests and what we can manage in our context. Few of us train ourselves to see things that do not fit our thinking patterns, being and seeing the world.

To start seeing what unseen to us is, we need:

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Inquiry

We must learn to see more shades, angles or views of the issue, challenge, or opportunity. This learning process leans into inquiry as the main methodology to engage with the world. Inquiry is a systemic exploration to identify patterns and engage in a purposeful process of creating meaning. Inquiry is based on asking deliberate questions and using other people’s questions or perspectives as a launching pad for new understanding. During this process, we seek to expand. Our insights connect with our prior knowledge in new ways and deepen our understanding of an issue as a by-product of a new insight or connection. We can see new patterns emerge as part of this discovery.

For example, your organisation has pursued a relentless growth strategy based on increasing a set percentage of a product or service growth for many years. Let’s imagine that you are in the business benchtops using engineered stone. You have read nothing official from associated government agencies here and there that it produces silicosis — an irreversible and potentially deadly respiratory condition associated with silica dust exposure. You also know you can decrease risk by providing your employees with more protective gear. Business decisions do not exist in a vacuum; they have consequences and implications, some of which can only be seen across the fullness of time. During an inquiry session, you and others can make sense of new emerging data and potentially pivot from pushing for more growth in that category to other products or exploring more deeply other potential substitutes available rather than just waiting for the regulator to decide. In the case of AGB Stone, they decided to lead by example.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300933836/benchtop-makers-highsilica-stone-ban-thought-to-be-an-nz-first?cid=app-android

Multiple Perspectives & Reflective Learning

So many things are happening all at once that it is not feasible to know or process everything around us; we filter out data due to our interests and patterns of thinking/ sensing in the world based on what we consider important or not, better known as biases. Engaging in inquiry can be very powerful; it may take us deep and narrow in focus. To expand this, we need the perspective of others. Some will say we can gather. Other people’s opinions through surveys or asking around some trusted colleagues. We are interested in the “process of how they got there”—i.e., the thinking behind their stance or view. The process of how others arrive at that view and not their final stance gives us insight into how others are making sense of the world. It is in this space that we are invited to reflect together. Chris Mowles (2023) shares how continuous engagement with a set of difficulties, particularly in a group setting, can reframe the difficulties and the person/people experiencing them.

Sometimes, we believe that by working with others in a group, we automatically hold different and multiple perspectives will emerge.

Let’s examine the context of how groups are put together.

● The make-up of groups: In most cases, we gravitate towards working with people who are very similar to us. People who are similar to us hold, in most cases, the same assumptions about how the world runs. A different perspective is another viewpoint that presents a fresh interpretation of what is happening, something very new, or a new viewpoint that transforms what we see to a different view vantage point.

● Managing the challenge of delivery time to get things done and reflective time. Getting things done will be a winner, time and time again. It is exhilarating to get things done; the “doing” makes us feel in control and accomplished, plus it gets our dopamine levels going. However, this practice prevents us from understanding our actions’ “consequences and implications” in our context.

● Leaning into differences. This plays out in groups in different ways:

o Senior members voice their points of view first. Without wanting, other group members may perceive that they need to “align” themselves with whatever is being said and withhold any other knowledge or points of view they may have.

o The tacit agreement/acceptance that no questions will be asked and that it is either beyond the remit of the person, group or pay band.

o Perpetuating the myth that only colleagues with tenure can express a differing opinion and that less tenure or being more junior does not meet the threshold of saying anything.

o I am the boss, and I know it all.

o A different opinion is a sign of disloyalty and is taken very personally.

Reflect on your own, and then in pairs:

1. How are your work groups made up?
2. How do you go about encouraging different points of view?
3. How does your workgroup manage the tension between delivery time < ------ > reflection?
4. In what ways do you work with difference? What are the challenges and opportunities?

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Case Study – Where did all the typewriters go?

For some folks, typewriters will be museum pieces; for some, for others, real historical artifacts. Leaders at various levels of the organisation actively scan the environment. to create and amend strategy plans. In the 1960s and 1970s, typewriters were the primary tool for document creation in offices and homes; the global typewriter market was worth billions of dollars annually. Companies like IBM, Remington, Olivetti, Smith-Corona, Royal, and others generated significant revenue from typewriter sales, maintenance, and accessories. It’s hard to imagine that the senior leaders at these organisations were not actively scanning the environment for threats and opportunities. The question is, what were they scanning it for? Gareth Morgan describes three broad categories:

● Identity

o What business are we in?
o Is this the best fit for what we do?
o Where to next?

● Perception of the environment in connection with that identity

o With that in mind, what is our market?

● Strategy (what do we do?)

o What’s our strategy to increase our market share?

In this case, market and strategy were defined as “company identity”. If every person on that board and senior team member—saw their company” in the “typewriter market” rather than in “the documentation and processing market”, they would have missed the potential sea-change market signals sent by the emergence of Altair 8800 (1975); Apple I (1976): RadioShack’s TRS-80 (1977): Commodore PET (1977). IBM was the only company of the “typewriting” group that saw that sea change and successfully transitioned successfully. On August 12, 1981, it launched the IBM 5150, the first commercially successful personal computer, commonly known as the IBM PC.

When we talk about multiple perspectives, it is not just opinions we seek but also about making connections not seen before. One recent and popular case is Google (2015) moving from Google to Alphabet, recognising their new market interests, complying with regulatory demands, transparency, and accountability, and focusing on innovation.

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Conventional Learning & Deep Learning

What’s Conventional Learning?

Most of us had been raised and educated through academic or formal institutions with a set curriculum and objectives. The goal has been “to acquire” as much data as possible and be guided by case studies and examples to replicate the same results as closely as possible. Here, the learner’s role is to absorb predetermined knowledge to better comply with existing policy and procedural expectations and perform as described. Overall, this is all about creating consistent outcomes and results.

Rules of Engagement:

There are also set rules of behaviours of whom we can learn from,

● Students learn, and teachers teach. We call this “conventional learning”. An image associated with this type of learner is a framework for particular situations.

Conventional learning emphasizes and imitates familiar patterns and ways of doing things. invites exploration so learners become aware of new emerging patterns. This approach is used to learn to see linear cause-and-effect associations among processes, e.g., if I do this, this happens. It nurtures a problem-solving mindset. It uses external rewards and enticements to strengthen desired behaviours or outputs.

What is Deep Learning?

Deep learning focuses on creating the conditions for the learner to build her capacity to tailor their learning for continuous growth within and beyond the sessions. It is based on a reflective action practice. Those who engage in deep learning can generate new questions and answers that build on their existing knowledge and set conditions for success in different settings and levels of engagement.

Glenda Eoyang says that “Deep Learning” is the ability to see, understand, and influence in creative and innovative ways in each moment. A powerful image representing deep learning is a seed, which you can transfer anywhere and use as you see fit. The critical difference between these two aspects of learning is that conventional learning generates consistency, and deep learning generates innovation. Both learning approaches have their place. In this workshop, you are invited to engage in deep learning.

A deep learning ecology is a generative, adaptive, creative learning grounded in individual and collaborative inquiry with others. (Patterson & Holladay, 2018). It invites exploration so learners become aware of new emerging patterns. This approach is used to develop the sensitivity of participants to expect unpredictable and emergent processes. It leverages self-organizing dynamics within individuals and groups to influence transformation.

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Deep learning requires an “ecology,” meaning other ingredients beyond an instructor or teacher and the learned topic. This is not a solo enterprise.

Diversity: of learners, topics, generate questions, invite new people to the conversation, and respond to open-ended questions in multiple modes.

Coherence: focuses on what the learners can control and influence. It highlights similarities, leans into differences when required, emphasizes what the group wants to achieve, and is guided by a set of simple rules of interaction.

Adaptive Capacity: Just as the weather displays many seasons in a day. Deep learning supports individuals. build their adaptive capacity to build, see, label, make sense and signify and influence patterns that emerge in their system. This is done by using multiple sources of data reflection and evaluating what those patterns mean, pondering and taking actions that may shape those patterns in helpful ways. This process is ongoing. and deliberate, as new observations provide new information about the “next what”.

Interdependence: Participants rely on each other to accomplish the shared goals. The emphasis is on building a community that works with differences and is encouraged to see the interrelatedness and impact on the part, the whole and the greater whole.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

In pairs, think about a recent group meeting that you attended. Be prepared to share with other teams.

Phase 1

● How much diversity was there in terms of ideas and questions? What modes of dialogue were used? What did you observe?

● What about coherence? Was the focus on coherence (a broad common understanding) or seeking that everybody “aligns” (thought the same) about the topic?

● In your current role, what patterns are you seeing emerge? Share with your partner the adaptive capacity you feel you have developed.

● How does the work you do impact the rest of the team?

Phase 2

● Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to start seeing what patterns exist in your system.

Phase 3

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 2: Key Concepts

This program examines strategy from an applied complexity science perspective. We will actively use the key concepts of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and related concepts, such as self-organisation.

What are Complex Adaptive Systems?

The concept of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) describes the unpredictable ways in which a group of interdependent agents interact over time, creating system-wide patterns. The agents are not only humans but can be other environmental, internal, or external agents such as music, news you read in the newspaper, a tweet, or a connection to a story you heard as a child. The interaction of these agents creates patterns that influence and shape patterns in the system. These patterns are contextual and unpredictable. Kevin Dooley says that a CAS is self-organising and learning and cites examples such as economies, cultures, social systems, weather, and traffic.

Humans as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)

Group of Interdependent agents that interact in unpredictable ways. Over time, they form system-wide patterns. Those patterns, in turn, influence the subsequent behaviour of the agents in the system.

A short video explaining ways to see and think about CAS.

Video produced by Dr. Derek Cabrera of the Cabrera Research Lab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjwvsK-6640

Helpful Characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)

Complex adaptive systems are non-linear, so cause and effect are not direct; small changes in one area can have ripple effects elsewhere. The rules of proportionality do not apply here. These changes can build over time and start shifting below the surface. If one part of the system changes, it can cause a ripple effect that affects the whole system, sometimes leading to unexpected outcomes. A few examples are the global market collapse of 2018, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Japan Tsunami and its impact on the auto industry, cyber security breaches, such as Equifax in the US, which impacted 147 million customers, the Suez Channel blockage in 2021 to name a few.

Complex adaptive systems have the capacity for self-organisation, whereby they spontaneously arrange and reconfigure themselves without external control or central authority. Order arises from the interaction of the components. Self-organisation refers to creating patterns in a complex adaptive system due to the interactions of semi-autonomous agents within the system. These agents can be individuals, groups, ideas, thoughts, or traditions that form the components of the system. While they operate within certain boundaries or constraints, they also have a degree of freedom to respond to the tensions or influences present in the system.

The behaviours of these agents within the system are inherently unpredictable as they respond non-linearly to the dynamic and uncertain environment. While observers may be capable of anticipating general trends or patterns over time or among a large group of agents, they cannot reliably forecast the actions of any individual agent at a particular moment. This new awareness brings a new “alertness” that nothing is business as usual.

An example of a non-linear self-organizing

Semco, a Brazilian company founded by Ricardo Semler in the 1980s, is often cited as a successful example of innovative management and organizational transformation. In the HBR article Managing without Managers, Semco shared that his company had been on a change path focused on professionalising the work environment and market diversification. Great effort was put into those programs, but the changes were linear and incremental. Radical transformation emerged in response to new conditions that fundamentally challenged the system, as was the case of sharing financial information with all employees. Training programs were made available to support employees in reading and interpreting this information, with every employee receiving monthly balance sheets, profit and loss analyses and cash flow figures. Jeffrey Goldstein explains that the self-organization model doesn’t necessarily get rid of hierarchy or the need for leaders. In this situation, top managers still used their hierarchical authority to establish the conditions for self-organization.

The paradox is that the leaders employed their power to give up control, such as withholding financial information that could leave employees uninformed of the inner goings of the company. This open policy was accompanied by other new policies aimed at sharing decision-making and facilitating non-linear change. For instance, when the marine division needed to expand and three employees identified potential sites, the marine plant closed for a day. All employees affected by this possible change visited the sites and then voted to determine the most suitable location. This process increased employee involvement and exemplified a non-linear approach to decision-making.

Another characteristic is emergence. Every system consists of numerous interacting parts that give rise to new behaviours or patterns, which may not be readily apparent when examining each individual part in isolation. For example, one molecule of hydrogen and two of oxygen create water, which has the property of being wet. Wetness could not be found in either hydrogen or water alone. In any organisation, there are countless complex adaptive systems; the patterns we see and feel will be those that are the strongest and more obvious, such as the way that we deal with decision-making, either by deferring to those in charge or asking questions and providing insight if our leaders encourage those behaviours (amplification) or you are fuel by your inner beliefs on how best to contribute.

Another hallmark of a complex adaptive system is its ability to adapt to changing environments or conditions. The system’s agents use feedback loops to amplify or dampen behaviours that shape the system’s functions.

It is crucial to remember that the rate of acceleration or speed of change does not solely determine the significant impact of system changes. Levin and Holling emphasise that the primary drivers of substantial shifts in a system are not alterations in fast variables but rather transformations in slow variables occurring over an extended period.

Why is knowing about CAS relevant to strategy making?

It is key to understanding that the map is not the territory. Most of the time, we engage in “a rinse and repeat” strategy-making process; by that, we mean not looking too deeply at how we frame our business, measure what we are doing, and ultimately commit to achieving our organisational goals. We feel that if we did one. Time with a lot of rigour it will hold forever. Complex Adaptive Systems have been in play for a long time; however, their shift and/or dominant patterns were so powerful that it seemed to us that nothing was changing.

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Case Study: Are you seeing this?

If you ChatGPT Bill Browder’s name, it will tell you about his role in lobbying for the passage of the Magnitsky Act, a piece of U.S. legislation allowing for sanctioning Russian officials implicated in human rights abuses.

A less-known story is the one told by Joshua Cooper-Ramo in his book The Age of the Unthinkable about how Bowder’s business survived the global financial crisis. In 2007, Bowder’s investment model involved heavy investment in Russia, one of the world’s most unstable markets. His strategy was to buy shares in corrupt and poorly managed companies, induce changes, and then sell for a profit, following the “Buy, Agitate, and Sell” approach. This strategy, though not without challenges, required a careful approach due to the nature of the individuals involved, aiming to buy at $1 a share and sell at $10. (75)

Bowder suffered severe financial losses in 1998 as the Russian stock market crashed by 93% within weeks. This abrupt and confidence-shattering change was triggered by an event in Thailand over a year earlier, in which he felt an unpredictable avalanche. Bowder describes this experience to Cooper-Ramo by stating, “When the market goes to zero, it changes the way you think afterwards. The main lesson is that just because something is too terrible to contemplate, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen”.

Bowder became even more sensitive to what was happening in the global markets, such as in the case of the summer of 2007. He had nothing to worry about as his fund had grown by 30% in that quarter. However, when reading the newspaper, he noticed that a New York auction for debt from leveraged buyout deals had failed to draw enough interest and was shut down. For most, it was a minor hiccup in a well-functioning system, but Bowder saw it as a sign that the markets could no longer absorb new debt. A few days later, Bowder told Cooper-Ramo that it was the end and things would now unravel.

Bowder became even more sensitive to what was happening in the markets globally, such as in the case of the summer of 2007. He had nothing to worry about as his fund had grown by 30% in that quarter. However, when reading the newspaper, he noticed that a New York auction for debt from leveraged buyout deals had failed to draw enough interest and was shut down. For most, it was a minor hiccup in a well-functioning system, but Bowder saw it as a sign that the markets could no longer absorb new debt. A few days later, Bowder told Cooper-Ramo that it was the end and things would now unravel.

After sharing his insights with investors, Bowder began accumulating cash, minimising stock exposure, and shifting investments into safe havens. This approach, which he termed “off-the-grid investing,” aimed to insulate from financial turmoil. In a letter to his investors, he likened it to an electrical blackout, where those in an office building might feel paralysed. At the same time, those in a mountain cabin would hardly notice the impact–reflecting his financial goal.

Larry Summers, the American economist, used the metaphor of financial markets being like modern jet planes: they provide quick travel but can have severe consequences in case of a crash.

The 1987 US crash is a prime example of how minor factors, interacting over time, culminated in conditions that triggered a systemic shift, rapidly eroding years of market value. Factors contributing to the crash included high stock valuations, rising interest rates, and widespread use of computerised trading programs, intensifying selling pressure. A similar scenario unfolded during the 1997 Asian crisis, rippling into the Russian markets in 1998, underscoring market interconnectivity.

In 2007, market players sensed a shift as the familiar rules no longer applied. The markets went non-linear, rendering traditional prediction tools useless. The “dump and run” contagion effect emerged, with people selling first and asking questions later. This led to increased regulation and emphasised portfolio diversification and risks of high-frequency trading. Like the 1929 crash, the 2008 global financial crisis had profound consequences, including a severe global economic downturn, widespread unemployment, and substantial financial and regulatory reforms, making it one of the most significant recent financial crises with far-reaching global impacts.

The ultimate paradox is that investors had profited from this market instability and volatility and even encouraged it. So, when something like this happens, they are perplexed and humbled. Bowder shared that he is always thinking about the downside of things and is aware that things are less solid than we think. Those thirteen crucial months had already elapsed when others grasped what Bowder had observed and acted upon in 2017.

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The Sand Pile or Avalanche Effect

One thing that has captured the curiosity of scientist have been those moments of radical change. Per Bak, a Danish scientist, it was something that we can observe during a trip to the beach but pay absolutely no attention to. If you piled sand grain by grain, how could you predict or know for sure when or how much of the grains would crumble?

What captured Bak’s attention was the observation that the pile was spontaneously arranging itself into a state of “instability.” He wondered whether adding more sand grains could trigger a larger avalanche. This concept led to the term “organized instability.” Bak explained that in nature, complex behaviours emerge as large systems naturally progress toward a delicate balance, resembling a tipping point or poised critical state. Once in this state, small disruptions can give rise to events, termed avalanches, of varying magnitudes. It’s crucial to note that the system autonomously reaches this state without external interference. Bak emphasizes that understanding avalanches requires a holistic perspective of the overall system dynamics rather than a reductionist focus on individual grains. In essence, the sand pile represents a complex system.

Bak called this state self-organized criticality when minor disturbances might lead to avalanches of all sizes. The relevance to adaptive strategy making is that:

• The behaviour, in this case, drastic change, cannot be understood in terms of behaviours of individual inputs, in this case, grains of sand. In this case, they are looking for something or someone specific to offload or blame.

• It could only be understood from a holistic description of the properties of the entire pile or what we are seeing. Here, we pay attention to how things relate to each other. The way that the budgets were allocated may have led to double work and poor delivery, which created poor collaboration and silo thinking. Another example could be how people are incentivised and promoted, creating very little incentive for cooperation and collaboration, which impacts the levels of innovation.

• Large systems with many components are sensitive to minor disturbances that may create large avalanches. Here, considering different system levels, either the extended environment, internal to the company, team or even individual, is important.

Bak thought that the dynamics of piles gave us access to something thoughtful and remarkable—their ability to transform order into chaos and chaos into order.

Later on, other scientists like C. S Holling and Simon Levin started investigating the sand pile effect in connection to other complex environments like the stock markets and nations; one aspect that stands out is that the notion of time is different.

Complex environments, such as stock markets or nations, are replete with influences that operate on diverse timescales. Scientists refer to these systems as having a “broad timescale.” Elements we might perceive as having concluded their usefulness can still play significant roles, challenging the notion of clear beginnings and ends. A notable example is the enduring role that dead trees have played in forest ecology over decades.

As a society, we’re often taken aback by what appears to be sudden change. However, Levin and Holling discovered that significant shifts in a system are more likely to result from changes in slow variables rather than rapid ones. Take, for instance, the climate phenomenon known as El Niño. It’s considered a slow weather phenomenon due to the gradual unfolding of its development and impact over an extended period, typically spanning several months. The modified atmospheric conditions linked to El Niño can bring about various weather effects, such as alterations in precipitation patterns, droughts, and floods. Yet, the complete manifestation of these impacts takes time to materialize as the atmosphere adjusts to shifts in sea surface temperatures. El Niño events are characterized by a slow development process and exhibit variability in timing, intensity, and duration.

It’s crucial to remember that elements that endure or may seem peripheral often exert the most significant influence on a system. These are often overlooked precisely because they evolve slowly. In organizational contexts, this might include unexamined policies and procedures that establish the conditions shaping our observations.

What is Self-Organising?

Research has revealed that under specific conditions, systems can demonstrate self-organization—an inherent, spontaneous, and transformative process in the structure of a functioning system. This presents a compelling new model for guiding organizational change that surpasses the traditional approaches of hierarchical control and resistance-busting strategies. It’s essential to note that this transformation is not without challenges; akin to a child progressing through growth stages into adulthood, it involves inevitable growing pains.

Self-organization requires a system to tap into its resources rather than relying on hierarchy to confront challenges. The internal transformation within an organization is akin to the ancient alchemical process, where chemical compounds undergo various procedures to reveal their hidden essence. This essence, believed to be contained within each challenge, facilitates inner transformation in each compound. Like alchemy, self-organization is a transformative process where the latent potential for change within the organization is unlocked and realized through the appropriate challenges. These challenges need not be monumental or drastic for self-organization to emerge. In this context, resistance to change is not inherent in the self-organizing process. Some may perceive that as a drawback, self-organising may not offer a painless and rapid transformation process.

It’s essential to clarify that self-organization doesn’t perceive the system as a passive mass inherently resistant to change. Instead, it focuses on unleashing the system’s inherent potential for transformation, emphasizing non-linearity. When applying this concept to strategy development and implementation, it becomes crucial to identify the conditions necessary to activate the system in skilful ways.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

In pairs, think about what caught your attention in the case study. Be prepared to share with other teams.

Phase 1

• What surprised you about the case study? Can you apply what you learned from the case study to your business? If so, which ones?
• In your current system, Who or what interacts across time?
• What are the critical ideas, structures, documents, or texts that are shaping your system?

Phase 2

• Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to start seeing what patterns exist in your system.

Phase 3

• Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge or opportunity. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 3: Setting Conditions

Each individual is a human system. Working and understanding ourselves and other people (human systems) is complex because we are diverse and nuanced; our reactions and responses are non-linear and in flux. This flux may or may not be apparent to ourselves or others. As part of this interconnected, complex adaptive system, we have the potential to influence each other mutually.

Strategy is not just about “the work—an external thing out there” but the interpretation of a series of data points filtered through our biases, preferences, and assumptions, which feed into a worldview. Each worldview is condensed into a point of view that may or may not be shared with others. Sometimes, we may dismiss or discount what we perceive as we sense that the majority feels different ways. Think about the case of the board members and senior executives of IBM, Remington, Olivetti, Smith-Corona, and Royal; you can be sure someone saw what was happening.

Read the short paragraph below and look at the strategies chosen in the face of the current weight-loss market disruptions. This is what Vivienne Walt and Lauren Hirsch reported in early September 2023 in the New York Times:

“Diet companies are bracing for disruption. For decades, weight loss companies have relied on branded, prepackaged meals and lifestyle programs. Some, like Weightwatchers and Noom, have raced to sell GLP-1 drugs themselves, while others still hope their products can survive the Ozempic era. Jenny Craig shut its weight loss centres in May after 40 years. And Simply Good Foods, which distributes Atkins diet products like frozen meals and cookies, will market Atkins as “a perfect complement to people thinking about using the drugs,” the company’s chief executive at the time, Joe Scalzo, told analysts in June.” (96)

An important contributor is how we see, experience, and make sense of what is happening externally or through our internal filters.

What does it mean to set conditions?

A vital element in our learning journey and developing an Adaptive Strategy lies in establishing conditions that encourage nuanced and open thinking. This approach fosters innovative thinking, guiding the group toward adaptive actions that respond thoughtfully rather than merely reacting to internal or external environmental changes.

We usually associate “conditions” with material things, such as the availability of reports, choosing a remote venue with no cell coverage to reduce distraction, and, of course, great food. Another way to think about setting conditions is to think about this time and space of learning as a garden. Each garden needs to be tended to in different ways depending on the type of plants it holds, the stage of maturity it is at, the season of the year may dictate what you can and cannot do, and the overall weather patterns. An avid gardener may look at the soil condition and other parameters that others would not. The invitation is to consider the work of our learning together as a garden that needs nurturing and caring, which is important.

Creating conditions in complexity science entails establishing a system’s initial state and parameters, allowing it to unfold and showcase emergent properties as time progresses. In our context, this is all about cultivating an environment conducive to fostering innovative thinking.

Conditions are the set of initial parameters to foster learning and exploration that facilitate:

● Exchanges: discover what gives energy to you as a group of learners to keep moving in the preferred direction generatively.
● Interchanges: let go or replace ideas or points of view with something one may hear/learn/or start to question. This may generate new insights or develop a new set of beliefs they had started with.
● Interactions: Having conversations that support exploration and learning
● Connectivity: Build relations between people, ideas, and the internal and external environment.

During our time together, we will use these four conditions:

● Levelling the playing field – no titles or other hierarchy markers exist.
● Paying attention to what you bring – all is nuanced and additive.
● Multiple Perspectives
● Be curious – explore, reflect, invite, ask.
● Unearth Treasures in Every Interaction: Discover “Gold Nuggets” Even in the Mundane!

Levelling the playing field – there are no titles or other hierarchy markers.

The impact of power on people’s responses within organizations is often underestimated. Julie Diamond, a seasoned researcher and practitioner in this field, sheds light on how power distorts perceptions in two crucial ways: it changes the perception of those wielding power. It influences the way those in the power holder’s orbit perceive things. In the realm of influence, every word spoken by someone in power carries an amplified weight, with a simple comment sometimes being interpreted as a direct command. Even a slightly raised voice can be misconstrued as yelling, and a well-intentioned joke to lighten the mood may be perceived as insensitive and callous. Diamond astutely points out that the gap between intent and impact often becomes asymmetrical, adding complexity to power dynamics within organizations.

Our internal beliefs and assumptions are pivotal in determining what information we disclose or withhold, particularly when interacting with individuals in higher organisational positions. Diamond highlights the common occurrence of leaders receiving inaccurate feedback. Sociologist and sense-making expert Christian Madsbjerg shares a compelling case involving Mark Fields, the former CEO of Ford. Madsbjerg emphasizes that at the executive level, individuals may be exposed to a meticulously curated perspective of the organization, possibly overlooking certain issues to avoid delivering unwelcome news.

The devil often lies in the details in our fast-paced discussions about the overload on our prefrontal cortex and the perpetual lack of time. The pursuit of efficiency can inadvertently lead to over-editing crucial details as we grapple with information overload.

Pay attention to what you are offering – contributions that are nuanced and additive.

Let’s kick things off with a story: During my university and doctoral student days, we occasionally organized potlucks. The idea was for everyone to contribute something to the meal. However, more often than not, our potlucks resulted in just two staple items – lettuce and bread. We were always pressed for time, opting for whatever was quickest, and sadly, we’d end up with just lettuce and bread on the table. This scenario parallels what frequently occurs in meetings; the desire to make our voices heard leads us to grab whatever seems easier. Translating this into our learning environment, it might look like:

• Agreeing or disagreeing without adding fresh insights, essentially echoing most of what the previous speakers shared.

• Getting caught up in distractions, latching onto a point that resonated with you, and presenting it as if it were your original idea, all without acknowledging that it had been raised by someone else earlier.

What we are looking for here is more thoughtful and generative participation. This is about navigating the tensions to choose one over the other:

● Advocacy < ---------- > Inquiry
● Voice < -------- > Listening
● Repetition < ------- > Novel
● Speech < ----- > Silence

As you dive into our learning journey, pose this question to yourself: • What can I bring to the table? Whether it’s a fresh idea, an intriguing question, or a nuanced perspective on the topic at hand.

Embarking on the journey of exploration and learning is a collective responsibility. It emerges as a shared outcome, woven together by the collaborative intentions and interactions of every participant in this workshop.

Any of these practices can be easily transferred to any of your work meetings, making them more effective and relevant to all.

Multiple Perspectives

Let’s underscore the significance of recognizing that every individual brings something valuable to the table. Each member of the group possesses a unique perspective on the broader environment.

Here, it’s not about passing judgment on whether a perspective is right or wrong. Instead, the focus is on comprehending what each person sees, understanding its impact on our work, and discerning the potential implications. The key is fostering awareness and understanding, steering away from the inclination to impose our viewpoint on others.

As part of the learning process, you’ll naturally progress towards a more cohesive position over time. The aim isn’t to rush everyone onto the same page prematurely, as that could impede the potential for innovative thinking. Embrace the journey, allowing for diverse perspectives to flourish without hastening towards uniformity.

A perspective is a snapshot of a consolidated worldview captured at a particular moment. This worldview is intricately linked to our knowledge and experiences through our sense-making process. Yet, this “knowledge” can be rooted in a series of assumptions or subtly coloured by imperceptible biases, encompassing factors like numbers, thinking patterns, actions, history, and more.

Understanding that every perspective is a glimpse into what others see and experience is crucial. These practices help us stay open and engaged in ongoing dialogue, fostering adaptability in the face of a constantly changing environment.

Hamel and Zanini propose that senior executives may be hesitant to let go of established certainties, a tendency that hampers their ability to envision the future. Encouraging and fostering multiple perspectives opens up new possibilities and provides a richer array of options for decisive action.

Be curious – explore, reflect, invite, ask.

The adaptive strategy process requires you as a participant to explore beyond what you already know; for that, you are invited to “Be curious”.

What is curiosity?

Many researchers, such as Berlyne, 1954 Litman, 2005 Loewenstein, 1994, Mussel 2013a, Chang & Shih 2019 and Lievens et al 2022, often describe “Curiosity” as the innate desire to know, see, or experience serves as a powerful motivator for exploratory behaviour, information-seeking, and learning. This fundamental human trait has long been acknowledged as the driving force behind individuals’ insatiable urge to explore the unknown, acquire knowledge, and willingly embrace novelty. It catalyses the quest for understanding, propelling individuals to venture into uncharted territories, seek answers to questions, and engage in continuous learning experiences. Curiosity sparks the initial flame of exploration and sustains the flame, fostering a mindset that thrives on the thrill of discovery and the joy of acquiring new insights. Curiosity is the unwavering force that propels us on the path of lifelong learning and fuels our perpetual quest for understanding the intricacies of the world around us.

Applying curiosity during our sessions

● It means asking questions, listening for nuances, reflecting back, and expanding what you perceive, understand, or “think” you know. Zurn & Bassett remind us of the “manyness” of curiosity: its multiple manifestations, its plethora of practices, and its kindred kinds in many bodies. They describe the experience of curiosity as “… And then it happens …your mind begins to dance and weave. Collecting the bits of things that might be relevant and stitching them together. So, build the briefest of webs. This is your brain on curiosity”.

● A stance of curiosity will help the group move beyond what is known and create the conditions to question long-held organisational assumptions, for example, markets, individual points of view, etc. Over time, there is the possibility of embedding curiosity as an important value to create new ways of perceiving and thinking about your current organisational world.

● Taking some guidance again from Zunn & Bassett in this context, curiosity transcends a mere desire to know, one that could be easily satisfied with acquired knowledge, or a motivation solely focused on seeking information, which might be fulfilled with secured data. Instead, curiosity emerges as a continuous and expansive instinct, persistently pushing boundaries. It’s a force that doesn’t settle with acquiring knowledge but constantly nudges us towards the unexplored. Indeed, it’s intriguing that curiosity is not a fleeting interest but an enduring instinct that thrives on constant exploration and discovery. We shift away from the conventional pursuit of operational competitiveness, pursuing superior solutions centred on standardization, operational efficiency, and meticulous risk management.

● Additional research (Harrison et al., 2011) demonstrates that employees’ work curiosity enables them to connect cues signalling novelty, improving situational interpretations and superior problem-identification skills in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty.

Unearth Treasures in Every Interaction: Discover “Gold Nuggets” Even in the Mundane!

We delve into the metaphorical quest for “gold nuggets” during our time together. Imagine every interaction as a potential treasure trove of learning opportunities. In the words of Gary Klein, these interactions provide us with chances to unearth insights—a transformative inner process that leads to a new set of beliefs.

Throughout our sessions, you will encounter diverse ideas and approaches, some familiar and some entirely novel. Engage with the diversity of responses from fellow participants, each contributing to a rich tapestry of points of view (POVs), experiences, and ideas. As you navigate through this sea of information, you’ll begin to discern new threads, forming a unique blend, you will discover what is your own “mixology.”

This sensemaking journey goes beyond mere knowledge acquisition; it involves a profound shift in how you perceive and think about things. Klein emphasizes that we are not just acquiring information but actively changing our perspectives and making sense of conflicting and confusing data.

The Process

Just like the hands-on process of mining for gold nuggets involves exploration, prospecting, and mining, our journey together demands active engagement with your environment—the session. Just as a miner carefully sifts through dirt and rocks, you, too, will navigate your context, ensuring that no valuable perspectives or information are dismissed too hastily.

Resist the temptation to discard alternative points of view or seemingly irrelevant information, for hidden gems often reveal themselves over time in the world of exploration. Even when faced with disagreement, seize the opportunity to gain fresh insights into others’ perspectives. These interactions aren’t just about discovering external truths; they’re also a mirror reflecting your own biases and preferences. Embrace the chance to uncover aspects of yourself that may have remained undiscovered until now.

Get ready to dig deep, challenge assumptions, and unearth the nuggets of knowledge beneath the surface. In this active engagement, you’ll discover the richness of diverse viewpoints and uncover layers of self-awareness that contribute to your personal and intellectual growth.

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Case Study: What are we looking at?

Christian Madsbjerg shares a compelling narrative about collaborating with one of Scandinavia’s premier annuity and insurance companies. This company faced a daunting challenge: a 10% annual customer loss, predominantly within the 55-year-old demographic. To grasp the context, it’s crucial to understand that an annuity, akin to a pension fund, serves as an income source during retirement. While a pension plan is typically established and contributed to by an employer, an annuity is a financial product offered by insurance companies. It involves taking a portion of the client’s money over several decades, offering a gradual payout in return—a dynamic that forms the crux of this case.

What piqued Madsbjerg’s interest and that of his team was the prominent emphasis on logic and reason within the company. The leadership team employed a unique language, encapsulated in acronyms like PSN (Personal Security Numbers) for customers, showcasing a distinctive approach to communication.

Beyond the numerical dialogue with clients, the company leaned heavily on conveying messages through its marketing materials. These materials, depicting aging through images of grey-haired individuals biking or strolling along the beach, crafted a narrative of the Scandinavian ideal of “heaven” – a vision of health, happiness, and style. The fusion of rationality and this picturesque representation painted a compelling picture in their minds.

During their research, it became evident that neither financial data nor images resonated with clients. The realization struck that there was a lack of authentic connection with the complex, non-linear reality of aging. This prompted a shift in their research focus, transitioning from merely retaining those aged 55 and over to exploring aging as a multifaceted experience.

The insights gained from their exploration of aging opened up a realm of possibilities. It spurred a reconsideration of their conversations—from a focus on selling annuities to providing genuine financial advice. Previously, the organization dedicated approximately 95% of its time to customer sales acquisitions, catering even to 22-year-olds. However, armed with a newfound understanding, they redirected their efforts to connect with older customers seeking assistance.

The outcome was remarkable. In the two years following the study, the organization successfully reduced attrition numbers by an impressive 80%. This shift not only transformed their approach but also solidified the impact of acknowledging and authentically engaging with the diverse experiences of aging.

What conditions would be beneficial for your organization to examine its current challenges from a different perspective?

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

Phase 1

First, on your own, think about which of these practices (conditions) attracts you the most and which of them you may find more challenging.

Phase 2

In pairs, share the time to explore with one another what you have discovered for yourself. Be prepared to share with other teams.

● What surprised you? What are the similarities and differences between your practices (conditions)?

● In your current system, which of these practices exist? Which are absent?

● How can you support each other to work with these new practices?

Phase 2

● Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to start seeing what patterns exist in your system.

Phase 3

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge or opportunity. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 4: Purpose Matters

Many private and public organisations utilize their strategic plans to highlight organizational priorities, overarching goals, and metrics for a defined period—be it a year, two years, five years, etc. Substantial investments of time and money are dedicated to effectively communicating and implementing these strategies.

There is a common assumption that the strategy is robust, given its development by top-tier teams. The belief is that cascading the strategy acts like an “overarching super glue,” binding employees together to achieve predefined objectives and metrics collectively.

The metaphor of superglue is fitting in this context. Supporters of this perspective believe that much like traditional superglue, the strategy operates discreetly in the background, effectively holding everything together. It acts as a cohesive force, promoting unity and cohesion among the diverse components of the organization.

If this were unequivocally true, one might expect top Fortune 500 companies to thrive consistently. With their abundant resources, ability to attract the best talent, and capacity to roll out and implement a foolproof strategy, sustained success would seem assured.

As of November 16, 2023, WatchMyCompetitor (WMC), an AI-powered competitive intelligence platform, reveals a stark reality: over 52% of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 in 2003 no longer exist today. This significant turnover underscores the dynamic nature of the business landscape.

In 2016, Stephanie Garrelli drew attention to a McKinsey study, pointing out that the average lifespan of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 had plummeted from 61 years in 1958 to a mere 18 years. Garelli attributed these dramatic changes to organizations functioning as closed systems, where increasing scale and size introduced complexities that became harder to manage. Such companies often dedicate more time to internal management than to serving their clients.

It is worth noting that success can breed a certain arrogance, causing companies to become insular and lose sight of the broader context. This trend often overemphasises control and measurement, creating a false sense of stability. In this ever-evolving business environment, adaptability and a keen awareness of external dynamics are crucial for sustained success.

It’s key to recognize that various subsystems operate across multiple levels, and they possess the potential to impact each other in unpredictable ways. Let us delve into how purpose functions as a “point attractor” or magnet, establishing a set of conditions that demand sensitivity, diverse manoeuvres, experimentation, and decisive action. Think of it as steering a car—adaptability is key, requiring a careful navigation of the organization.

Just like driving a car, adaptive strategies acknowledge the necessity of steering the organization with precision and attentiveness, responding adeptly to ever-changing conditions. Understanding how purpose acts as a guiding force underscores the importance of approaching organizational dynamics with agility and a nuanced understanding of the interconnected subsystems.

Gaining Perspective from the Summit:

Embracing Obliquity in Strategic Planning

When crafting strategic plans, it is crucial to assume a clear understanding of the context and stakeholders involved. The individuals involved in the planning process dedicate significant time to provide clarity by articulating the ‘what’ and ‘how’ to the best extent possible. While strategies may undergo occasional revisions, the underlying assumptions often remain unchanged. This traditional approach worked effectively in a less interconnected world with fewer players, consistent consumers or users, and minimal disruptions.

In 2010, economist John Kay introduced the concept of “Obliquity” in his book, observing that complex organizational objectives are best achieved indirectly. He noted that these objectives are often imprecisely defined, comprising elements that may not seamlessly align. Kay advocates for an experimental and discovery-driven approach to understanding and achieving such objectives. Oblique approaches, he argued, might necessitate taking a step backward to move forward.

Kay illustrated his point with various examples, attributing the abandonment of oblique approaches in the 20th century to technological advancements. This era saw a shift towards the incremental modification of long-accepted conventions, replacing the traditional reliance on experimentation and innovation.

This shift is evident in modern urban landscapes where efficiency and cost considerations result in uniform building designs. Contrasting this are innovative approaches seen in places like Singapore or architectural marvels like Notre Dame in Paris, emphasizing the impact of forsaking oblique strategies in favour of conventional and incremental modifications.

Consider the notion of “imprecisely defined” objectives when delving into the realm of initiating operations in new markets. A vivid example is shared by Christian Madsbjerg, who recounted his consulting stint with Ford in the early 2010s. Ford aimed to boost sales of luxury cars like the Lincoln brand in India. However, the conventional strategy of copying existing practices and transplanting them into the Indian market proved ineffective.

Faced with this challenge, the company had to recalibrate its approach, necessitating a step back to comprehend the users’ experiences and the intricacies of their system. An enlightening revelation emerged during this process: users in India spent a mere 5% of their time actually driving the car, with the majority of this time trapped in traffic. The vehicle, it turned out, functioned primarily as a mobile office and entertainment hub.

This realization prompted a paradigm shift. Before diving into discussions about marketing plans or market share, Ford recognized the imperative of tailoring the interior specifications of the car to meet these specific user needs. This case underscores the significance of understanding user experiences and system dynamics before formulating strategies, emphasizing the essence of holding the ways we think of achieving a goal lightly when adapting to diverse markets.

Some well-known yet less publicized instances illustrating the pitfalls of linear objectives can be found in Boeing’s corporate history. According to Collins and Porras, from 1945 to 1968, Boeing’s overarching mission was to “eat, breathe, and sleep the world of aeronautics.” This oblique approach catapulted Boeing into a dominant position in the civil aviation landscape by the early ’90s, showcasing remarkable success.

However, a pivotal shift occurred in 1997 with the merger of McDonald Douglas and Boeing, ushering in a new CEO, Phil Condit. Condit veered away from the oblique strategy that thrived on “meeting challenges of supreme magnitude” to embrace a “value-based environment” where unit cost, return on investment, and shareholder returns took centre stage. The market responded favourably to this direct approach, witnessing a surge in stock prices from thirty-two dollars to fifty-nine dollars.

Unfortunately, the subsequent six years saw a series of decisions driven solely by the bottom line. These decisions included relocating the headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, divesting from projects deemed risky, and heavily relying on government contracts. The consequences were disastrous, culminating in Condit’s forced resignation in December 2003, with the stock plummeting to thirty-four dollars—nearly revisiting 1997 levels.

This cautionary tale highlights how a direct approach while appearing to enhance certainty, can lead to overlooking essential questions and considerations. It is a stark reminder that a myopic focus and thinking one has all the answers may blind us to the emerging array of relevant questions that demand attention and anticipation.

Gaining Perspective from the Organisational Cluster:

Process Losses in Strategic Planning

Numerous strategic planning processes assume that those executing the strategy are “idealized rational actors” motivated by economic logic. Nevertheless, researchers emphasize the harsh reality that most organizations diverge from these economic expectations. Instead, they navigate the intricate and convoluted terrain of daily decision-making processes, responding to pressures in their social and symbolic environment. This symbolic environment is shaped by the group’s values, such as personal relationships, profit, and the pursuit of victory. Understanding this dynamic landscape is crucial for effective strategic planning.

To delve into this further, let us explore organizational clusters, where specialization, work domains, geography, or hierarchical positions like departments and teams confine individuals. Each of these groups often harbours distinct perspectives on the current context, leading to clashes in views. Moreover, the desires of different groups may be in conflict, forcing some systems to operate sub-optimally to support the success of another function. This tension is particularly noticeable in conflicts between production and marketing or marketing and sales, often fuelled by performance bonus systems that prioritize individual parts over the broader whole.

Zooming in on the team level, renowned researcher Richard Hackman notes that teams frequently fail to reach their full potential. It is not uncommon for the best individual within a team to outshine the collective performance. This suboptimal outcome is attributed to “process loss,” where actual performance falls short of potential due to various factors. Even highly talented teams composed of well-intentioned individuals can make sub-optimal decisions, with groupthink serving as an example of how external influences impact decision-making. Additionally, information and interest asymmetry among team members can act as a point attractor, potentially pushing the team toward competition avoidance rather than collaborative negotiation if not addressed early on.

Unpacking these assumptions is crucial, as they exert a profound influence on the overall strategy implementation. Understanding the intricacies of organizational dynamics, team functioning, and the nuances of decision-making processes is essential for crafting strategies that align with the complex realities of how organizations operate.

Gaining Perspective from the Individual Level:

Messages loss in translation

Many assume that when people arrive at work, they neatly compartmentalize their personal lives, leaving everything unrelated to work outside the confines of their expected working hours. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth; even the most focused individuals are influenced by internal and external factors such as family, colleagues, the broader context, and the extended societal landscape.

At every organizational level, there is an expectation for employees to faithfully execute the chosen strategy, minimizing any deviation from the plan. Traditionally, much emphasis has been placed on leaders and managers when it comes to understanding and implementing the strategy.

However, researchers Kopaneva and Sias introduce a fresh perspective through the “Communicative Constitution of Organizations” (CCO) theory. This perspective emphasizes a crucial point –not just leaders but every employee who plays a role in shaping and contributing to the collective understanding of what their organization represents and where it is headed.

Every employee carries a wealth of diverse perspectives, often left unexplored and unnoticed on the corporate radar. At the core of the Communicative Constitution of Organizations (CCO) perspective is the idea that organizations come into existence through communication. It recognizes a multitude of different logics and encourages an ongoing process of co-orientation.

Co-orientation is the mechanism through which communities of practice establish relationships centred around a shared goal while acknowledging diverse perspectives. The relevance of this dynamic becomes apparent when it scales up to the overall organizational level, especially when employees’ and managers’/leaders’ views diverge. This can result in a phenomenon known as “translation-detachment.”

As decision-makers and strategy implementers navigate their day-to-day activities, a sense of detachment from the broader organizational purpose may emerge. This detachment can lead to suboptimal or adverse execution, such as perceiving the work as just another task or getting caught in a mental loop, counting down the hours until the end of the day. The ultimate goal is to cultivate conditions of “translation congruency,” ensuring alignment and understanding at all levels of the organization.

Kapaneva’s and Sias’s research reveals notable insights, particularly emphasizing how managers and leaders perceive the organization in broader terms, influencing their decision-making processes. Consider this scenario: your organization’s strategy includes increased community outreach. However, employees who view the organization solely as a customer service provider might find this aspect burdensome. It becomes crucial to provide context for the broader aspects of the strategy to ensure understanding and alignment.

Another critical aspect the research highlights is the employee’s perception of their impact within the organization. If employees feel less important and believe that no one is paying attention or cares about their contributions, there is an increased risk of things going awry. We are familiar with the ripple effects of substandard service or information leakage and the attitude of “who cares.” Therefore, it is essential to underscore the significance of every role within the organization. Recognizing and emphasizing the relevance of each role not only creates meaning but also fosters congruence at all levels of the organization.

Purpose and Inner Complexity

In many cases, this internal purpose is unconscious or a vague afterthought and, more often than not, only becomes self-evident when self-interest-guided actions have a catastrophic impact on the organisation.

As happened with the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995. Barings was a merchant bank that was founded in 1762. It was known for its traditional banking services, investment banking, and global financial management. Thriving for over two centuries, with some minor hiccups along the way, the bank was not sensitive to the small changes made by Nick Leeson. Nick Leeson was a young and successful derivatives trader until he became unemployed. Meanwhile, he appeared to be making money, and few questions were asked. The former derivatives trader was relentless in his pursuit of hiding mistakes and personal enrichment. He made fraudulent, unauthorised, speculative trades that brought down the Queen’s banker. He made approximately $1.3 billion in unauthorized trades.

A vivid and recent illustration of how uncharted personal motivations can lead individuals astray comes from the case of Jack Texeira. In 2023, Texeira faced six charges related to the retention and transmission of classified information. At the time, he served in the US Air Force, holding the position of a cyber defence operations journeyman within the Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing—a role that is considered relatively low-ranking.

As reported by the BBC, Texeira faced accusations of disclosing sensitive documents related to the war in Ukraine and other matters. Allegedly, he engaged in these activities to garner admiration from his friends within the Discord group, where he dedicated a significant portion of his time. This conduct starkly contradicted the principles upheld by the US Air Force, which include values like integrity first, service before self, and a commitment to excellence in all endeavours.

Differing from Leeson, Texeira held a less visible role, serving as a member of a three-person overnight crew with minimal supervision. His main responsibilities included answering phones and monitoring heating and air conditioning systems. Despite the seemingly routine nature of his duties, the consequences of his actions proved damaging to both the institution and the security of personnel engaged in those operations.

A compelling illustration of the importance of purpose is evident in Honda’s journey when their initial strategy to introduce larger bikes (250cc and 305cc) failed in the US. Unexpectedly, a new market unfolded when some Honda employees, using smaller bikes for personal rides, caught the attention of Sears and other private consumers. Initially hesitant, Honda eventually heeded the advice of their on-the-ground employees, recognizing the potential entry into this market. Consequently, they began selling their 50cc bikes, marking a triumphant success in the US.

Had Honda’s decision-makers viewed their purpose solely as strategy implementation rather than perceiving strategy as an opportunity for creation, they might have missed the market signals and failed to seize this unexpected and lucrative opportunity.

Understanding your purpose, roles, and how they interact with others is a crucial differentiator for sustainable strategic success.

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Case Study: An Unknown Hero

Wikipedia recounts the remarkable story of an unsung hero named Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov. He was thrust into a situation of immense ambiguity and complexity, where his ability to discern the wisest course of action was crucial.

The incident unfolded during a period of intense tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. According to reports from both the CIA and senior KGB officers, by May 1981, Soviet leaders, gripped by historical analogies to the 1941 German invasion and fuelled by Reaganite rhetoric, believed that the United States was clandestinely preparing a nuclear assault on the USSR. In response, they initiated Operation RYaN, which involved monitoring personnel abroad who could execute such an attack, with the aim of pre-empting it or ensuring mutually assured destruction.

Fast forward to September 26, 1983, just three weeks after the Soviet military had downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007. Petrov, an engineer in the Soviet Air Defence Forces, was on duty at the command centre for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system detected a missile launch from the United States, followed by potentially five more.

Despite the protocol demanding immediate notification of superiors, Petrov harboured suspicions about the veracity of these missile warnings. Opting to wait for further evidence, none of which materialized, he refrained from escalating the alert as per protocol. This fateful decision likely averted a catastrophic retaliatory nuclear strike against the United States and its NATO allies, potentially sparking a devastating global conflict.

In contravention of Soviet military protocol, Petrov’s subsequent defiance of orders is credited with preventing a misguided nuclear retaliation that could have triggered a cataclysmic war, resulting in an unthinkable loss of life. An investigation later confirmed the malfunction of the satellite warning system. Petrov’s actions on that day earned him the moniker of “the man who saved the world.”

This case vividly demonstrates that individuals within organizations, at any given moment, hold the power to make decisions that bear immense consequences for the entities they represent. In this instance, the critical decision involved executing orders within a complex context and navigating the delicate balance of ensuring national security while adhering to established protocols.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

In pairs, bring to mind your current organizational strategy. Be prepared to share with other teams.

Phase 1

● How linear (direct) or indirect (oblique) do you think it is? What reference or evidence do you have? What do you think is its impact on the organization?

● At the cluster level (departments and teams), What are the pressures the strategy encounters against the inner group’s values and preferences? Where does the stolen focus go?

● In you, how is the current strategy translating to your inner system – detached or congruent? Share with your partner a few thoughts about why this may be happening.

● How has all that you have heard may impact strategy implementation in your area of work?

Phase 2

● Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to start seeing what patterns exist in your system.

Phase 3

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 5: Strategic Contribution

In any organization, regardless of one’s position within the hierarchy, there is a chance to contribute not just to executing the strategy but also to identifying potential shifts, improvements, or risks that need mitigation. Each level in the hierarchy offers a unique perspective, yet each perspective comes with its own blind spots. These blind spots become apparent when viewed from different levels, compounded by the diverse ways individuals interpret and make sense of information, shaping their reality.

Consider a scenario: while the sales team celebrates a successful quarter, the distribution department notices a concerning trend of increasing returns on a new product, attributing it to technical malfunctions rather than changing customer preferences. The crucial question is how one responds to such observations: wait for the monthly report, immediately flag the issue, or disregard it as irrelevant. Similar instances occur across all levels of an organization.

Your foundational beliefs play a pivotal role in how you seize opportunities, even when they may appear insignificant at first glance. Keep in mind that within the complexity framework, minor shifts have the power to accumulate and spark substantial changes within the system. Within each micro-environment, be it a team, department, or unit, conditions are set—either consciously or unconsciously—that either amplify or dampen contributions.

Simultaneously, every individual possesses the potential to make meaningful contributions, irrespective of the scale or perceived significance of their actions. Recognizing and embracing this potential can lead to a collective effect, where seemingly small efforts can ignite significant positive transformations within the larger organizational landscape.

What is a strategic contribution?

Let us begin by clarifying what contribution entails. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is the role played by a person or thing in achieving a result or aiding progress.

In a broader, more conventional sense, strategic contribution denotes the substantial influence or value a project, management process, or employee’s actions can exert on an organization’s fundamental long-term objectives, vision, and core principles. This term encompasses the critical role different components play in propelling the organization toward its strategic aims.

In traditional evaluations of strategic contribution, emphasis is often placed on demonstrating a clear intent that highlights a linear relationship between cause and effect. This is typically measured through alignment, where activities or projects are pursued to achieve outcomes like increasing customer numbers.

In a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) world, where events unfold unpredictably and non-linearly, anticipating all potential scenarios is impossible. It is important to remember that rigidly adhering to predefined strategic goals may prove inadequate for navigating today’s complex landscape.

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This brief account that follows underscores the dynamic and open nature of organizational systems. In February 2022, the strategies of numerous companies operating in Russia and Ukraine underwent an unexpected shift due to a geopolitical event that had not been factored into their plans just a month prior.

Following the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, international companies in Russia found themselves not only grappling with challenges but also facing intense pressure from stakeholders to withdraw from the country. Many publicly announced the closure of their operations and an immediate exit. However, the reality proved more complex; as anticipated, the Russian government erected numerous obstacles to prevent a swift departure.

According to data from the Kyiv School of Economics, out of the 1,361 Western companies with Russian subsidiaries at the onset of the full-scale invasion, only 241 (17%) have fully exited Russia. Remarkably, the remaining Western companies contributed to a staggering $136 billion in revenues during 2022, inadvertently assisting the Kremlin in financing the war in Ukraine. This intricate scenario highlights the intricate interplay between corporate decisions, geopolitical events, and the unexpected consequences that can arise in the ever-evolving landscape of international/global business.

The strategic contributions of individuals within these organizations underwent a rapid transformation within mere hours. The primary objective was minimising organizational losses while delicately balancing relations with the Russian state and ensuring optimal outcomes for all extended stakeholders. This swift pivot underscored the dynamic nature of decision-making in response to unforeseen geopolitical events, highlighting the delicate balance required to navigate complex situations and safeguard the interests of the organization and its broader community.

Similar examples abound recently, ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to climate-related natural disasters and man-made crises. What sets these events apart is their unplanned nature, serving as stark reminders of the unpredictable challenges that organizations must navigate in an ever-changing world.

In any organization, regardless of one’s position within the hierarchy, there is a chance to contribute not just to executing the strategy but also to identifying potential shifts, improvements, or risks that need mitigation. Each level in the hierarchy offers a unique perspective, yet each perspective comes with its own blind spots. These blind spots become apparent when viewed from different levels, compounded by the diverse ways individuals interpret and make sense of information, shaping their reality.

Consider a scenario: while the sales team celebrates a successful quarter, the distribution department notices a concerning trend of increasing returns on a new product, attributing it to technical malfunctions rather than changing customer preferences. The crucial question is how one responds to such observations: wait for the monthly report, immediately flag the issue, or disregard it as irrelevant. Similar instances occur across all levels of an organization.

Your foundational beliefs play a pivotal role in how you seize opportunities, even when they may appear insignificant at first glance. Keep in mind that within the complexity framework, minor shifts have the power to accumulate and spark substantial changes within the system. Within each micro-environment, be it a team, department, or unit; conditions are set—either consciously or unconsciously—that either amplifies or dampen contributions.

Simultaneously, every individual possesses the potential to make meaningful contributions, irrespective of the scale or perceived significance of their actions. Recognizing and embracing this potential can lead to a collective effect, where seemingly small efforts contribute to significant positive transformations within the larger organizational landscape.

Let us begin by clarifying what contribution entails. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is the role played by a person or thing in achieving a result or aiding progress.

In a broader, more conventional sense, strategic contribution denotes the substantial influence or value a project, management process, or employee’s actions can exert on an organization’s fundamental long-term objectives, vision, and core principles. This term encompasses the critical role different components play in propelling the organization toward its strategic aims.

In a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) world, where events are unpredictable and non-linear, anticipating every scenario is impossible. Therefore, strictly following predefined strategic goals may not be sufficient to manage today’s complex environment.

Here are examples illustrating how strategic contributions manifest in various sectors:

Healthcare Industry:

● Improving patient outcomes
● reducing healthcare costs,
● enhancing the patient experience through innovative technologies, personalized care, and preventive measures.

IT Industry:

● Developing new software, hardware, or services that meet customer needs.
● Improving cybersecurity measures and enhancing data analytics capabilities.

Construction Industry:

● Streamlining project management processes.
● Reducing construction time and costs.
● Enhancing safety and sustainability practices.
● Making strategic decisions such as declining a project.

Finance Industry:

● Developing new financial products.
● Improving risk management practices.
● Enhancing customer experience through digital channels.
● Executing decisions like selling off a stock or exiting a particular market.

Retail Industry:

● Improving supply chain management.
● Enhancing customer experience through omnichannel strategies.
● Developing new products that align with customer needs.

Strategic contributions in each sector are multifaceted and involve a range of initiatives, from innovation and efficiency improvements to risk management and market decisions.

Reflect: Take a moment to ponder and note a couple of strategic contributions highly valued in your industry. These insights will be part of an exercise at the end of this section, offering a personalized touch to our exploration. Your unique perspectives will enrich our discussion.

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Case Study: Post It-Notes, the blend behind the success.

The tale of 3M’s Post-It Notes often serves as an illustrative example of innovation—finding an unexpected opportunity despite not meeting the initial objective. Interestingly, this invention stemmed from an unsuccessful attempt to create a strong adhesive. Viewed through a linear lens, it might be considered an unsuccessful execution. However, the Post-It Notes story showcases the power of recognizing and capitalizing on emergent possibilities, ultimately turning what seemed like a failure into a groundbreaking success.

Organizational policies, like the “15% rule,” set the stage and instil an innovation mindset, but they do not alone bring forth new products or services. Surprisingly, the Post-It Note, despite success, took around 12 years to launch—a timeline unconventional for its category. Launched on April 6, 1980, it swiftly became a ubiquitous office supply, highlighting the perseverance needed from concept to widespread adoption.

Several factors contributed to the extended timeline from discovery to the public release of the Post-It Note, and one key reason lies in the non-linear nature of the process. The journey towards becoming a “viable product” did not follow a straightforward cause-and-effect trajectory. Even the inventor had not initially perceived the obvious path, making it a complex and non-obvious evolution. This underlines the challenge of navigating unconventional routes in the innovation process, defying expectations of a linear progression.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

● Emergent Purpose: The genesis of the Post-it Note was serendipitous. In 1968, Dr Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, aimed to develop a super-strong adhesive but stumbled upon a weak, pressure-sensitive adhesive known as acrylate copolymer microspheres. This unexpected discovery, lightweight and easily removable, paved the way for creating the Post-it Note.

● Emergent Experimentation and Collective Support: Dr Silver shared his discovery with the team, sparking collective experimentation. The concept’s potential emerged as they used adhesive notes for office communication. Art Fry exclaimed, “It is not just a bookmark; it is a new way to communicate.” This highlights how collective support and experimentation unveiled the Post-it Note’s broader impact. Clear as Mud: Achieving clarity (linear thinking) became a challenge for other organizational functions tasked with identifying a profitable application for the technology.

Here are a few lesser-discussed factors crucial for garnering the internal support necessary to release a product to the public:

● Despite initial struggles among Dr Silver’s colleagues at 3M to identify a profitable application for the technology, his persistence spanned a five-year period to bring his innovation to fruition.

● Dr Silver and his colleague Art Fry initiated what could be termed a grassroots marketing experiment by distributing the product within 3M for over a year. They then embarked on a door-to-door campaign, visiting banks and offices to distribute the product and encourage people to try it.

● The impact of these grassroots efforts underscored the product’s potential and ultimately paved the way for the development and widespread adoption of the Post-it Note. Furthermore, the product’s unique feature, enabling customers to attach notes to documents they sent to others, sparked curiosity among recipients, contributing significantly to its success.

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Palette for strategic contribution

Navigating the intricate landscape of strategic contribution can be likened to the art of mixology, where diverse elements combine to create a harmonious and impactful concoction. In the mixology of strategic contribution, individuals blend their unique skills, insights, and experiences to craft solutions that elevate organizational goals. Just as a skilled mixologist carefully selects and combines ingredients, employees strategically contribute by aligning their efforts with long-term objectives, vision, and values. The art lies in balancing various factors, adapting to changes, and recognizing that the sum of individual contributions can be greater than its parts. Embracing this mixology mindset in the workplace fosters innovation, collaboration, and a concoction of strategic elements that can leave a lasting imprint on the success of an organization.

Rather than providing an exhaustive list, let us focus on a few key factors to consider when crafting a strategic contribution. Your approach should be tailored to your context, your role, the influence you wield, and other intrapersonal factors within your control. By homing in on these considerations, you can better understand how to leverage your unique position and resources to make a meaningful impact aligned with organizational goals. This approach encourages thoughtful reflection and strategic action, empowering you to maximize your contribution effectively.

At the broader environmental level, staying informed about developments within your industry and larger societal trends is crucial. In our interconnected world, dismissing or assuming immunity from global shifts is unwise. Keep a vigilant eye on emerging trends, which could manifest in various forms, including online movements like protests against popular platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. Remaining attuned to these dynamics ensures a proactive and informed approach to strategic decision-making in response to evolving trends.

At the organisational/ cluster level:

● Grasp your organization’s aspirations, encompassing immediate goals and long-term visions and objectives. If you have been there for over a year, try to understand how those aspirations may have changed over time.

● Reflect on the previous year’s strategy and identify any gaps. Question the assumptions underlying the plan and consider what lessons can be gleaned. Ask yourself: Would you make the same choices again or approach things differently? This exercise can be applied to any scale, from a localized work plan to the broader organizational strategy, if accessible. It illuminates adjacent possibilities and informs strategic refinement for the future.

● Expand your engagement to include a diverse network beyond your expertise. Discover the challenges others face and explore the opportunities they perceive. This broader perspective can unveil potential pain points and untapped opportunities that might not be apparent within your immediate domain.

● Observe the workflow and pose questions: Where does it encounter obstacles? Where does it effortlessly progress? Where could improvements be made? Consider how certain aspects could be streamlined or even eliminated altogether and explore innovative alternatives.

At a personal level

● Know What You Want: Geoffrey Bellman encourages us to delve deeper into our desires. Clarity within yourself focuses your time and energy and enables you to craft and articulate a more compelling message within your organization. This clarity lays the groundwork for more effective agreements to materialize.

● Autonomy and Homonomy: Balancing Your Needs with Others’: Remember, your decisions do not happen in a vacuum and can affect others. Homonomy reflects the internal struggle between personal control and belonging to a larger group. This ongoing tension requires management rather than resolution. Maintaining an ongoing dialogue about how these desires evolve over time is crucial. This includes discussions about project preferences, time commitments, workload distribution, feedback expectations, etc.

● Courage: In this context, courage is defined as the willingness and ability of individuals to take bold and principled actions, even in the face of uncertainty, risk, or potential adversity. Consider taking calculated risks and stepping into new territories that might feel outside your comfort zone—whether it is proposing innovative ideas or addressing observed issues that have not been raised before. Embracing such bold actions can pave the way for meaningful change and progress.

Perseverance is the unwavering commitment to pursuing goals despite encountering challenges, setbacks, or obstacles. It encompasses the determination to overcome difficulties, learn from failures, and strive for long-term success. This quality is essential for navigating complex projects, overcoming barriers, and achieving sustained success in today’s dynamic and competitive professional landscape. Additionally, managing disappointment is crucial, requiring a positive outlook and sustained motivation in the face of less-than-ideal outcomes. Building relationships is key to sustaining perseverance, as it fosters a shared objective and support system. Furthermore, setbacks are pivotal learning opportunities, prompting individuals to glean insights, adapt, and emerge stronger from adversity.

● Paying attention and cultivating curiosity are intertwined elements shaping your connection with the environment. Seek out the novel and the elements that appear unconventional, and nurture curiosity about their significance. Maintain an open mind and actively foster a genuine desire to explore and understand, even in familiar surroundings. Engage with individuals holding diverse perspectives, promote meaningful dialogues, and endeavour to unearth the valuable insights—the gold dust—present in every interaction.

Tailoring your strategic contribution requires a personalized mixology shaped by your organizational context and aspirations. Consider the journey of Dr Silver at 3M – it took him five years to initiate and another seven to launch his innovation. While the dollar impact of his contribution remains unquantified, Post-it Notes have undeniably been a triumph for 3M. Holding a substantial market share in the global Post-It & Sticky Notes market, the brand boasts estimated annual sales of around $1 billion, underscoring the enduring success of this strategic venture.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

On your own, bring to something that you think you are uniquely positioned to contribute to your team and organisation. Be prepared to share with one other person.

Phase 1

● Share your findings with the other person. What do you think is its impact on the organization? What other resources would you need to make it happen?

● If you have not acted, reflect and share what may have prevented you from offering or sharing this contribution and what other factors may have encouraged you to do this sooner.

Phase 2

● Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to start seeing what patterns exist in your system.

Phase 3

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 6: Your context

What is context? For the purpose of Adaptive Strategy, we refer to the context as all the things happening in the environment (internal and external) at this moment. We will interchange the word’s context and reality of the words to describe what organisational members pay attention to and what they deem may influence their enterprise or organisation.

The External Environment

In many cases, the hardest thing to agree on is what is happening now, understanding the current reality for your organisation in the wider extended environment and within the organisation. It is customary to stay the course with methods organisations may have used in the past, such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL, and, more recently, Data Mining.

These methods have been widely adopted as they focus our attention on the context/ environment in particular ways. For example, by using PESTEL, we seek to make connections between what is happening in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal realms. These categories (e.g. political) have been preselected, and they are foreseen to impact the organisation accompanied by a format that is easy to follow. Another standard tool is SWOT Analysis, which consists of assessing a business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, supporting identifying internal and external factors that are promising or adverse for achieving objectives.

Part of the conundrum with over-reliance on these frameworks is that they give organisations a false sense that when using these tools and operating under this logic: “we got the picture” and “now we now know exactly what to do”, growing in confidence and sense of certainty. We pay less attention to what is happening “in between” these categories and what else may be emerging that would be unforeseen at this point in time. Hence, we may filter out the weaker signals of the external extended environment or our internal one because what we see does not fit those neat categories. Recall the discussion of what happened to the typewriter market in the previous course manual.

The Internal Questions that Guide Us

In Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit,” he recounts the tale of a US Army major stationed in Kufa, Iraq. We share this story to demonstrate how the major skilfully interpreted his context, gaining profound insights into the factors that incited riots in the city. By deciphering these triggers, he hoped to forestall future outbreaks. His curious questions weren’t geared towards quelling unrest but averting it altogether.

The Major first set out to understand by observing patterns in drone footage of Iraqi towns. He noticed that riots often followed a specific sequence of events: a small crowd gathering, angry slogans being chanted, spectators arriving, and food vendors setting up. To break this chain of events, the major requested the local police to keep food vendors out of the plazas where crowds typically gathered. This simple intervention disrupted the routine cue of food availability, leading to a significant change in behaviour as people dispersed when hungry, ultimately preventing the riot.

In this instance, while the context remained constant, a shift in the guiding questions empowered the major to identify and disrupt the conditions triggering the riots.

Before delving into your examination of the context, it’s valuable to reflect on the types of questions guiding your exploration. Then, recognise the significance of formulating thoughtful questions that have the potential to steer you and your colleagues towards different outcomes as you navigate through them.

Slow Moving Variables

Something that we may find surprising, unexpected, and confusing at times is spotting slow, tiny-moving context variables that seem noticeable only in hindsight. Scientists Levin and Holling found that what was most likely to cause significant shifts in a system weren’t changes in fast variables but shifts in slow ones. Here, the difference is in the “broad time scales” in which these systems operate. They give examples of dead trees in a forest that have played a role in its ecology for decades.

Spotting these subtle shifts in the environment is most effectively done through collaboration and teamwork. Each individual brings a unique perspective, allowing us to view the context from various angles. Our goal is not to seek a singular truth but to listen attentively to the emerging changes and grasp their significance for us and our organisations. This approach enables us to take proactive steps in response to these changes.

As you delve into the case study, you’ll observe the gradual shifts occurring within the fashion industry. Alongside these changes, emerging perspectives like timeless fashion and thrifting strive to align with the ethos of sustainable practices, fostering coherence in the evolving landscape.

In the fashion industry, sustainable manufacturing emerged long before gaining widespread attention in the early 2000s. Established in 1973, Patagonia is a notable trailblazer known for its sustainable adventure clothing and social responsibility initiatives starting in the mid-1990s. This early commitment set a precedent, inspiring other companies to prioritise eco-friendly practices. By the early 2000s, the fashion landscape saw a pivotal moment. Brands like Timberland issued corporate social responsibility reports in 2002 highlighting transparency and accountability. This marked a significant shift, with the industry increasingly addressing environmental and social concerns associated with clothing production and disposal.

Since then, sustainability has become a focal point across the fashion sector. Consumers, businesses, and regulatory bodies prioritise environmentally and socially responsible practices, signalling a transformative journey towards a sustainable future. Though some brands integrate recycled materials or achieve carbon neutrality, doubts linger about their sustainability. The complex social and environmental issues within the fashion supply chain challenge consumers’ ability to discern genuinely sustainable brands.

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Case Study: The Slowing Down of Aesthetic Trends

The evolution of fashion aesthetics has undergone a subtle shift over time. While items from bygone eras were deemed vintage in the past, today’s fashion scene witnesses a more gradual evolution of style and design. Since the early 2000s, the rise of timeless fashion and thrifting has left an indelible mark on how clothing is conceived, produced, and sold. This shift is about aesthetics, sustainability, and consumer consciousness.

It’s imperative to recognise the profound economic impact of the fashion industry. In 2023, the global fashion sector boasted a staggering valuation of approximately $2.5 trillion, sustaining livelihoods for over 60 million individuals worldwide.

This fusion of aesthetics, sustainability, and economic importance highlights fashion’s dynamic role. Fraquoh and Franchomme notice a notable slowdown, particularly in fashion, echoing a broader cultural shift towards sustainability, mindfulness, and authenticity.

The significant impact of “Timeless Fashion and Thrifting has been on:

● Sustainability: Embracing timeless fashion and thrifting encourages sustainable consumption, reducing textile waste and environmental harm caused by fast fashion.
● Quality Craftsmanship: Timeless fashion prioritises well-made, durable garments, promoting longevity over disposable trends and supporting the slow fashion movement.
● Influence on Modern Design: Vintage and timeless styles inspire contemporary designers, blending nostalgia with innovation to create unique fashion statements.

Reports suggest that transitioning to sustainable initiatives could generate an estimated $192 billion in profits by 2030.

The pandemic also accelerated e-commerce growth, highlighting the industry’s adaptability and reliance on digital platforms for continued economic prosperity. In 2020, global online fashion sales surged by 27.6% to reach $664.5 billion, with projections indicating further growth in the coming years.

The industry also came up with new business models, such as:

● Clothes Swapping: Businesses like Swap Society promote circularity in the fashion industry by facilitating clothes swapping among consumers.
● Made-to-order Business Models: challenge the fast fashion industry’s unsustainable speed by producing garments only after customers place orders.
● Permanent Collection Business Models: producing one collection yearly instead of following fast fashion trends.
● Upcycling Services: transform old or unwanted garments into new and stylish pieces, promoting sustainability and reducing textile waste.

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Paying attention to the “in-between lines”

When referring to the extended social environment (a term used to describe the usual stakeholders), Peter Aughton, an Open System Theory practitioner, said that this environment can be compared to the ground moving below you. There is too much discontinuous change to expect those doing an actual scan to place changes they have noticed into Aristotelian categories like PESTLE. You can lose valuable social trends/insights when changes are cut across PESTLE categories.

The Internal Environment

Unless processes or productivity are perceived as causing issues, are obviously broken, or are not functioning (not meeting market demands, losing clients or market, bad press), the internal environment is taken for granted. For the most part, it is looked at through employee engagement/culture surveys, which measure employee satisfaction, engagement, and culture within an organisation. In some cases, more detailed performance metrics will be reviewed as part of the talent process as part of the ongoing business continuity.

Many companies heavily rely on an ever-growing dashboard of internal performance metrics; in some cases, organisational structures evolve to manage them. The key is understanding whether the chosen metrics are as helpful and relevant as we think. Hamel and Zanini recount the observation made by Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEO of SAP, the German software giant, at the end of his tenure. His company had amassed over fifty thousand key performance indicators that measured every job across the company. Hagerman said, “We were trying to run the company by remote control,” he recalls. We had all these fantastic talents but had asked them to put their brains on ice.” Hamel and Zanini comment that Snabe recognised that standards were necessary, yet there was a limit to what could be routinised.

In what feels like an era of acceleration, people in organisations feel that there is very little room in our pre-frontal cortex (executive function) to take a breath, pay attention and reflect on what is happening around us. Unexamined metrics give us a false sense of certainty that we know precisely what is happening in the organisation.

More insight about what may be happening in the organisation can be gathered through “change readiness assessments”. However, there are some disadvantages inherited from them:

• Change is seen as an event rather than something continuous, hence reinforcing the idea of seeing adaptation as something that happens occasionally and has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

• Change as a concept can be hazy. It is challenging to evaluate, let alone appreciate, the general sentiment of willingness, readiness, or acceptance for an organisational or collective change or innovation. In most cases, what is perceived as resistance to change is a general state of not addressing the unmet needs of the groups that must undergo a degree of change.

• The readiness assessment that is being used, as well as its language and application. Any external tool will inherently bring its own bias, e.g., the questions it uses to collect relevant data.

• Limited Specs/Brief: Some evaluations focus on a particular process or a very narrow population, limiting a contextual understanding of what may happen. If we consider the concept of a Complex Adaptive System (CAS), the assessment itself may impact the system and engender a number of reactions rather than responses that may impact the change sought.

Becoming aware of the water in your fishbowl—unexamined processes that trap us.

We often see the strategic process and performance management (PM) as separate processes. Paradoxically, organisational members assume that performance management is the critical and blunt instrument for strategy implementation. Using individual performance results as a thermometer of what is happening inside an organisation may provide mixed messages about what is happening. Stories abound of bonuses paid despite poor business results.

Over time, scholars have identified several reasons why performance management is failing. such as:

● Lack of strategic focus, a commitment to parts but not the overall purpose. Current practice divides the parts and assumes a whole would be built, ignoring that the system evolves as it looks for fitness. Fitness on its own is neutral. However, the members of each system may pursue different purposes that have little to do with the organisation’s overall purpose.

● Poor management of the tension between individual and team/group performance. Most performance systems overemphasise individual rather than group performance, which deters learning and collaborating to achieve organisational goals.

● Inconsistencies in understanding the strategic value of performance management (PM) at all organisational levels. In the previous course manual, we introduced the concept of multiple worldviews that may lead to numerous interpretations. In most cases, PM is viewed as a way to assess individual performance, but PM is seldom evaluated as a “whole” to ensure the current strategy is implemented. PM is usually handicapped by role descriptions that have not been updated, by libraries full of goals that encourage copy and paste but hardly get teams to reflect upon if what they are committing to do will contribute to the enterprise in the short, medium, or long term.

● Limited stakeholder involvement: As previously mentioned, our hierarchical level may restrict what we see and limit the possible range. As a consultant, I had first-hand experience with employees given a series of KPIS that they could not impact or measure. When employees raised those issues, those who could have raised their concerns with others chose to ignore the problem and reply; that is how we have always done it.

● Managing change: nudging the system to change is problematic if the attractors who do so are perceived as a disadvantage. New ways of nudging the system are required to get us beyond the resistance to change story.

It’s crucial to recognise that certain processes, albeit unintentionally, might exert constraints on our system within our organisation. These elements within our environment can hinder the adaptability of our Adaptive Strategy, preventing it from aligning effectively with the dynamic demands of our current context.

For instance, consider a scenario where a policy mandates the creation of a project charter and plans to involve individuals from other departments. While this policy aims to ensure thoroughness, it may inadvertently discourage collaboration, especially for smaller-scale initiatives perceived as not warranting extensive documentation. Consequently, team members may opt to work independently to avoid bureaucratic hurdles and potential repercussions. Over time, this can foster the proliferation of silos within the organisation despite the stated goal of fostering collaboration.

Echoing Chris Argyris, individuals often operate based on “espoused theories” – the principles they profess to adhere to, and “theories in use” – the strategies they actually employ in their actions. Similarly, at the organisational level, what we commonly term aspirational goals can parallel these concepts. Despite our avowed commitment to collaboration, our operational reality may reflect a different narrative influenced by prevailing constraints and practices.

Engagement Surveys

Employee engagement surveys, a commonly employed tool to gauge internal dynamics, are facing growing scrutiny due to their limited efficacy in driving meaningful improvements. Despite their widespread use, traditional surveys often fail to impact employee engagement levels significantly.

The Harvard Business Review’s 2024 article, “Where Measuring Engagement Goes Wrong,” underscores this issue, emphasizing the need for organizations to reassess their approach. While engagement surveys offer insights, they frequently fall short in fostering actual engagement improvements. The call for a shift toward nontraditional key performance indicators (KPIs) tailored to unique contexts highlights a recognition of the shortcomings of conventional surveys.

Key limitations of employee engagement surveys include:

● Frequency Dilemma: Annual surveys may overlook the dynamic nature of engagement, risking ‘survey fatigue’ and failing to capture real-time fluctuations.

● Credibility Concerns: Responses may be influenced by social desirability bias, compromising the reliability of results.

● Representation Issues: Low response rates can skew data, undermining its validity and reliability.

Moreover, criticism against engagement surveys includes:

● Limited Effectiveness: Despite widespread use, surveys often fail to impact engagement levels significantly.

● Inadequate Data: Annual surveys may not capture ongoing changes within the workplace, providing incomplete data.

● Lack of Actionable Insights: Some surveys lack questions that lead to actionable insights, limiting their effectiveness in driving organisational change.

These challenges collectively question the reliability of engagement surveys in accurately assessing and improving employee engagement levels within organisations.

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Putting it All Together Exercise: So, what to do?

In pairs, please list all the tools and processes your organisation uses to understand its context externally and internally. Be prepared to share with other teams.

Phase 1

● Consider the scale at which you and your team operate and list 3 to 7 tools, reports, and processes you may use as primary data sources to guide your decisions around markets, services, and people.

● Rate them one by one in terms of impact on the organisational strategy. What patterns are emerging?

● If you had the mandate, which would you modify, continue, or stop altogether?

● How will your suggestions impact strategy implementation in your area of work?

Phase 2

● Connect with another pair and observe their similarities and differences. This is another way to start identifying patterns in your system.

Phase 3

● Based on what you have heard, think about this new insight. Turn that insight into a question.

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Course Manual 7: Purpose as Attractor

When devising and executing strategies, we often underestimate the crucial role of individual and collective purpose. However, in the context of ‘Adaptive Strategy,’ the importance of purpose coherence is not just clear—it’s urgent. We see individuals within organizations as independent agents whose actions can create patterns that significantly influence the system over time.

This highlights the importance of harmonizing our individual and collective purposes with our organizational strategy.

Let’s delve into the experiences of Leeson, Texeira, and Petrov: their unexplored and subconscious purposes acted as attractors, leading to less-than-optimal outcomes. In contrast, Petrov’s case is a powerful testament to the transformative power of a purpose that goes beyond mere job requirements, producing exceptional results. This should inspire us all to explore and harness the potential of our purposes.

It’s crucial to emphasize that individuals are not just parts of a system but self-organizing systems themselves. By recognizing this, we provide a platform for them to express their aspirations and contributions. This understanding is not only timely but also essential in our discussion on individual and collective purpose.

Understanding Your Purpose as an Attractor

To bring the concept of an attractor to life, Eoyang uses a vivid woven tapestry analogy. In this analogy, each individual system component is like a single thread in the fabric. Just as each thread has its own unique colour and texture, it alone doesn’t reveal the entire tapestry’s pattern. The complexities often distract us from seeing the bigger picture emerging from our collective actions. However, shifting our focus from individual threads to the whole pattern helps us better grasp its coherence. Attractors, powerful tools in chaos science, illuminate the behaviour of entire systems. To truly understand a system’s behaviour, we must examine its individual components and the overall pattern they create.

Consider Texeira’s situation: his actions were motivated by a craving for personal attention and recognition, much like fixating on a single thread in the tapestry. Yet, he overlooked the broader pattern he was unwittingly influencing—his country’s vulnerability to a security breach. By adopting an attractor mindset, we strive to grasp the intricate link between the small-scale and large-scale aspects more profoundly

So, what is an attractor?

An attractor, a fundamental concept in dynamic systems, serves as a cornerstone in applied complexity. It helps us grasp the intricate patterns within complex systems as a whole. Chaos scientists (part of applied complexity) rely on attractors to better understand the collective behaviour of interdependent systems.

Even though we often see ourselves as a single entity, our bodies actually comprise 11 major systems, including the nervous and circulatory/cardiovascular systems. Additionally, our brain isn’t just one unit; it’s a complex network of specialized regions and structures. For instance, there’s the limbic system, which handles emotions, memory, and motivation, and the basal ganglia, which helps with voluntary motor control and procedural learning.

How do attractors relate to our human systems?

There are three main types of attractors: point, periodic (or limit cycle), and strange. Point attractors are like resting points where things settle down, periodic or limit cycle attractors are like patterns that repeat over and over, and strange attractors are like wild, unpredictable dances. The differences come from how they’re shaped, their sensitivity to starting conditions, and the behaviours they represent in the long run.

We’ll specifically delve into how “Purpose” functions as a point attractor at the individual and organizational levels.

Let’s break it down: A point attractor in a human system means it gravitates towards a single stable state or outcome, regardless of where it starts or any uncertainties. Essentially, it’s like being pulled towards one fixed point no matter what. Here are some examples to illustrate:

Major life events like graduation, retirement, marriage, or divorce can be point attractors in human lives. Despite different initial paths, these significant transitions tend to pull individuals towards a common end state or life situation associated with that event.

In the brain, attractor dynamics may underlie cognitive processes like decision-making, working memory, and perception.

Habits are point attractors within complex dynamical systems such as human behaviour. Like a point attractor, habits demonstrate stable patterns that individuals tend to gravitate towards over time, regardless of where they start. In essence, habits become deeply ingrained and automatic behavioural patterns, serving as the default mode of operation.

Once established, habits act as attractors, “pulling” the system (an individual’s behaviour) towards the habitual pattern, even if the person starts from different initial conditions or intentions. This is why breaking habits requires conscious effort to overcome the attractor’s pull.

Think of attractors like magnets; remember, they’re not set in stone. Goldstein stressed that attractors describe a system’s behaviour at a particular stage, highlighting their ever-changing nature. These attractors aren’t static; they shift and develop over time. Essentially, our systems—whether we’re aware of it or not—operate within these attractors, adapting our functionality to meet the needs of different life stages.

Zimmerman and her co-authors stress the importance of considering context when dealing with attractors. Picture attractors are states within a system existing within specific boundaries that shape how the system operates in certain environments. These boundaries are influenced by internal factors within the system and external environmental conditions. When these factors interact, they determine the system’s attractors. So, when attractors change, the system’s behaviour follows suit, adjusting to new governing principles.

For instance, Texeira’s case illustrates this. His easy access to classified information escalated his tendency to overshare without fully considering the consequences. The desire for recognition and respect from his gamer community overshadowed his responsibilities at work. This shift in what influenced his behaviour demonstrates how attractors can pull us in different directions depending on the circumstances.

Before we begin unravelling our collective purpose, let’s first explore the patterns we’re weaving through our individual efforts.

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Duo Exercise

When responding on your own, succinctly describe and reply in one sentence. Later, be ready to share some of your responses with another person.

Phase 1

● What do you aspire to achieve or create for yourself through your work? Take a moment to ponder something meaningful to you in the medium term. You won’t be required to share this answer with others.
● How would you describe it is what you do?
● What significance does that hold for you?”
● And why might that be? We encourage you to delve a bit deeper, sharing as much as you feel comfortable.
● If an uncontrollable event destroyed your work, where would you begin again?
● And why might that be?
● Where are your answers leading? Do they hint at a specific destination? How would you describe it? Feel free to jot down a few words.
● What does this destination have to do with why you do what you do?

Phase 2

In pairs, use the questions above and ask them of each other.

● What did you find that is similar or different?
● What insights did you gain from reflecting on the questions above?

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Purpose as an Attractor

A compelling purpose is akin to a magnetic force, drawing us towards it like a point attractor. It possesses two vital qualities: Firstly, it serves as a deeply personal guiding beacon for individuals. Secondly, it provides a fundamental explanation for the significance and impact of our work within our organizations or larger community. Furthermore, it clarifies our actions and agency in shaping our desired outcomes and how our efforts contribute to the greater whole, shedding light on our role and impact

Characteristics of Strong Individual Purpose:

Unwavering Commitment and Passion: With a strong sense of purpose, you will exhibit unwavering commitment and passion towards your goals or cause, which is the attractor that creates a profound internal drive. This dedication fuels your perseverance and resilience in overcoming obstacles, enabling you to stay focused and determined despite challenges or setbacks.

Authenticity and Self-Awareness: With a strong sense of purpose, you strive for high self-awareness and authenticity. You constantly seek to understand your values, their impact, your evolving strengths and limitations, and the implications and consequences of your actions. Your behaviours are aligned with what feels true to yourself. This genuine embrace of who you are amplifies resonance, inspiring others along the way.

Purpose Clarity: You have direction when you clearly understand what you want to create and have well-defined objectives guiding your efforts and decision-making. This clarity of purpose empowers you to prioritize your actions effectively toward your desired outcomes.

Adaptability and Flexibility: While remaining committed to your core purpose, resilient individuals embrace flexibility and welcome change. You view change as an opportunity for growth and evolution, readily adjusting your plans or methods to achieve your goals. Here, you will consider contextual constraints, such as time, resources, interest, skills, knowledge, etc.

Meaningful Impact: In simpler terms, with a strong sense of purpose, you’re motivated by a desire to make a positive impact. You find fulfilment in contributing to something bigger than yourself, whether it’s a cause, community, or legacy. This motivation empowers you to tackle challenges, inspire others, and pursue your goals with determination, leaving a lasting impact on society.

Lipmanowicz and McCandless depict powerful purposes as enduring and vital elements within a thriving society. They emphasize that such purposes are both individual and communal, contributing to the greater good. Additionally, these purposes remain evergreen, continuously evolving alongside participants’ understanding. Importantly, they infuse significance into each step of the journey, enriching every endeavour with meaning and purpose.

Here are examples of strong purposes from well-known personalities across different domains:

● Oprah Winfrey – “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought possible.” Oprah sees her purpose as using her platform to educate, inspire, and help people reach their full potential.
● Denise Morrison (Former CEO, Campbell Soup Company): “Leading with balance and applying ethical principles can make a significant difference.” -Morrison’s purpose revolves around ethical leadership, maintaining a balanced life, and creating a positive impact.
● Steve Jobs said, “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here?”. Jobs viewed his purpose as using technology to profoundly alter and enhance the world.
● Sarah Gavron (Film Director) – “It’s my mission in life to put people on the screen who don’t normally get represented.” Gavron aims to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities through her films.

These examples highlight how personal purposes can centre around making an impact, upholding ethical principles, embracing creativity, fostering community, and other driving forces in leaders’ lives.

Characteristics of Weak Individual Purpose:

Lack of Clarity and Focus: A weak purpose may be vague, ambiguous, or lacking specificity regarding the pattern or outcome you want to create.

Lack of Commitment: When your purpose is weak, you might find yourself lacking full emotional investment, passion, or unwavering commitment to see it through despite obstacles. It’s common to experience feelings of procrastination and hesitation in such situations.

Short-term or superficial: Weak purposes often lack foresight, prioritizing immediate gains over long-term impact or legacy. This can leave you feeling unfulfilled, as they offer fleeting gratification instead of enduring meaning.

Reactive rather than proactive: Your purpose becomes weak when it’s merely a reactive response to circumstances rather than proactively defining the change you want to see in the world. In such cases, external factors shape your purpose instead of an internal guiding force or attractor.

Easily Derailed: When your purpose lacks strength, the goals or steps you set for yourself become more susceptible to being derailed by challenges. This often leads to a mindset where complaints about lack of resources or a tendency to blame external factors become common rather than taking responsibility.

As Lipmanowicz and McCandless described, weak purposes resemble platitudes—full of sentiment but lacking real power. They often manifest as conventional mission statements, marketing slogans, or taglines that can’t be achieved or lack relevancy. These purposes may hold meaning for only a subset of all parties involved and typically require extensive explanation to be understood.

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Case Study: Greta Thunberg

We’ve all heard of Greta Thunberg. She’s the school striker who, with honesty and relentless determination, grabbed the world’s attention by demanding urgent climate action.

In her TEDx Stockholm talk, Thunberg reveals that her awareness of climate change began in 2011 when she was just eight. She couldn’t comprehend why so little action was being taken to address such a critical issue. Thunberg showed a steadfast dedication to the climate cause from a young age, capturing hearts worldwide. Her activism sprang from a deep concern for the planet and future generations, giving her an authenticity that broke through political noise. Her straightforward, science-backed critiques of leaders’ inaction deeply resonated, particularly with young people.

Contextual Conditions

At an individual system level, Greta faced challenges with depression and was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism. In her early speeches advocating climate action, she explained her selective mutism as speaking “only when necessary.” Reflecting on her experiences, Thunberg noted in 2021 that many participants in the Fridays for Future movement are autistic, and the movement is inclusive and welcoming. She believes that the honesty and inability to ignore truths, characteristic of many autistic individuals, drive their involvement in climate activism.

In Greta’s family system, her climate activism started when she convinced her parents to adopt lifestyle changes that decreased their carbon footprint. Those aiming to reduce their carbon footprint can, for example, reduce air travel and driving, opt for a plant-based diet, or prolong the use of consumer products.

Her parents’ support and lifestyle adjustments fuelled Greta’s passion and belief in making a difference. Their family journey, documented in the book “Scenes from the Heart” and updated as “Our House Is on Fire,” illustrates their commitment to addressing the planet’s crisis.

The BBC summarizes Thunberg’s global impact on the climate debate as the “Greta effect.” She’s credited with significantly raising public awareness of climate change worldwide, particularly among young people. Her dedication has inspired individuals ranging from fellow schoolchildren to world leaders.

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Crafting Your Purpose

Let’s start with the example of Greta Thunberg’s purpose statement, “Empowering youth to drive climate action globally,” which is powerful for several reasons:

● Clarity of vision: It clearly defines the focus as “climate action.”
● Emotional resonance: It evokes a sense of empowerment and mobilization with “empowering youth.”
● Global scope: Including “globally” emphasizes the broad reach and significance of the mission.
● Call to action: The phrase “to drive” conveys a sense of urgency and active involvement, calling for immediate action.

A strong purpose can be an attractor that pulls us or sustains our inner motivation through changing internal or external conditions.

Some of you may be familiar with the term used in project management called “scope creep”. This term describes the gradual expansion of project objectives, deliverables, or requirements beyond their original boundaries, potentially leading to additional work and resource allocation.

Something like that happens also with Purposes, even if they are strong and clear. Lipmanowicz and McCandless suggest that individuals should intentionally write strong purposes that clearly state what they will replace or stop. Specifying what you exist to stop can be very powerful—it may be more powerful than what you want to bring into the world. Indirectly, it sets boundaries for what we are doing and holds us accountable for paying attention to the implications and consequences of our actions.

We need to remember that our minds tend to make connections and justify beliefs, even when not logically justifiable, which can be attributed to various cognitive biases and heuristics that have evolved as mental shortcuts to help us process information efficiently.

Here are key reasons why this occurs:

● Confirmation Bias: We tend to seek, interpret, and remember information confirming our beliefs while disregarding contradictory evidence. This bias reinforces our views and makes us more likely to justify them.
● Motivated Reasoning: We’re driven to reach conclusions we want to be true, whether they flatter our self-image or align with our goals. This can lead us to rationalize beliefs lacking full evidence.
● Cognitive Dissonance Reduction: When we encounter conflicting information, it makes us uncomfortable. So, to feel better, we tend to explain away or defend our beliefs, even if it doesn’t make much sense.
● Availability Heuristic: We judge likelihood or belief validity based on how easily examples come to mind rather than objective evidence. This can lead to overestimating vivid examples and justifying beliefs with biased information.
● Anchoring Bias: We heavily rely on initial information (the “anchor”) when forming beliefs. This can cause us to anchor beliefs to initial impressions despite later contradictory evidence.
● Emotional Reasoning: Our emotions strongly influence beliefs and decisions. We may justify beliefs based on emotions rather than objective evidence or logic.

Consider these “purpose” examples from a boutique consultancy.

● An Example of Replace/Stop: NC replaces counterproductive approaches when dealing with complexity and uncertainty, hindering innovation and change and fostering feelings of irrelevance.
● An Example of Purpose: NC partners with clients to create environments where people and organizations flourish by learning to ride the waves of complexity and uncertainty.

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On Your Own

When writing “Your Strong Purpose”, consider your notes from the previous exercise. Write as succinctly as you can. Try to keep it to 10 words or less. You will be asked to share your Purpose later in the session. Keep your notes handy

Phase 1

● My work exists to…

Phase 2

● My work exists to stop/replace/substitute/eliminate…

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Assessing Your Purpose & Reality Check

Now is the moment to assess your Purpose:

● Is it compelling, akin to a magnetic force pulling you towards it like a point attractor?
● Does it feel deeply personal, something only you can contribute to the role?
● Does it explain the impact of your work within your team or organization?
● Does it clarify your actions, empower you to share desired outcomes, and help you understand how your efforts contribute to the whole, shedding light on your role and impact?

In his book “Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge,” Geoffrey Bellman highlights the importance of understanding the interplay between your desires, the reality of your situation, and the people within your organization. Your purpose is what you aim to achieve within this organizational context. It encompasses what you want to accomplish and how you collaborate with others. Bellman emphasizes that you must first understand and harmonize with your own purpose before influencing others. This clarity empowers you to articulate your goals effectively and take action towards them. However, it’s crucial to recognize that others also have their own desires and purposes, which may not always perfectly align with yours. Learning to navigate these differing purposes is essential for fostering productive collaboration within any organization.

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Course Manual 8: Purpose Limits

Our previous section explored how your purpose acts as a guiding force or attractor that evolves over time and in response to significant life events. Amid the hustle and bustle of work life, we frequently overlook the significance of our purpose and its influence on our personal, team, and organizational strategies. Moreover, fulfilling the organization’s purpose becomes daunting when we lack clarity about our role’s purpose and how it intertwines with our own personal mission.

Through the cases of Texeira and Leeson, we’ve seen how unclear, hidden, or misunderstood inner purposes can have a profound impact on decision-making. Therefore, a key focus of today’s session is to gain clarity and insight into the various purposes within your work system, including those of yourself, your team, and the organization. Understanding these purposes is not just a theoretical exercise, but a practical tool that can significantly improve your decision-making and, consequently, your effectiveness within the organization.

As we understand, systems evolve over time as they respond and adapt to their contexts. It’s essential to remember that despite presenting as individual units, we each host a series of systems within ourselves. We, as individuals, are integral parts of various other systems, such as family, work, and outside interests, and these systems influence what we aspire to create for ourselves. Our purposes and roles are subject to change over time. Therefore, it’s crucial to view this evolution as an “iterative process” rather than a static conclusion and revisit it as necessary.

A Meaningful Distinction: Purpose and Wants

As discussed earlier, purpose acts as an attractor, clarifying the underlying reason and intention behind our roles through our unique contributions. It provides direction, meaning, and motivation. In contrast, wants to arise from personal preferences, cultural influences, and the desire for comfort or enjoyment.

Purpose gives us the determination to overcome challenges and make necessary sacrifices. Wants are impulsive desires that can distract from our core purpose if not managed carefully. While wants can frequently change based on trends or circumstances, one’s core purpose remains more stable and enduring, shaping priorities and major life decisions.

In essence, purpose represents the “why” that guides us toward meaningful goals, whereas wants are the “what” we crave for pleasure or enhanced living standards beyond basic needs. Being mindful of our wants and checking their coherence with our purpose will help us feel more fulfilled and less disconnected from how and what we want to contribute.

Exploring Boundaries and Constraints in Your Organizational Context

Constraints and boundaries play a pivotal role in shaping the behavior of complex adaptive systems. These systems, operating through a dynamic network of interactions, can be likened to a vast, ever-changing web. While we may understand the functioning of each part, the system as a whole can still surprise us with its unpredictability. It adapts and evolves, with both individual components and the entire system reorganizing in response to new circumstances.

One fascinating aspect of complex adaptive systems is that they’re studied across various fields, blending insights from the natural and social sciences. This interdisciplinary approach focuses on understanding how these systems function as a whole, considering emergent behaviours, phase transitions, and the diverse agents within them.

Complex systems are like giant puzzles of interaction, constantly changing and surprising us with their behaviour. They adapt and evolve, responding to new situations, whether it’s a group of people, an ecosystem, or even our own bodies.

In simpler terms, Eoyang points out that complex systems rely on differences to function well. Differences in air pressure create wind, and variations in ion concentration help move essential nutrients into cells.

Let’s look at some real-life examples to make this clearer:

● Ecosystems: The mix of plants and animals in an ecosystem allows it to adjust to environmental changes. For example, when there’s a disruption like a forest fire, the ecosystem can bounce back by reorganizing itself.
● Social Systems: In communities or organizations, having different ideas and perspectives can lead to new solutions and innovations. Sometimes, disagreements or beliefs can spark big changes, like social movements or policy shifts.
● Immune System: Our bodies have an amazing defence system that can recognize and fight off many different kinds of germs. When a new germ appears, our immune system learns to deal with it, keeping us healthy.
● Brain and Neural Networks: Our brains constantly learn and adapt, helping us navigate life. Even small changes in our thoughts or feelings can lead to big shifts in our behaviour.
● Markets and Economies: The economy is also a complex system. Changes in what people want to buy or sell can lead to new businesses popping up or old ones changing their offerings.

In all these examples, the variety and differences within the systems allow for movement, adaptation, and the emergence of new patterns or behaviours. Even small changes can have big effects, helping the system find better ways to function in a changing world.

Now, let’s explore some everyday examples:

● Language Evolution: Think about how words change meaning over time or how slang terms become part of our everyday language. These variations reflect how language is always evolving.
● Style and Trends: Fashion trends come and go based on what people like to wear. Small differences in styles or materials can lead to big changes in what’s considered stylish.
● Culinary Innovations: New foods and recipes often combine different ingredients or cooking styles. Our diverse tastes and dietary needs drive innovation in the kitchen.
● Social Media and Online Communities: Online communities form around shared interests or experiences. The online content we create, and share shapes these communities and influences what goes viral.
● Workplace Dynamics: Teams work best when they bring together people with different skills and personalities. How we communicate and collaborate can make a big difference in how a project turns out.
● Parenting Styles: Every family has its own way of raising children. Small differences in parenting can shape a child’s development and future choices.

These everyday examples demonstrate how even minor variations within complex systems can spark new ideas, behaviours, and lifestyles that resonate with us in our daily experiences. They encourage us to consider that diversity holds more potential than we may realize.

In complex, highly interdependent systems, variations within the system offer chances for movement and change. How the boundaries of the system are structured determines whether this change happens gradually or abruptly

What is a boundary?

At first glance, boundaries define a complex system’s outer limits or edges, separating it from its environment or other systems. Eoyang reminds us that at the more subtle level, a boundary is the area between two different parts of the system. In “In-between” spaces, we find the boundary conditions determining the nature of the changes resulting from the differences.

Organizations, like other complex systems, require differences for change and adaptation to occur. Variations in organizational levels, opinions, business functions, skills and knowledge, cultural contexts, and gender all present opportunities to transfer information, energy, and materials among team members, divisions, and the overall organization. This transfer and the change create what we recognize as work.

Uncovering Opportunities Through Boundary Condition Nuances

We all have different reactions when we say the word “meetings”. Eoyang invites us to think about the subtle, for example, seeing meetings as an opportunity to identify and respond to differences that allow your organisational system to adjust. We know that this, in practice, may happen haphazardly as, over time, the only transfer that happens may be one way to impact others in the meeting rather than explore the opportunities that different viewpoints may bring.

As we continue to focus on the details and make the subtle more apparent, Eoyang directs our attention to how the “winds of change” can blow through an organization. This happens when information flows smoothly from one team or individual to another, creating currents of change. She describes this process using the term “flow osmotically” from the biological sciences, where it depicts the natural movement of water molecules across a semipermeable membrane.

In organisations, information transfers “flow osmotically” from one contributor to another. How this filtering happens and what gets filtered in or out depends on each individual, team, and organization. Unlike in biological systems, we can’t be sure what gets filtered and retained by each person or group.

Applying this concept to learning, here are a few examples of “osmosis learning,” which involves observing and absorbing knowledge from others that individuals or teams find highly relevant and valuable in work environments:

Here are a few examples:

● Informal Learning and Knowledge Transfer: Employees can learn informally by observing and overhearing their colleagues’ conversations, interactions, and problem-solving approaches. This natural absorption of knowledge, similar to the process of osmosis in biology, allows for the transfer of skills and best practices, particularly for new employees or those in training.

● Building Camaraderie and Team Spirit: Casual interactions, chance encounters, and social connections build a sense of camaraderie and team spirit among colleagues. This natural social interaction, like how substances move through osmosis, fosters a positive work culture, improves collaboration, and enhances overall employee well-being.

● Mentorship and Guidance: Junior employees can benefit from observing and learning from more experienced colleagues. By being close to mentors and senior team members, they can pick up on communication styles, problem-solving techniques, and industry-specific knowledge, such as how nutrients are absorbed osmotically.

● Exposure to Different Perspectives: Informal learning in the workplace exposes employees to diverse perspectives, ideas, and approaches from colleagues across different teams, departments, or backgrounds. This cross-pollination of knowledge and viewpoints can cultivate innovation, foster creativity, and deepen understanding of the organization, mirroring the exchange facilitated by osmosis across a membrane.

● Fostering Inclusion and Psychological Safety: Interpersonal relationships and a sense of community are key to creating an inclusive and psychologically safe work environment. Learning through casual interactions and shared experiences can foster trust, understanding, and a sense of belonging among team members, akin to the harmonious equilibrium achieved through osmosis.

With the rise of hybrid work practices, remote work and distributed teams, traditional forms of osmosis information and learning transfers have been disrupted. Organizations now need to recreate these opportunities in virtual environments intentionally. Tactics include:

● Hosting virtual coffee breaks or casual chat sessions.
● Organizing employee-led knowledge-sharing sessions or “Curiosity Weeks.”
● Leveraging virtual collaboration tools and platforms.
● Encouraging cross-functional interactions and communities of practice.

By recognizing the value of osmosis and actively fostering it in both physical and virtual work environments, organizations can promote continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and a strong, cohesive work culture that benefits employees and the organization as a whole.

What is a constraint?

Within the lens of complexity science, a constraint refers to a limitation that shapes the behaviour and interactions of components within a complex system. Constraints play a crucial role in enabling and governing the emergence of patterns and dynamics in complex adaptive systems.

Here are some key points about constraints from a complexity science perspective:

Constraints limit the possible behaviours or actions of the system components but also enable specific patterns or paths to emerge. They provide boundaries within which the system can self-organize and adapt.

Understanding the Two Types of Constraints in Complex Adaptive Systems

Enabling constraints allows for the emergence of new patterns, behaviours, and adaptations in a complex system, fostering creativity and innovation. They create a stable environment or “container” for unfolding interactions and dynamics.

Here are examples of enabling constraints:

● Set boundaries that guide creativity and new ideas without stifling innovation
● Encourage everyone to work together, creating new and better ways of doing things.
● Let different parts of the team make their own decisions, which can lead to surprising solutions.
● Work best for tricky problems with lots of surprises and things we don’t know we don’t know.
● Give teams the freedom to try new ideas and change their plans rather than follow one strict path.

Governing constraints are more rigid and aim to suppress emergence and ensure specific outcomes. They are used to maintain order and control when certainty is crucial but can be costly and limit flexibility.

Here are examples of governing constraints:

● Enforcing strict rules, policies, or parameters for compliance
● Seeking a single proven method for efficiency and safety
● Restricting flexibility and variation
● Aligned with top-down decision-making
● Effective for structured and intricate issues with clear cause-and-effect relationships

Additionally, specific constraints such as Mandatory Code Reviews, Language-Specific Programming, and Organizational Silos can also be seen as governing constraints as they play a significant role in shaping the dynamics of complex adaptive systems.

In complex adaptive systems, the system and its individual agents evolve together. The system’s behaviour is lightly guided by constraints, while agents shape it through interactions. This blend of constraints and adaptability is a defining feature of these systems.

Governing constraints regulate and narrow down options while enabling constraints foster self-organization, emergence, and adaptation within certain limits. These two types of constraints serve unique roles in complex adaptive systems, such as in software development, organizations, and socio-environmental systems.

When dealing with constraints, pausing, reflecting, and considering the implications is crucial. Systems can spiral into chaos without effective constraints, with behaviour becoming erratic and unpredictable. Constraints act as guardrails, creating a stable framework for complex dynamics. On the other hand, having too many constraints can also pose challenges. They can limit flexibility and innovation in areas like project schedules, databases, optimization problems, and learning initiatives.

Constraints are fundamental in complexity science. They influence how system components behave and interact, allowing patterns and dynamics to emerge while providing necessary boundaries and stability to the system.

Domains/Contexts Where Constraints Emerge in a Complex Adaptive System

Constraints, spanning physical, social, conceptual, or environmental aspects, are essential in shaping system functions. They stem from various factors, such as resources, rules, or limits. These aspects describe the nature or origin of governing and enabling constraints rather than representing distinct types of constraints.

For example:

● Physical constraints might encompass geographical limitations, resource scarcities, or tangible barriers that influence interactions within the CAS.
● Social constraints could include norms, cultural values, organizational policies, or legal frameworks that shape agents’ behaviour (individuals, groups, organizations) within the social realm of the CAS.
● Conceptual constraints could refer to theoretical frameworks, mental models, or paradigms that shape how agents perceive, interpret, and engage with the CAS.
● Environmental constraints might involve ecological factors, climate conditions, or geographic features that affect the dynamics and interactions within a natural or socio-environmental CAS.

The big difference is between constraints that limit what can happen (governing constraints) and those that help things happen in a helpful way (enabling constraints). The enabling constraints are like guides that steer how things develop in the system, allowing for emergence and self-organization within the system.

The Pitfalls of Excessive Governing Constraints

Just as salt can enhance the flavour of our food, an excess of it can ruin the dish. Similarly, if we rely too heavily on governing constraints, several issues may arise in our work, team, and organization.

Here’s how having too many governing constraints may impact our work:

● Fragmentation of Critical Path: When project schedules have too many constraints, it can break up or disrupt the critical path—the longest sequence of tasks driving the project’s overall duration. This fragmentation can be so severe that it halts the project until the fragmented critical path is resolved.
● Static and Inflexible: Constraints are like fixed rules in the system, making it hard for tasks or variables to adapt based on dependencies or schedule changes. This lack of flexibility makes the system rigid and resistant to change.
● Inhibits Scenario Analysis: When there are numerous constraints, exploring different scenarios or conducting “what-if” analyses becomes tedious. Each scenario requires manually adjusting constraint dates, slowing the analysis process.
● Reduces Malleability: Too many constraints make the system less malleable—it becomes harder to modify or adapt over time. Constraints introduce friction and resistance to changes, making it challenging to evolve the system as needed.
● Premature Optimization: Constraints are often imposed too early in an attempt to optimize performance or enforce data integrity. This premature optimization occurs before actual performance issues or business requirements necessitate such constraints.

Here’s how having too many governing constraints can impact you, your team, and your organization:

● Interference with Job Performance: Organizational constraints interfere with employees’ ability and motivation to perform their jobs effectively. Excessive constraints can hinder productivity and work quality by making it difficult for employees to carry out their tasks.
● Lower Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: Organizational constraints are linked to lower job satisfaction and reduced employee commitment. This can lead to frustration, disengagement, and a lack of loyalty towards the organization.
● Increased Stress and Emotional Exhaustion: Numerous constraints are associated with higher stress levels and emotional exhaustion. This can contribute to burnout, decreased well-being, and potential health issues.
● Counterproductive Work Behaviours: Employees facing excessive constraints are likelier to engage in behaviours that harm the organization or other employees, such as absenteeism, theft, and sabotage.
● Higher Turnover Intentions: Organizational constraints are linked to higher quitting intentions, potentially increasing turnover rates, losing valuable employees can be costly and disruptive for organizations.
● Fragmentation and Inflexibility: Overusing constraints can fragment critical paths, making it difficult to manage dependencies. Excessive constraints can also reduce the organization’s flexibility and adaptability to changing circumstances or new opportunities.
● Premature Optimization and Resistance to Change: Organizations may introduce constraints prematurely in an attempt to optimize performance, even before actual issues arise. They can also create resistance to change and hinder innovation or the adoption of new, more efficient practices.

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Case Study: Dr Spencer Silver – and Post-It-Notes

Let’s revisit the case of Post-It Notes and the efforts of Dr Spencer Silver and his colleague Art Fry to bring the product to market, focusing on the boundaries and constraints they navigated.

Lack of Perceived Need: Silver’s adhesive was not what 3M initially sought—a stronger, more permanent adhesive. The company did not see a practical application for a “low tack” adhesive, making it challenging for Silver to gain support.

Corporate Inertia: Despite Silver’s persistence in promoting his discovery within 3M, the company hesitated to invest resources in developing a product without a clear market need or application. This corporate inertia acted as a significant constraint.

Manufacturing Limitations: When Art Fry recognized the potential use of Silver’s adhesive as a removable bookmark, 3M initially claimed they lacked the manufacturing capacity to produce the sticky notes. This technological constraint governed the pace of commercialization.

Let’s explore the enabling constraints that helped Dr Spencer Silver and Art Fry bring Post-It Notes to market.

Serendipity: Silver’s accidental discovery, combined with Art Fry’s struggle to keep bookmarks in place, led to the innovative application of the adhesive as a removable note. This fortunate confluence of events helped overcome the initial constraints.

Persistence: Silver’s relentless efforts to promote his discovery within 3M, earning him the nickname “Mr. Persistent,” eventually paid off when Fry made the connection. His persistence enabled him to break through corporate inertia.

Resourcefulness: Confronted with manufacturing limitations, Fry built a machine in his basement to produce the sticky notes himself. This resourcefulness allowed him to bypass the technological constraints and push the product toward commercialization.

Here are some of the functional and role boundaries that needed to be navigated:

Role Boundaries:

● Inventor vs. Marketer: Silver focused on developing the adhesive technology, while Fry saw its potential as a removable bookmark.
● Researcher vs. Product Developer: Transitioning the adhesive from research to a viable product required collaboration across these role boundaries.
● Individual Contributor vs. Corporate Support: Silver and Fry needed to convince 3M’s management to support their idea.

Functional Boundaries

● R&D vs. Manufacturing: Fry had to find workarounds to overcome this boundary.
● Technical Innovation vs. Market Demand: Fry bridged this gap by identifying a practical application.
● Corporate Inertia vs. Entrepreneurial Spirit: Silver and Fry navigated this boundary with persistence and resourcefulness.

Within 3M, several factors contributed to the osmotic flow of information:

● Internal Seminars and Presentations: Silver actively shared his adhesive discovery through informal seminars and presentations over years. One seminar in 1974 attended by Fry sparked the idea for Post-it Notes.
● Cross-Functional Interactions: 3M encouraged interaction among employees from different departments. Fry first learned about Silver’s adhesive invention during a casual conversation on the golf course, facilitating innovation.
● Mentorship and Guidance: Senior scientists like Silver provided mentorship to junior colleagues. As reported by 3M news, Banovetz, later 3M’s CTO, benefited from Silver’s mentorship, nurturing new ideas.
● Collaborative Culture: 3M fostered a collaborative environment where scientists could freely share work, discuss ideas, and receive feedback. This open exchange catalysed innovation.
● Proprietary Knowledge Sharing: 3M’s internal mechanisms allowed Silver’s adhesive technology dissemination, leading to its application by Fry.

Essentially, the osmotic flow of information within 3M, facilitated by formal channels like seminars and informal interactions, was crucial in the development of Post-it. This exchange, enabled by the company’s culture of collaboration, mentorship, and cross-functional engagement, allowed Silver and Fry to overcome governing constraints such as lack of perceived need, corporate inertia, and manufacturing limitations. Ultimately, enabling constraints like serendipity, persistence, and resourcefulness played a pivotal role in bringing their innovative product to market.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

Phase 1

First, on your own, think about what we have discussed about organizational boundaries and constraints. Can you identify which ones may be helping or hindering achieving your work purpose?

Phase 2

In pairs, share the time to explore with one another what you have discovered for yourself. Be prepared to share with other teams.

● What surprised you? What are the similarities and differences between the constraints and boundaries you found in your roles?

● Share how you have been navigating the constraints and boundaries around your work.

● What kind of osmotic flow of information are you using, and how are you incorporating it to achieve your work purpose?

Phase 3

● Connect with another pair and observe their similarities and differences. This is another way to gather multiple perspectives on boundaries and constraints in your roles.

Phase 4

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge or opportunity. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 9: We | Me Purpose

In the previous sections of this workshop, we have been exploring our role purposes and understanding how they may be impacted by organizational boundaries and constraints. We recognize that our purposes are not fixed and will periodically change in response to internal and external conditions. Sometimes, these changes are immediately noticeable; other times, they are subtler and only evident in hindsight. For example, starting a new family, approaching retirement, organizational re-prioritization, adding new team members, or introducing a new external leader can all disrupt our direction. Amidst such changes, it’s easy to lose track of where we’re headed. However, we also know that people experience the greatest fulfilment in their work when their personal purpose aligns with or impacts their organizational work. This alignment benefits the organisation and provides a platform for personal growth and fulfilment, inspiring us to strive for this harmony.

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Lewin and Regine stress the application of complexity science in business, which focuses on the relationships between individuals, teams, other companies, and the natural environment. This perspective challenges the traditional view of business as a mechanistic system and acknowledges the unpredictable dynamics of complex adaptive systems. As managers and executives, we play a pivotal role in steering the direction and evolution of our organizations. The urgency and importance of this role are clear, and failing to grasp and leverage these dynamics can lead to a loss of novelty, creativity, and adaptability, which are vital for business success.

Taylor and Van Every argue that at the core of the communicative constitution of the organization (CCO) perspective, organizations are a “mosaic of worldviews talked into being.” This illustrates the crucial role of relationships and connections in shaping organizational patterns. Kopaneva and Sais highlight that the Montreal School explains how employee practices scale up to organizational-level representation and why employees’ and management’s worldviews may differ—through processes of translation and distancing. Stohl and Cheney, representing critical scholarship, emphasize that strong dedication to an organizational mission can create “tremendous openness to abuse of oneself or others.”

The critical question is how to steer the organization in a direction that accommodates a mosaic of worldviews and purposes, promotes agency, and delivers organizational results. We know that a strong mission and vision statement may not be as powerful and magical as we might assume.

For this, we will investigate the notion of traditional organizational alignment and further examine the role of attractors and boundaries, considering how they can help us shape and impact our direction.

What is traditional alignment?

The word “alignment” comes from the French word “alignement,” which is derived from the French verb “aligner,” meaning “to align” or “to line up.”

In a business context, the term “alignment” often conjures up images of people and processes moving in perfect synchronization toward a common goal. When executed precisely, this orchestrated effort promises consistency, clarity, and predictability in achieving desired outcomes. The underlying assumption is that uniformity of action leads to the fulfilment of overarching objectives.

Eoyang astutely observes that seeking alignment enhances clarity, simplifies monitoring, and fosters a sense of control. It enables clear identification of actions deserving reward, while also fostering a feeling of belonging, as individuals can navigate confidently in the direction outlined for them without excessive deliberation.

Certainly, the concept of alignment may be effective in settings where the output is tangible and reliant on specific machinery. However, its effectiveness diminishes when dealing with human endeavours, where individuals are the primary creators of experiences and outputs. This is evident in roles like customer service delivery, where human interaction shapes the experience, or in professions such as medicine, engineering, education, and project management, where expertise and judgment play crucial roles. In such domains, a more nuanced approach that considers individual skills, creativity, and adaptability is essential for achieving optimal outcomes.

As we persist in applying a mechanistic worldview, viewing systems (including people) as mere sums of their parts, we’ve sought to create stronger, more forceful magnets to ensure collective progress in a uniform direction. We’ve formulated powerful visions and purposes bolstered by escalating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that give us a false sense of control.

In this pursuit, our visions have become clearer but less inspiring, driven by the belief that increased clarity would lead to reduced deviation and greater consistency. However, as far back as 2010, John Kay examined how organizations hinder their own success by succumbing to the urge for a clearer vision—a “more powerful magnet.” He closely analysed the business purpose of ICI (Britain’s largest and most successful manufacturing company) both before and after a takeover, illustrating the pitfalls of prioritizing rationality over adaptability and creativity.

ICI’s business purpose, as it appeared on their annual reports, stated that:

ICI aims to be the world’s leading chemical company, serving customers internationally through innovative and responsible chemistry and related science applications. By achieving this aim, we will enhance the wealth and well-being of our shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which we serve and operate.

Kay highlights how ICI’s interpretation of “responsible applications of chemistry” evolved over time, transitioning from its traditional strengths in dyestuffs and explosives to new chemical ventures, ultimately leading to pharmaceuticals post-World War II. However, a pivotal moment came in 1991 with a significant takeover, prompting ICI to divest its pharmaceutical division to Zeneca. Subsequently, ICI embarked on a series of acquisitions and disposals, which, contrary to expectations, failed to generate any shareholder value.. Despite its annual report’s ambitious vision of creating benefits for customers and shareholders by leading the market, innovating with new technology through market leadership, and competitive cost structures, ICI’s fortunes steadily declined, ultimately resulting in its dissolution as an independent entity in 2007.

Kay emphasizes that the responsible application of chemistry proved more successful in building a sustainable business than explicit attempts to create value and created more value overall. He suggests that goals are often best achieved indirectly or through oblique strategies.

Reflecting on Kay’s observation, it becomes evident that the leadership’s pursuit of a “very clear” magnet, while aiming to provide direction, overlooked the diverse purposes and perspectives of the individuals within the organization. Acquisitions and divestments were driven by outcome-oriented goals, neglecting the importance of the process. This process of adaptation and reinvention enables organizations to sustain themselves over time. By failing to engage with the mosaic of purposes and perspectives inherent within the workforce, the leadership missed opportunities to foster resilience and longevity in the face of change.

Eoyang underscores the risks associated with traditional alignment when operating in human-centric environments and dynamic contexts.

Foresight: One such risk is the allure of foresight, which hinges on the assumption that we are moving in the correct direction. However, achieving foresight proves challenging, particularly in constantly evolving and unpredictable environments.

Sustainability requires significant effort to maintain, often leading to an imbalance where more time is spent monitoring and patrolling rather than truly understanding the impact of our actions. Unfortunately, learning tends to be treated as an afterthought in this process. Some organizations even dedicate entire sections or teams solely to monitoring, neglecting the crucial aspect of continuous learning and adaptation.

Irrelevance: The burden of irrelevance can become increasingly oppressive over time. Take, for instance, sales professionals who are inundated with ever-expanding metrics. When decisions are made on the “best” sales approach, they often fail to consider the nuances of individual territories and salespeople’s unique styles and experiences, such as the effectiveness of different sales tactics or the impact of varying dialling strategies. This rigidity can stifle creativity and effectiveness, leading to a sense of frustration and disconnection among those striving to excel in their roles.

Resilience and Adaptability: Both of these suffer when people disengage from their work and follow a predetermined playbook. The default assumption becomes that the playbook either works or doesn’t, leaving little room for exploring alternative approaches. Tight metrics and rigid goals further exacerbate this issue, discouraging innovation and creativity. When there’s a fear of deviating from established norms, opportunities for growth and improvement are constrained, ultimately hindering the organization’s ability to adapt and thrive in dynamic environments.

Cynicism and Irrelevance: thrive when employees feel compelled only to provide the responses they believe are expected of them. They may withhold additional input, sensing that questioning or suggesting alternatives that diverge from predetermined goals could be met with disapproval. This stifles open dialogue and creativity, creating a culture where genuine engagement and innovation are suppressed.

Let’s remember that being overly prescriptive can stifle the creativity and diversity of perspectives within an organization. It’s vital to balance clarity with allowing room for individual interpretation and innovation. Acting differently isn’t about being rational or irrational; it’s about recognizing that there are diverse perspectives and ways to express our worldviews.

Defining Coherence Through Applied Complexity

In complex systems, coherence arises from the dynamic interactions and feedback loops among the system’s components. This leads to self-organization and the emergence of collective patterns or behaviours that go beyond the capabilities of individual parts. Coherence represents an organized, unified behaviour resulting from the system’s collective dynamics.

In human systems, coherence is seen when people work together towards a common goal while remaining adaptable and influential. To illustrate, consider the difference between alignment and coherence:

● Alignment can be likened to an ice cube, rigid and structured. An example in human systems is a marching band, where everyone follows a set plan, knowing precisely what notes to play and when.

● Coherence, however, is like a flowing river, dynamic and adaptable. A street parade exemplifies coherence, with participants moving in the same direction and towards the same destination but able to express themselves and influence the overall experience, creating a vibrant and enjoyable event.

By viewing coherence through the lens of applied complexity, we can appreciate how organized, adaptive behaviour emerges naturally from the interactions within a system.

To fully grasp the concept of coherence within an organization, it’s crucial to consider the degree of coordination among its various agents and the level of response fitness to the environment in which the organization operates. In a complex adaptive system (CAS) context, fitness refers to the ability of the system’s components or agents to adapt and thrive within their environment.

Fitness in a CAS is an emergent property resulting from the intricate interplay of co-adaptive interactions, feedback loops, self-organization, and the sensitive dependence of the system’s components. It encompasses the capacity to navigate changes and fluctuations, generate well-adapted patterns at multiple scales, and maintain the flexibility needed to adapt to evolving environments.

For instance, in a previous section of this workshop, we examined how Bill Bowder leveraged his internal organizational resources to enhance his response fitness to the ever-changing financial market landscape. By pursuing an “off-the-grid investing” strategy, Bowder aimed to insulate his investments from financial turmoil, demonstrating high adaptability and fitness in response to environmental shifts. This approach underscores the importance of an organization’s ability to dynamically align its internal processes and strategies with external conditions to achieve optimal coherence and performance.

In other words, coherence is not just about coordinating efforts but also about creating enough room for agents—in this case, people—to experience self-agency. This allows them to sense and read the environmental demands and respond in ways that help sustain the organization over time. By creating a space that encourages personal initiative individuals can exercise self-agency, organizations enable their members to engage in adaptive behaviours, read the changing landscape, and make informed decisions that collectively contribute to the organization’s long-term viability and success.

This dual focus on coordination and individual agency ensures that the organization is not only well-organized internally but also highly responsive and adaptable to external changes. This responsiveness is critical for maintaining coherence and achieving fitness in a complex adaptive system, as it allows the organization to continuously align its strategies and operations with the evolving demands of its environment.

The Connection Between Attractor Patterns and Coherence Through an Applied Complexity Lens

Point Attractor Pattern

As we explored earlier, having a clear and meaningful purpose acts like a powerful attractor pattern. Think of it like a magnet that keeps us focused and motivated, even when life gets challenging or unpredictable. This “magnet” helps us maintain our efforts and stay on track, no matter our ups and downs.

You can recognize a system’s point attractor when there is a strong tendency for the system to move in a particular direction. These point attractors are everywhere: on highways as speed limits, in life milestones like graduations and retirement, and in organizations through mission or vision statements. In day-to-day work, they manifest as goals with clearly connected outcomes. They can also create silos within companies, such as sales and marketing departments.

Point attractor systems share some risks associated with focusing solely on one direction or goal. One notable risk is related to career progression. Employees may concentrate heavily on gaining more skills, knowledge, and visibility to advance, sometimes at the expense of other important aspects.

Eoyang provides additional insights on recognizing point attractors in a system. These indicators include a general agreement on major issues, the repeated use of certain phrases or words within the organization, and a single-minded focus on an issue among a specific group, such as management or employees.

A point attractor in businesses can either be productive and effective or distracting and disruptive to the organization as a whole. One of the roles of an effective leader is to determine whether a point attractor represents a helpful overall pattern of behaviour for the organization at a given time.

For example, if you expect a point attractor where people collaborate with each other, but you observe something different, it can lead to frustration for you and stress for the organization.

Periodic Attractors Patterns

Periodic attractors are also known as limit cycle attractors because the system exhibits periodic behaviour, cycling through a series of states in a regular, repeating pattern. They typically start and end in the same place, with the behaviour repeating at regular intervals.

Some periodic attractors are internally focused, involving activities like budgeting, meetings, report writing, analysis, performance goal setting, reviews, salary reviews, and payroll. Others are externally driven, such as seasonal demand for products and services (like fruits, after-school care, and educational camps), elections, economic cycles, and regular attendance to faith communities. The employee life cycle is another example, ranging from new hires to retirement or exit.

You can identify a periodic attractor when critical problems become less so at different times or when financial or process measurements regularly vary.

Strange Attractor Patterns

A strange attractor pattern occurs within a finite boundary, recognizable but never the same, offering infinite possibilities; sometimes, it feels like patterned randomness. To observe these patterns, we might need to step back a bit to see the dynamics of the whole system. It’s crucial to note that the system never returns to its original state, and the behaviour cannot be predicted at any moment, although a pattern does exist.

Professionals in this field often use the example of a dripping faucet to illustrate how this pattern works. In the case of a dripping faucet, the time intervals between successive drops can form complex, non-repeating patterns that are highly sensitive to initial conditions and system parameters like flow rate and surface tension. As the flow rate increases, a dripping faucet transitions from periodic to chaotic dripping, resulting in complex, non-repeating patterns that are highly sensitive to initial conditions and system parameters. This behaviour is a classic example of chaos in a simple physical system.

Examples of strange attractor patterns abound in various aspects of life:

1. Personalities: Each person’s personality is unique and constantly evolving, shaped by experiences, genetics, and environment.

2. Culture: Cultural norms, beliefs, and behaviours within a society form intricate patterns that influence how individuals interact and perceive the world.

3. Mentoring: The dynamics between mentors and mentees create complex learning, guidance, and personal development patterns.

4. Innovation: The process of innovation often involves unpredictable breakthroughs and creative leaps, forming a strange attractor pattern in the development of new ideas and technologies.

5. Customer service experiences: Interactions between customers and service providers can lead to diverse and sometimes unexpected outcomes, shaping the overall customer experience.

6. Ethics: Moral principles and values guide individual and collective behaviour, creating intricate ethical decision-making patterns within communities and organizations.

7. Love: The dynamics of love relationships involve complex emotions, interactions, and personal growth, forming unique patterns for each couple.

Additionally, phenomena like traffic jams exemplify strange attractor patterns in physical systems. For instance, when drivers slow down to observe an accident on the other side of the road, it can create a ripple effect of congestion and distorted traffic patterns that persist for hours after the incident.

Strange attractors offer several benefits to a system:

● Sustainability: They provide a sustainable framework for the system to operate within, allowing for continuous adaptation and evolution.
● Degrees of freedom: Strange attractors offer the system flexibility and autonomy, enabling it to explore diverse paths and possibilities.
● Resilience: Despite disruptions, strange attractors can facilitate reorganization and resilience, allowing the system to bounce back from disturbances.
● Innovation: They encourage exploration and experimentation, leading to novel solutions and approaches.

However, there are also risks associated with strange attractors:

● Unpredictability: Strange attractors’ unpredictable nature can lead to uncertainty and instability within the system, making it challenging to anticipate outcomes.
● Conflict: Conflict may arise if the system’s rules are not explicit or if there is a lack of transparency, leading to misunderstandings and disagreements among stakeholders.
● Contextual fitness: Considering the context and fit of actions within the system is essential. Continuous negotiation and awareness of how actions impact the system are necessary to maintain coherence and effectiveness.

Strange attractor patterns exhibit scalability, showcasing fractal structures of self-similarity across multiple scales. They also seem to be enacted by a multiplicity of attractors.

Eoyang offers a captivating example of a musical evening, where various components such as the orchestra, conductor, and audience create a multiplicity of point and periodic attractors. The evening itself can be likened to a strange attractor, with each element contributing to the overall experience through point, periodic, or random patterns. These patterns also evolve over time, adding dynamism to the experience.

In organizational contexts, strange attractor patterns may manifest in authentic commitments to customer service. Individual employee behaviour cannot be precisely predicted, yet it consistently adapts to meet each customer’s unique needs. This adaptive behaviour contributes to the overall coherence and effectiveness of the organization’s customer service efforts.

Returning to our WE | PURPOSE, we won’t simply merge individual role purposes into a single statement. Instead, we’ll draft a dynamic purpose or vision that establishes a flexible framework. This framework will encompass and coordinate the various role purposes, guiding them in a unified direction while allowing enough space for individuals to act effectively within the system. By promoting an environment that encourages self-agency, your organization can enable your members to adapt, understand evolving situations, and make informed decisions, ultimately supporting long-term success and sustainability.
As we work through this exercise, remember the 1990s ICI statement that gave ICI an umbrella that let their employees evolve and re-interpret over time: “responsible applications of chemistry.”

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Case Study: Strange Attractor Pattern and Nordstrom

Nordstrom is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington. As of May 2022, it operates 100 full-line department stores across the United States. During the 2022 holiday shopping period, Nordstrom’s U.S. operations reported over $4 billion in revenue and a $119 million profit, showcasing its solid domestic performance. Additionally, the company runs the off-price Nordstrom Rack division, which has hundreds of locations nationwide. Nordstrom’s customer experience is often cited as an example of a strange attractor pattern impacting organizational behaviour and customer service dynamics.

Below is Nordstrom’s famously simple and empowering approach to customer service rules, which can be summarized as:

● Use good judgment in all situations.
● There will be no additional rules.

Nordstrom’s approach embodies the characteristics of strange attractors in these ways:

Nordstrom’s policy follows a fractal-like pattern, starting with a simple core rule: “Use good judgment in all situations.” This rule generates many unique customer service stories, each stemming from the same basic principle but resulting in complex and diverse outcomes.

The outcomes of Nordstrom’s customer interactions are greatly influenced by its sensitivity to initial conditions, such as each customer’s specific needs and circumstances. Similar to how small changes in initial conditions can lead to vastly different trajectories in chaotic systems, minor differences in customer situations can result in significantly varied service experiences at Nordstrom.

Nordstrom’s customer service approach can be likened to chaotic dynamics due to its allowance for high variability and unpredictability. Employees have the authority to make spontaneous decisions, resulting in a dynamic and often unpredictable spectrum of customer service outcomes. This mirrors the chaotic behaviour observed in strange attractors, where the system is deterministic yet unpredictable.

Furthermore, Nordstrom’s customer service outcomes may seem random, but they are actually deterministic, guided by the straightforward rule of using good judgment. This nonlinearity permits diverse responses to customer needs, illustrating how a simple rule can give rise to complex behaviour.

Practical Implications: Nordstrom’s customer service policies have significant practical implications. By entrusting employees with authority and prioritizing customer satisfaction above all else, Nordstrom has created a culture where exceptional service is the norm. This has led to legendary customer service stories, providing the company with decades of positive publicity and customer loyalty.

In summary, Nordstrom’s customer service rules function as a strange attractor by establishing a simple yet powerful framework that leads to a wide range of complex and exceptional customer service outcomes.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

If you think about the function of your work area/department’s Purpose as a Stange Attractor, let’s start exploring what it could be

Phase 1 –In Trios,

● Consider the types of purposes that would severely restrict or even sabotage your ability to fulfil
● your role responsibilities and achieve desired outcomes. Let’s brainstorm a list of outrageous and cunning ideas:

Phase 2– In the same Trio

● Now, we invite you to be totally honest, review your list, and underline those items in your list that you feel/think exist in your system.

Phase 3–In the same Trio

● What ingredients or components should “Your Group Purpose” include to foster an environment where the team can truly flourish? We’re talking about creating a space where team members have the autonomy to make decisions and shape results within their sphere of influence, all to drive the organization’s adaptive strategy forward.

Phase 4

● Be prepared to share with the other groups.

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Course Manual 10: Strategy Connection

Let’s delve into the connection between purpose and strategy by shifting our attention back to organisational and business unit strategy. Purpose encapsulates the fundamental reason for an entity’s existence and the deep-seated motivation behind its endeavours. Conversely, strategy entails a purposeful, systematic blueprint crafted to address challenges, capitalise on opportunities, and realise specific objectives. Essentially, purpose offers meaning and guidance, while strategy furnishes a structured path for implementation. In a well-functioning system, these two elements are intricately intertwined.

Viewing this through a complexity lens reveals a more nuanced and detailed picture of the internal and external organisational environment. This perspective captures shades and undertones often overlooked by traditional strategy models, providing a richer understanding of the dynamics at play.

The Traditional Strategy Approach:

● Machine-Like Systems: Views organizations as machine-like entities that can be predicted and controlled through rational analysis and planning.
● Top-Down Strategy: Emphasizes deliberate, top-down strategy formulation to achieve predetermined goals and objectives.
● Stable Environment: Assumes a stable and predictable environment where the future can be forecasted.
● Efficiency Focus: Optimizes individual parts of the organisation for maximum efficiency.

Complexity Approach to Strategy:

● Complex Adaptive Systems: Views organisations as dynamic, non-linear, and emergent complex adaptive systems (CAS).
● Adaptive Strategy: Treats strategy as an ongoing process of adaptation and response to environmental changes.
● Unpredictable Future: Recognizes the future as unpredictable due to interconnected feedback loops and unintended consequences.
● Decentralized Decision-Making: Emphasizes decentralised decision-making, experimentation, and managed emergence over rigid control.
● Emergent Strategies: Understands that strategies emerge from interactions and relationships within the organization and its environment.

Key Differences between Traditional Strategy and Complexity Approach to Strategy:

Nature of Organizations

● Traditional Approach: Views organisations as predictable, controllable machines.
● Complexity Approach Sees organizations as complex, evolving systems.

Strategy Formation

● Traditional Approach: Aims for deliberate, pre-planned outcomes.
● Complexity Approach: Recognizes that strategies can also emerge from unplanned patterns.

Approach to Planning

● Traditional Approach: Follows a fixed, top-down plan.
● Complexity Approach: Encourages variety, experimentation, and seizing opportunities.

Control vs. Emergence:

● Traditional Approach: Leans towards rigid control to achieve stability.
● Complexity Theory: Finds a “middle ground” between chaos and control through managed emergence and decentralization.

Adaptation:

● Traditional Strategy: Optimizes for stability and efficiency.
● Complexity Theor: Focuses on continuous adaptation and response to a dynamic, unpredictable environment.

Underlying Assumptions:

● Traditional Strategy: Assumes predictability, control, and optimization.
● Complexity Theory: Embraces uncertainty, emergence, and co-evolution with the environment.

By viewing strategy through the complexity lens, we challenge the traditional assumptions of predictability and control, offering a perspective that embraces uncertainty and promotes continuous adaptation.

Beyond traditional strategy, the field is dynamic, with scholars like Boulton, Allen, and Bowman emphasizing Michael Porter’s influence in disseminating generic strategy concepts rooted in industrial organizational economics. This perspective highlights three key assumptions: definable industry boundaries, firm grouping based on similar products, and competitive forces driving industries toward equilibrium.

While ideas from the 1980s, such as those presented in Peters and Waterman’s ‘In Search of Excellence’, still hold sway, they starkly contrast to the complexity lens of strategy. These ideas, advocating for strategy through the adoption of ‘best practices ‘, overlook the unique circumstances of each organisation, assume the universal applicability of prescribed practices, imply a linear relationship between adopting practices and outcomes, neglect interaction effects, and fail to consider the potential evolution of success drivers over time.

As time has progressed, the landscape of strategic management has witnessed the emergence of alternative perspectives. Barney’s work in the early 90s introduced the resource-based view (RBV), which posits that an organization’s competitive advantage is derived from its valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources and capabilities. Instead of the conventional methods centred around external factors, the RBV advocates for organizations to introspect, pinpointing distinctive internal resources and capabilities to gain a competitive edge.

The RBV and the complexity lens emphasize internal dynamics, resources, and capabilities as key drivers of competitive advantage. They highlight the significance of intangible assets and knowledge-based resources and the need for dynamic adaptation to sustain advantages over time.

Recently, the strategy field has come to terms with the fact that equilibrium doesn’t quite exist in the real world. Instead, there’s a push for constantly evolving short-lived sources of advantage. Teece, Pisano, and Sheun delve into this by highlighting the importance of leveraging dynamic capabilities to create fresh combinations of resources.

Boulton, Allen, and Bowman stress the persistence of an inside-out strategy, where internal resources take precedence over external ones. This approach contrasts with the complexity lens of strategy, which considers internal and external resources and other elements integral to the strategic landscape.

This perspective highlights the importance of flexibility, experimentation, decentralized decision-making, and the ability to sense and respond to emerging trends and opportunities to navigate and thrive in the complex business landscape.

The landscape

A critical difference between traditional strategy and viewing through a complexity lens is how the organisation’s environment is conceived. This environment, referred to as the landscape, has multiple dimensions. Through a complexity lens, the landscape is seen as a dynamic, interconnected system characterized by non-linear interactions, unpredictability, and emergent patterns. Key features include:

Interconnectedness and Feedback Loops: Organisations operate in a landscape of interconnected elements—such as communities, markets, competitors, technologies, regulations, and customer needs—that influence each other through intricate feedback loops. Small changes in one part of the system can have disproportionate and unpredictable impacts across the entire landscape due to these interconnections.

Non-Linearity and Sensitivity to Initial Conditions: The relationship between causes and effects in the business landscape is often non-linear, making it difficult to predict outcomes based on simple linear models or past experiences. Slight differences in initial conditions or perturbations can lead to vastly different trajectories and outcomes over time due to amplifying feedback loops, otherwise known as the Butterfly Effect.

Adaptation and Co-Evolution: Organisations and the broader business landscape continuously influence and adapt to each other’s actions and environmental changes. Successful companies are those that can quickly sense and respond to new patterns, opportunities, and threats by adjusting their strategies and operations.

In this landscape, we focus on its dynamics, expecting constant change. Patterns continually emerge from the interactions between various elements, rather than from a stable, predictable system that can be controlled or optimized through traditional top-down approaches.

Boulton, Allen and Bowman emphasize lesser-known features but equally important ones:

● The Past: Organisations must understand how the past has led to particular institutions and structures.
● Managing the tension between performing and succeeding in the present and being able to make assessments about the future is essential for adapting to change and, in some cases, catalysing change.
● Build unique capabilities that shape the current and future scenarios. The researchers highlight that the innovations’ success depends on the current landscape in which they interact and co-evolve and the form of the future landscape in which they, in part, create. Apple Inc., for example, concentrates on key capabilities like design, software integration, and marketing that reinforce their identity of innovating to produce the “coolest products on the planet.”

Boulton, Allen, and Bowman emphasize some lesser-known yet equally important features:

● The Past: Organisations must understand how past events have led to current institutions and structures.
● Balancing Present and Future: Managing the tension between performing successfully in the present and assessing the future is essential for adapting to change and sometimes catalysing it.
● Building Unique Capabilities: Developing unique capabilities helps shape current and future scenarios. The success of innovations depends on the current landscape in which they interact and co-evolve and the future landscape they help create.

For example, Apple Inc. focuses on key capabilities like design, software integration, and marketing, reinforcing its identity as a company that innovates to produce the “coolest products on the planet.”

A mental image of the complex landscape

Some of us work better with images. The graphic illustration shows that the landscape varies, much like real topography with peaks and valleys. Boulton, Allen, and Bowman suggest that some areas are wide and flat, meaning that strategic offerings don’t need to be very precise to succeed. In contrast, steeper and narrower hills indicate that winning strategies must closely match their target market’s needs in terms of price, quality, and product specifications, as seen in the car manufacturing industry. We will explore the dynamics of the strategy landscape in later modules. For now, keep this illustration in mind as we discuss the landscape in a complex environment.

Exploring Applied Complexity: Insights on Resilience, Adaptation-based Interdisciplinary Science

Some may wonder about the origins of landscape insights. Applied complexity merges multiple scientific fields to offer new perspectives on complex system adaptation and evolution. Drawing from biology and other disciplines, complexity science embraces diverse strands. For example, ecologist C.S. Holling developed foundational theories based on empirical ecological observations. Holling promoted cross-disciplinary knowledge integration (ecology, economics, social sciences) and stakeholder involvement to comprehend and manage complex social-ecological systems.

One of Holling’s notable contributions is resilience theory, defining an ecosystem’s capacity to absorb disturbances while maintaining its core structure and function. This shift from stability to adaptability is pivotal in understanding how systems navigate change. He also introduced the adaptive cycle model, illustrating the growth, conservation, collapse, and reorganization phases that ecosystems experience due to internal dynamics and external shocks. It is crucial to emphasise these cycles’ interconnections and susceptibility to external and internal factors.

Holling also demonstrated that ecosystems function as complex adaptive systems, with multiple interacting components spanning various scales, such as species, landscapes, and climate. These systems exhibit non-linear dynamics and self-organization. He stressed the significance of comprehending cross-scale interactions and feedback between ecological and social systems, introducing the term “Panarchy” to depict their nested and interdependent nature. We’ll delve deeper into the concept of Panarchy later in the program.

Fundamentally, Holling’s groundbreaking work expanded our comprehensive understanding of ecological landscapes as intricate, adaptive systems shaped by cross-scale dynamics, cycles of change, and the interplay between nature and human systems. His contributions laid the groundwork for resilience thinking and adaptive management approaches.

Unveiling Emergence: Organic Dynamics in Business

We’ve been delving into emergence, but what does it actually entail? Viewing it through a complexity lens, emergence in a business context appears as unforeseen, spontaneous patterns, innovations, and strategies emerging from dynamic interactions and relationships within the organization and its operating environment. Rather than being intentionally crafted or directed from the top down—by, for instance, the board of directors or senior leadership—emergence arises organically.

Things to keep in mind about emergence

Here are some key points to remember about emergence:

● Unpredictability: Emergent properties or behaviours cannot always be predicted or deduced from studying individual parts in isolation. They arise from the complex interactions and feedback loops within a system.
● Holistic Nature: Emergence challenges reductionist approaches by showing that complex systems exhibit behaviours beyond the sum of their parts. Understanding emergent phenomena requires considering the system as a whole.
● Positive and Negative Effects: Emergent phenomena can impact organizations positively and negatively. They can lead to innovations and adaptability but also result in crises and unintended consequences.
● Links to Complex Adaptive Systems: Emergence is closely connected to concepts like self-organization, co-evolution, and adaptation in complex adaptive systems, such as businesses. These systems evolve and change over time in response to internal and external influences.
● Management and Mitigation: Studying emergence helps organizations understand how to foster desired emergent properties, like creativity and resilience, while mitigating undesirable ones, such as silos and resistance to change. By recognizing and managing emergence, organizations can better navigate complexity and uncertainty.
● Interconnected: Emergences arise from the interactions and relationships between the various elements or agents within a complex system, such as an organization or an industry, and within itself.

Here are some critical elements of “Emergence”

● Interconnectedness and Self-Organization: In business, different parts, like processes, teams, and departments, are all connected and can figure out how to work together without needing someone to control them. They can create new ways of doing things or fixing problems independently. This connection means that even small changes in one part of a business can cause big changes everywhere else. For example, if the boss behaves badly, it can really hurt the whole business or its reputation.

● Bottom-Up Innovation: Sometimes, new products, services, or ways of doing business come from regular employees trying things out and using what they know from their everyday work instead of being told what to do by top bosses. These new ideas can spread throughout the company through people talking to each other and sharing. Classic examples are Post-It Notes and Honda Motorcycles.

● Adaptive Co-Evolution: In business, companies and the world around them, such as the market, competitors, and new technologies, are always changing together. They adjust and react to each other. Successful businesses don’t just stick to a plan no matter what. Instead, they change and improve their strategies based on what’s happening in the world around them. Take Apple’s iOS ecosystem, for example. It’s like a world where Apple’s digital platform is at the centre. It brings together different parts, such as app makers and accessory companies. Over time, the iOS platform keeps changing to balance control and creativity within this world.

● Non-Linear Dynamics: In business, even small choices or actions can greatly impact what happens next because of how feedback loops work. This means that what happens isn’t always easy to predict because things don’t always happen in a straight line. For instance, in marketing, some companies find ways to be a natural part of people’s lives instead of just interrupting people with ads. They create experiences that fit right into what people are already doing. For example, Red Bull does this with its extreme sports events and content, making the brand seamless in its audience’s interests without being pushy.

Through a complexity lens, businesses aren’t seen as machines to be perfected. Instead, they’re like living ecosystems where new things are always popping up from how everything interacts. Emergence always happens, and smart businesses don’t try to control it too much. Instead, they learn to go with the flow and use it to their advantage.

So, how can managers and leaders handle emergence?

● Leaders need to learn to get comfortable with not knowing everything because emergence is all about surprises and things you can’t plan for.
● Instead of trying to stop emergence, managers should focus on creating the right conditions for beneficial surprises to happen.
● Having a complexity mindset means trying things out, learning from what happens, and letting the system figure things out independently.
● In complex situations, leaders telling everyone what to do might also not work. Giving people more freedom to make decisions independently can be a better way to deal with surprises.

In summary, emergence serves as a focal point within the realm of complex business systems, shedding light on their inherent unpredictability and self-organizational dynamics. This phenomenon challenges conventional management paradigms, underscoring the necessity of cultivating conducive environments that facilitate the emergence of desired behaviours and adaptive responses. Embracing such insights prompts a revaluation of traditional managerial approaches, urging a shift towards strategies that accommodate and harness emergent properties to navigate the complexities inherent in contemporary business landscapes.

Here are two examples of emergence in business strategy. Interestingly, the final strategy didn’t come from a strict plan initially. Instead, it grew naturally through trying new things, adjusting to changes, and spotting unexpected chances. This shows how business environments can organize themselves and throw up surprises.

● Groupon’s changing business: Groupon began as a site supporting activist causes and later shifted to offering daily deals for local businesses. This daily deals idea wasn’t part of the original plan but grew into Groupon’s main strategy over time.

● GreenDot’s switch to prepaid debit cards: GreenDot initially sold stuff online for kids, but they found that offering prepaid debit cards for people without bank accounts was a better idea. So, they shifted their focus to that product, which emerged as a more successful business for them.

As we close this segment of our workshop, let’s heed the warning from Boulton, Allen, and Bowman. In complex environments, we often fall into the trap of choosing a preferred strategy and finding evidence to support it, later labelling it as suitable. They also observe that executives may struggle to connect broad issues and trends to their specific organizational contexts. This disconnect may stem from our tendency to seek concrete facts and certainty instead of engaging in speculative exploration of a complex environment.

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Case Study: A Cautionary Tale

Organizational purposes only remain sustainable if they are broad and clear and allow people within the organization to act with agency. We’ve also learned that adaptive strategies consider a detailed view of the environment, accounting for both present conditions and future impacts of current actions. It’s important to remember that different environments require different approaches. The following case study shows that “both” purpose and strategy need to be adaptive, not just one or the other.

Facebook & Myanmar

When Facebook was founded in 2004, its mission was “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” The goal was to create a platform for connecting people and sharing information and content.

However, Facebook’s role in Myanmar has been controversial. The platform failed to curb the spread of hate speech and misinformation, which contributed to violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Journalists like Paul Mozur and Sheera Frenkel highlighted how Facebook was used to incite violence against the Rohingya despite repeated warnings from civil society groups and employees about the potential for harm.

Initially, Facebook responded inadequately to reports of hate speech and misinformation against the Rohingya on its platform. Although the company later took steps to address the issue, critics argued that these measures were still insufficient.

In 2018, UN investigators found that Facebook was a major factor in spreading hate speech that led to violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Facebook acknowledged that it was unable to prevent its platform from being used to sow division and provoke violence in the country.

Inflammatory content, including posts by senior military officials portraying Rohingya as “invaders,” flooded Facebook, creating an echo chamber of anti-Rohingya content. Facebook’s algorithms amplified and promoted these posts, including those inciting violence, due to its surveillance-based business model.

A recent documentary called *Zuckerberg*, based on the book *An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination* by Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang, stated that part of Facebook’s reluctance to act faster despite warnings was its attachment to its purpose of “giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” This purpose did not consider the consequences of “bad actors” or Myanmar’s political and educational landscape. The documentary also mentioned that the lack of multiple perspectives might be at the core of Facebook’s decision-making issues.

This controversy highlights Facebook’s failure to effectively moderate hate speech and misinformation, particularly in conflict-prone regions, and its reluctance to cooperate with efforts to hold perpetrators accountable for human rights abuses.

By 2018, Facebook acknowledged that its mission of simply connecting people was incomplete and had created unintended negative consequences. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook’s new focus would be building the “social infrastructure” to foster positive communities and address the platform’s role in spreading misinformation, foreign interference, hate speech, and other societal harms.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

Phase 1

Reflecting on what we’ve discussed about strategy through a complex landscape, consider how your organization might benefit from this approach

Phase 2

In pairs, share the time to explore with one another what you have discovered for yourself. Be prepared to share with other teams.

● What surprised you? What are the similarities and differences between the opportunities you found?

Phase 3

● Connect with another pair and see what the similarities and differences are. This is another way to gather multiple perspectives about the benefits of this approach around boundaries and constraints in your roles.

Phase 4

● Based on what you have heard, think about an emerging challenge or opportunity. Turn that challenge into a question.

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Course Manual 11: Minding the Gaps

As we worked through this workshop, you may have noticed gaps between purpose and strategy. These gaps can appear at various levels: individual, team, business unit, and overall organization. Regardless of your role, you can influence how well the system fits its environment.

When it comes to influencing a complex system, your actions matter. It’s not just about direct approaches but also about setting intentions, paying attention, and creating conditions for new patterns to emerge. Remember, systems are interconnected, always changing, self-organizing, and constantly influenced by internal and external contexts.

At the Individual Level

Falling into roles is a shared experience. Sometimes, we secure roles by happenstance, driven by opportunities or extrinsic motivators like a well-paid job. Initially, these roles might seem temporary, but we often stay in them long-term due to various circumstances. This can happen in several ways:

● We might start helping with a task and gradually take on more duties until it becomes our de facto role.
● We might fill a void or meet a need within a group or organization, and the role sticks.
● We might drift into a role without strategically pursuing it, such as moving into a manager position when we’d prefer to be an individual contributor.

If you find yourself in a role by chance, remember you’re not alone. Complex systems are sensitive to initial conditions, so how you start in your role affects your performance and ability to connect your work to a broader impact.

The inspiring part is that finding work aligning with your sense of purpose can bring great fulfilment and catalyse personal growth. This journey can lead to a more rewarding and fulfilling career.

If we do a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation, assuming we live until age 80, working hours could account for around 10% to 11.8% of our total lifetime hours as modern full-time workers. This estimate assumes someone works full-time from age 22 to 65 (43 years), at 40 hours per week for 48 weeks per year (allowing 4 weeks off for holidays/leave):

● Total working hours over a lifetime = 43 years × 48 weeks/year × 40 hours/week = 82,560 hours

Naturally, the number of work hours will differ based on factors like geographic location, work schedule, holiday leave, and part-time status. Additionally, we spend roughly 32.9% of our lives sleeping, assuming 8 hours of sleep per day.

Why these stats? They highlight how we invest a significant part of our lives in work. This metric concerns career fulfilment: Does what I do matter to me? Does it matter to others?

Below are some points to keep in mind to check if what you are doing now is creating a fulfilling career path; how you explore these areas will depend on your contextual reality, such as your stage in life and how connected you see yourself with the broader world. What is important to keep in mind is that “Today” is the start of “Tomorrow”.

Discover Your Purpose: Assess how your unique skills, interests and passions can contribute value to the world. Understand how your potential roles tie into a bigger purpose that resonates with you. Being able to make that connection between work and

Set Meaningful Goals: Clarifying the goals you are working towards, beyond just doing the same tasks repeatedly, provides motivation and a sense of growth. If unsure of a “clear” goal, do learning experiments to clarify the point attractors (themes, topics or dimensions) you want to explore more. Develop an individual development plan and seek input from your leader and others around you. Create conditions to build new skills and continually take on stretch opportunities.

Creating a Fulfilling Career Path: Key Points to Consider

Here are some important points to ensure your current actions lead to a fulfilling career path. How you explore these areas will depend on your personal context, including your life stage and how connected you feel to the broader world. Remember, “Today” is the start of “Tomorrow.”

Internal Inquiry into your Purpose: Assess how your unique skills, interests, and passions can contribute value to the world. Understand how your potential roles tie into a bigger purpose that resonates with you. Connecting your work with a larger purpose can be deeply fulfilling.

Set Meaningful Goals: Clarify the goals you are working towards. Moving beyond just repeating tasks provides motivation and a sense of growth. If you’re unsure of a clear goal, engage in learning experiments to identify themes, topics, or dimensions you want to explore further.

Develop an Individual Development Plan: Create a plan that outlines your personal and professional development goals. Seek input from your leader and others around you to ensure your plan is comprehensive and achievable.

Build New Skills & Explore New Sources of Knowledge: Create conditions for continuous skill development and knowledge acquisition. Seek out stretch opportunities that challenge you and promote growth.

Take Calculated Risks: Fear of failure or not being good enough can prevent us from taking risks. Stepping into roles where we feel we are not experts or are outside our comfort zones can be daunting. However, we can only expand our learning zone when we stretch ourselves. Taking risks can open new doors to experiences that are more coherent with your values and needs

Build a Support Network: Seek and cultivate a network of people who are passionate about what they do, feel they are thriving, or have achieved career fulfilment. As time goes on, your network can become a rich source of advice and motivation.

Stay Tuned In, Like any system, you will evolve, along with your needs and motivations. Periodically reassess whether your current role aligns with your values and desired impact. Career specialists advise against fearing course corrections and redefining what fulfilment means for you.

Remember, coherence and fitness with your landscape and context are crucial for thriving within complex systems. Intention and attention play pivotal roles in changing patterns. Proactively design and navigate your career path toward opportunities that energize you.

Zooming In: The Critical Imperative for Leaders to Focus at the Individual Level

In the Nordstrom case, we see how aligning organizational purpose with strategy and context empowers individuals to contribute effectively. Leaders foster this coherence; they cultivate an environment where people can self-organise, fulfil their roles, and move the strategy forward.

Today, the concept of designing customer service experiences may seem like common knowledge, yet many organizations still rely on borrowed best practices that might not fit their unique environment. This outsourcing trend reached its height in the late 1990s and continued through the mid-2000s, with many companies maintaining their practice of offshoring customer service operations, primarily to cut costs. Unfortunately, this often came at the expense of quality and customer experience. The misconception that customer service is merely a non-differentiated, back-office function further perpetuated this trend.

If we had applied a complexity lens in the room, we would have considered more than just cost savings. Predictably, a counter-trend emerged as companies began bringing their customer service operations back in-house. This shift was driven by re-evaluating customer service’s role, moving it from the backend to the frontline, where it could shape the customer experience. The individuals handling customer interactions played a pivotal role in shaping this experience. Insourcing enhances employee engagement and enables employees to fully align with the organization’s value proposition, thereby delivering a cohesive customer experience.

Moreover, we’ve emphasized the significance of understanding a system’s history. Much of this institutional knowledge and expertise, crucial for maintaining continuity, was at risk of leaving the organization.

Viewing customer service as a commodity reflects an organizational perspective that lacks recognition of its interdependence with other elements and its broader impact on the entire organization. This doesn’t discount the potential validity of outsourcing. Still, it underscores the importance of how organizations integrate or utilize these services to bolster their sustainability in the market, focusing on value addition rather than subtraction.

Roles as Point Attractors

Some organizational roles and industries (e.g., insurance) can be labelled as “fall into the role” point attractors. Entry-level sales positions exemplify this concept. Sales experts describe these roles as particularly challenging because they require a unique blend of self-discipline, resilience, business acumen, and the ability to handle conflict and rejection, ultimately converting prospects and closing deals.

Initially, new hires may feel enthusiastic and confident that they can overcome any challenge with practice and guidance. However, sales roles often have “pressure cooker” characteristics, such as continuously chasing targets, making numerous calls, ongoing prospecting, and maintaining high conversion rates to meet commission expectations.

Managers can easily measure results in these roles, but the adverse effects on employees who may not be well-suited for them are less visible. These can include high levels of stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, and potential burnout, all of which can significantly impact overall well-being.

Facilitating Job Crafting

The good news is that specific roles don’t have to remain “fall into the role” point attractors. Job crafting offers a proactive approach for employees to redesign and reshape their jobs, aligning better with their skills, interests, and values.

Unlike traditional job redesign, which is a management-driven process that formally redefines job characteristics, job crafting is an employee-initiated process. It allows for ongoing, individualized job reshaping within the existing role boundaries, helping employees tailor their roles to suit their personal needs and preferences.

As an organizational leader, it’s crucial to observe what is happening at multiple levels and create conditions that support ongoing change and re-orientation. This environment can help individual employees co-evolve with their roles, leading to a more dynamic and fulfilling workplace.

At the Group Level

The degree of coherence among teams and groups is a critical component in achieving the chosen strategies. These groups continuously adapt and implement the strategy every day. It is important to clarify that what we seek is a level of mutuality, not necessarily more and more cohesion.

Mutuality and Coherence: A Difference That Matters

Mutuality

Setting conditions for mutuality to flourish is crucial for creating greater organizational coherence. Mutuality focuses on reciprocal, interdependent relationships and shared experiences between parties, making us aware of our impact on others.

Scholars agree that mutuality involves interdependence and mutual influence. It recognizes a moral obligation to value and support others’ well-being and embodies a sense of reciprocity and mutual exchange. BJ Brown notes that mutuality enables groups to view themselves as networks of relationships rather than just collections of individuals.

Mutuality emphasizes the bilateral or multilateral nature of relationships, characterized by a dynamic give-and-take and an acknowledgment of each party’s role and contribution. Research suggests that mutuality and individuality can coexist effectively within an organization.

Organizations that foster mutuality build trust, share expertise, and promote fairness and care. This environment supports members’ flourishing and creates relational value through collaborative relationships. Mutuality enhances individual efforts towards organizational objectives, fostering cooperation and mutual support.

Cohesion

Cohesion refers to a group or organisation’s overall unity, solidarity, and togetherness. It involves developing a shared identity and identifying common elements that unite the group, which fosters a sense of belonging and trust. Cohesion is characterized by actively pursuing the well-being of all members and protecting them from exclusion. It focuses on the collective bond, harmony, and cooperation within the group rather than specific reciprocal interactions between individuals.

Drawbacks of Too Much Cohesion

While cohesion fosters unity and togetherness, excessive cohesion can have significant drawbacks in a complex system that thrives on variety and multiple perspectives. Here are some of the critical negative side effects of too much cohesion:

● Groupthink: Excessive cohesion can lead to groupthink, where maintaining group harmony and consensus is prioritized over critically evaluating ideas or voicing dissenting opinions. This can result in failure to consider alternative solutions, challenge flawed plans, or make well-informed decisions due to a lack of critical thinking.

● Isolation and Resistance to Outside Input: Highly cohesive groups may develop an “us vs. them” mentality, becoming insular and resistant to external feedback or ideas.. This can result in missing valuable outside perspectives and opportunities for improvement, as well as becoming overconfident and dismissive of external criticism or suggestions.

● Social Loafing and Complacency: When cohesion is exceptionally high, group members may prioritize social interactions over task completion. This can reduce individual effort and motivation (social loafing), complacency, and a lack of drive to innovate or challenge the status quo.

● Divergence from Organizational Goals: Overly cohesive groups may develop norms and goals that diverge from those of the larger organization. Strong internal bonds can cause them to prioritize group interests over broader organizational objectives and resist directives or changes from leadership, viewing them as external threats.

While some cohesion benefits teamwork, excessive cohesion can ultimately undermine group performance, decision-making, and organizational coherence if left unchecked.

At an Organisational Level

In the last part of this workshop, we discussed environmental fitness. Simply put, in a complex system, fitness means everything in your organization—departments, people, procedures, and processes—working together effectively to create a cohesive system.

So, how do you know if your organization is coherent? Here are some signs, according to Holladay:

● Feeling like progress is constantly being undone.
● Hearing comments like, “We speak different languages” after meetings.
● Observing that certain groups always seem disconnected.
● Noticing statements like, “It’s like our left-hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing.”

Holladay emphasizes the importance of the parts making sense together, having enough similarity or complementarity to work well together, and having enough difference to avoid unnecessary redundancy.

Eoyang has identified seven characteristics of coherent systems.

● Having shared goals that shape the work of individual agents towards similar targets congruent with their roles and responsibilities. She says that rather than just cascading the formal strategic plan, which is removed from day-to-day work. Understanding how what we do daily is connected to the over-arching organisational goals is important. This is an iterative and ongoing process.

● Working towards a shared meaning contributes to coherent thought and action as patterns play out across the landscape. Here, it is important to remember that people translate messages through the mosaic of individual perspectives. Shared meaning is appreciated at different levels of depth, from sharing the same jargon to a deeper level, where what is heard and shared in one part of the organisation informs similar work in other parts.

● Repeated patterns increase familiarity and productive redundancy in the system. An example is the behaviours exhibited by employees at different levels, from senior leaders to those employees in operational roles. Decisions made across departments are coherent. At any point where external stakeholder interacts with the system, their experiences are consistent and dependable

● Adaptation to internal and external changes enables the system to engage successfully in challenges and access opportunities to move toward greater fitness.

● Reduce internal tension. Tension is the energy that emerges when a system has to deal with the uncertainty of the unknown. On its own, tension is not a bad thing, as it can spur innovation and creative action. Too much tension can be paralysing and debilitating in the system. Coherence reduces the tension by increasing consistency and reliability in the system.

● Having complementary functions ensures that all system parts carry out unique and interdependent roles to contribute to its fitness.

● Conserved energy means that the system has the necessary level of clarity and transparency to support information sharing and integration of tasks that support productive exchanges. Energy is conserved, and its use is diverted to focus on the work that needs to be done.

Eoyang has outlined seven key characteristics of coherent systems:

1. Shared Goals: These goals shape the actions of individual agents, aligning their efforts with organizational objectives. Rather than simply cascading a formal strategic plan, it’s crucial to understand how daily tasks connect to overarching goals. This understanding is an ongoing, iterative process.

2. Shared Meaning: Building a shared understanding contributes to coherent thought and action. It’s important to recognize that people interpret messages through their own perspectives. Shared meaning can range from common jargon to deeper levels of understanding, where insights from one part of the organization inform similar work elsewhere.

3. Repeated Patterns: Familiar patterns increase efficiency and reliability within the system. For example, consistent behaviours across different levels of employees and coherent decision-making across departments ensure a dependable experience for external stakeholders interacting with the system.

4. Adaptation: Successful engagement with challenges and opportunities requires the system to adapt to internal and external changes. This adaptability is crucial for achieving greater fitness.

5. Tension Reduction: While tension can drive innovation, excessive tension can hinder progress. Coherence decreases tension by enhancing consistency and reliability within the system.

6. Complementary Functions: Each part of the system fulfils unique yet interdependent roles, contributing to overall fitness.

7. Conserved Energy: A coherent system maintains clarity and transparency, facilitating information sharing and efficient task integration. Energy is conserved and directed towards productive endeavours.

Identifying and resolving potential gaps between organizational purpose and strategy is a continual and iterative process that naturally generates inner tension. This tension can, however, serve as a catalyst for creativity. It’s important to recognize that these gaps can arise at various organisational levels and should be addressed accordingly.

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Case Study: Honda’s Emergent Strategy

Honda’s salesmen in the United States played a pivotal role in shifting Honda’s strategy to focus on smaller, affordable motorcycles, diverging from their initial plan to compete with larger bikes like Harley-Davidson.

Honda initially entered the U.S. market with a “deliberate strategy” to sell large, high-powered motorcycles similar to Harley-Davidson and European brands. However, these larger bikes faced issues like oil leakages and clutch failures, leading to high repair costs. Meanwhile, Honda had imported some smaller 50cc “Super Cub” motorcycles for its Japanese employees in the U.S. One employee used the Super Cub for recreational off-road riding, catching the attention of other employees and locals.

Honda salesmen noticed the growing interest and demand for the smaller, more affordable Super Cubs. They suggested to Honda’s management that focusing on these smaller bikes could be more advantageous than pushing the larger, problematic motorcycles.

Honda’s senior management was initially reluctant to abandon its original strategy of selling larger bikes. This changed when a buyer from Sears expressed interest in selling the Super Cubs through its catalogue. Honda reconsidered the market opportunity presented by the smaller bikes.

Honda’s senior leaders were open to receiving and considering the salesmen’s bottom-up feedback about changing customer preferences and market opportunities. Listening to and working with this feedback enabled Honda to recognize and embrace an emergent opportunity.

Gradually, through this bottom-up feedback and emerging customer demand, Honda realized that embracing smaller motorcycles as their core U.S. strategy would be more viable and profitable than persisting with the larger bikes. This shift opened a new market segment of “off-road bikers” that emerged organically from Honda’s experiences and salesforce inputs rather than being part of their original deliberate strategy.

To capitalize on this opportunity, Honda hired the advertising agency Grey Advertising, which created the iconic “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” slogan based on a student’s marketing assignment. The multi-year “Nicest People” campaign, with a $5 million investment from Honda, portrayed the smaller motorcycles as fun, affordable vehicles for the common person. This resonated with American consumers, and the campaign was a massive success. Honda’s sales skyrocketed from around 100,000 units in 1963 to over 50% market share in the U.S. by 1964, driven primarily by the popular Super Cub models.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

Phase 1 –On your own

● We invite you to consider the potential gaps that could be converted into opportunities you may have observed at different organisational levels. Choose one or two items per level. Think about their impact

Phase 2– In a Trio

● Now, we invite you to share your list and how that challenge can be an opportunity.

Phase 3

● Be prepared to share with the other groups.

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Course Manual 12: Adaptive Action

We’ve established that organizations today operate in increasingly complex and dynamic environments where rapid and unpredictable changes are the norm. These changes, while similar in nature, vary in scale, and traditional methods of understanding and responding to them often fall short as new patterns emerge. In our hyper-connected world, systems become larger, more diverse, open, and non-linear, meaning the impacts of events are often disproportionate to their causes.

In such uncertain environments, inner tension can build within the system, diverting attention from strategic goals and causing confusion. Organizations must be adept at observing, understanding, and responding to what is happening around them to thrive in these conditions.

This brings us to the Adaptive Action Cycle, a framework from Human Systems Dynamics (HSD). This approach recognizes that the future is inherently unpredictable in complex systems, and outcomes cannot be controlled due to the contingent nature of emergent realities. Instead of seeking perfect solutions from the outset, Adaptive Action advocates for taking iterative steps, assessing impacts, and adjusting actions accordingly.

The core of the Adaptive Action Cycle revolves around three questions: What? So what? Now what? Many use these three questions in learning cycles and action research. Their unique application in HSD lies in their ability to help us discover patterns within complex systems, derive meaning from them, and take informed action.

Understanding what constitutes a “pattern” is crucial. Unlike the common notion of patterns as mere repetitions, Eoyang’s research defines patterns as configurations of similarities, differences, and connections that hold significance across space and time, emerging through self-organization within the system. She coined the term “pattern logic” to describe the disciplined reasoning used to analyse these patterns and build adaptive capacity, enabling responses to unpredictable changes.

The simplicity and flexibility of this approach make it applicable across various contexts, from individuals and teams to entire organizations facing complex challenges. Adaptive Action builds resilience by enhancing a system’s ability to sense changing conditions and respond appropriately.

How can this simple method help us see through the uncertainty of complex adaptive systems?

● Cycle of Data Collection, Analysis, and Action: Engaging in iterative cycles of seeing, thinking, and acting is the most effective response to adaptation needs. Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) adapts this process to address the openness, high dimensionality, and nonlinearity of dynamic changes in complex human systems by framing it as a series of inquiry processes. These processes are guided by the three conditions that influence self-organizing: container (C), difference (D), and exchanges (E).

● Iteration: Complex systems are driven by iteration. Simple processes are repeated at different times and speeds and with various materials, resulting in diverse yet fundamentally coherent patterns. For example, rituals build community through repeated actions.

● Inquiry: The adaptive action cycle is always framed as a series of questions to avoid the risk of letting past assumptions dominate future expectations. Continuous questioning is crucial for staying adaptive.

● Flexibility and Accessibility: This method can be applied by any group, at any level, at any time, and across various domains.

● Risk Mitigation: To reduce risk, it is essential to quickly and carefully assess how the system responds to an action and then take another action in response. Adaptive action supports ongoing adjustments when prediction and control are not possible.

● Versatility and Complementarity: Depending on the inquiry, different tools, models, and methods can be used at various stages of the cycle.

● Multi-Scale Application: Adaptive action cycles can run in parallel at different scale levels, from small challenges to organizational ones, allowing for shorter cycles within a long-term planning cycle.

Conditions for Self-Organising: Container, Differences and Exchanges:

Container: A container holds the parts of the system together long enough for them to interact and create new patterns. This concept, represented by “C,” can include a leader, a room, a language, an institutional boundary, or any other system feature that influences the process’s path, speed, and results. By influencing the container, you can influence the process.

Differences: Significant differences within a system are essential for new patterns to emerge. These variations can be quite diverse, influenced by the specific context. For instance, in an advanced gym class, fitness level is a significant difference, while in a job application, experience and expertise are crucial. The business environment also highlights differences in service quality, product quality, and geographical location. Change requires an optimal number of significant differences to support a robust self-organizing process. Too many differences can prevent the system from stabilizing. Differences determine the speed, path, and outcome of the self-organizing process. An example is the 2011 Arab Spring, where numerous differences led to significant energy and movement but initially lacked clear direction and purpose.

Exchanges: Exchanges are connections that transmit information, resources, and energy among the parts of the complex adaptive system (CAS). These connections are crucial for facilitating the interactions that drive the self-organizing process.

Together, container, difference, and exchange are the conditions that influence the self-organizing process, shaping its speed, complexity, and clarity.

What is the Adaptive Action Cycle?

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The Adaptive Action Cycle is an intentional, reflective process designed to navigate complex adaptive systems. It asks three deceptively simple questions: What? So what? Now what? This cycle helps identify, understand, and influence patterns within a system.

1. WHAT?

● Purpose: To identify the current patterns, interactions, and dynamics shaping the situation.
● Process: This question challenges assumptions and expectations, opening your eyes to the reality on the ground. It involves using data, information, or feedback gathered over time to notice what is present or emerging in the system.

2. SO WHAT?

● Purpose: To make sense of the observed patterns and dynamics.
● Process: This phase involves understanding the implications and meanings behind what happens. Applying Pattern Logic (CDE), which focuses on containers, differences, and exchanges, helps discover how these conditions shape emerging patterns’ speed, path, and direction.

3. NOW WHAT?

● Purpose: To inform wise action steps to influence the situation in a more desirable direction.
● Process: Based on insights from the previous questions, this phase moves from analysis to incremental actions, even amid uncertainty. The actions taken here are experimental, aimed at learning how the system responds rather than committing to a specific course. Depending on the outcome, you may choose to amplify, dampen, or change your actions.

The cycle then repeats, with each “now what” action leading to the next “what” question as the situation evolves. This iterative process allows for continual learning, adaptation, and course correction.

Benefits of Using Adaptive Action in Complex Adaptive Systems

1. Fosters a Sense of Hope: Adaptive Action offers a realistic approach to navigating uncertain and overwhelming situations. Instead of feeling helpless trying to predict and control everything, individuals and teams can move forward productively by taking incremental steps through the “what, so what, now what” cycle.

2. Promotes Innovation: By not being confined to a limited set of predefined solutions, Adaptive Action encourages the exploration of multiple possibilities for novel approaches and actions. It allows people to imagine creative options beyond conventional choices, expanding their innovative capacity.

3. Gives Voice to Intuitive Expertise: Adaptive Action provides a structured theory to articulate the intuitive intelligence that skilled practitioners use in complex environments. This framework enables sharing and building upon valuable intuitive expertise.

4. Engages with Intractable Problems: Adaptive Action offers a pragmatic method to address seemingly unsolvable “wicked” problems. Taking iterative steps and adjusting based on impacts allows gradual progress on these challenging issues.

5. Builds Resilience and Adaptability: The iterative cycle of sensing, analysing, and acting facilitates continual learning, course correction, and adaptation as situations evolve. This enhances the system’s overall resilience and ability to navigate uncertainties effectively.

Adaptive Action provides a powerful approach for individuals, teams, and organizations to engage productively with the complexity inherent in human systems by embracing patterns, relationships, and emergent dynamics rather than relying on linear cause-effect models.

Working with the Adaptive Action Cycle in Practice

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The “What?” Stage

The key difference between the “What?” stage in an Adaptive Action cycle and a traditional approach is the focus on identifying patterns rather than just listing facts or events.

In a traditional approach, the “What?” stage typically involves gathering data, listing facts, and describing events or circumstances linearly or isolatedly. This can lead to a narrow or fragmented understanding of the situation.

In contrast, the Adaptive Action “What?” stage emphasizes observing and describing the underlying patterns that emerge from the interactions and dynamics within the system. This approach involves:

● Identify and explore your starting point or issue, listing concrete facts and articulating how and where you are stuck. This will help you recognize patterns that may be limiting.
● Looking for recurring themes, connections, and relationships between different elements rather than just listing separate events.
● Seeking to understand how system parts interact and influence each other over time.
● Identifying similarities, differences, and meaningful connections across the whole system.
● Exploring your assumptions, as they may block you from seeing current and emergent patterns.
● When looking at data, seek multiple sources, such as stories and numbers.

The Adaptive Action “What?” stage provides a more holistic and systemic view of the current reality by focusing on patterns rather than just isolated facts. This lays the groundwork for deeper sense-making in the “So What?” stage and more effective interventions in the “Now What?” stage, accounting for the complex dynamics at play.
 
The “So What?” Stage
In the “So What?” stage, we interpret patterns to generate options for action. Here are the key differences between this stage in an Adaptive Action cycle and traditional analysis:

● Pattern Identification and Systemic Dynamics: Instead of analysing isolated facts or events, this stage identifies patterns and systemic dynamics. Traditional analysis often examines data points linearly and reductionistically without considering broader interactions and relationships within the system.

● Multiple Perspectives: This stage explores the implications and meanings behind observed patterns from various viewpoints. Unlike traditional analysis, which often focuses narrowly on a single perspective or objective, it encourages considering how patterns may impact different stakeholders.

● Possibilities for Change: The “So What?” stage opens inquiries into new possibilities by examining systemic conditions that enable or constrain current patterns. It identifies leverage points for introducing changes to shift dynamics rather than merely critiquing the status quo.

● Human Systems Dynamics Tools: This stage uses human systems dynamics tools and frameworks to explain the complex causality and mental models underlying observed patterns. Conventional analysis methods often fail to understand the non-linear interactions in human systems.

● Exploratory Stance: The “So What?” stage maintains an exploratory stance, suspending judgment and examining situations from multiple angles before deciding on a way forward, unlike traditional analysis, which may jump to conclusions or solutions prematurely.

● Challenging Assumptions: It stretches thinking by exploring extreme edges of the topic or situation, creating conditions to challenge general assumptions and conventional wisdom.

● Shared Exploration: This stage encourages shared exploration, inviting multiple perspectives and making the diverse interpretations from organizational members more transparent.

● Finding Next-wise Actions: It initiates the process of determining the most suitable actions or movements for the current context.

We understand aspects such as attractor patterns and self-similar behaviours (fractals) across multiple levels in this stage. To summarize, the “So What?” stage provides a holistic, systemic, and open-ended form of analysis, accounting for the complexity, perspectives, and dynamics within a situation. This process enables deeper sense-making, leading to more adaptive and transformative interventions in the subsequent “Now What?” stage.

The “Now What?” Stage
In the “Now What?” stage, we begin setting the conditions for action. Action is vital because it enables learning through experimentation, shapes new patterns and dynamics, embraces iterative adaptation, avoids paralysis, and probes the core systemic conditions. Without taking action in the “Now What?” step, the Adaptive Action cycle remains stuck in observation and analysis rather than actively engaging with and influencing the evolving situation.

Here are a few differences between the “Now What?” step in Adaptive Action and the usual analysis:

● Focus on Practical Action: This stage emphasizes taking practical action based on the current understanding, even with incomplete information, rather than aiming for a comprehensive analysis before acting. Traditional analysis often seeks to gather all possible data before determining a course of action.

● Experimental Approach: Actions are viewed as experiments to generate new learning and understanding, not as final solutions. It’s accepted that any action in a complex system will have unintended consequences that require further adaptation. This iterative process centres around learnings, impacts, and consequences.

● Iterative Cycle: The action initiates a new cycle of observing patterns (“What?”), making sense (“So What?”), and taking the next wise action (“Now What?”), rather than serving as an endpoint. The process continues to iterate, expecting systems to react in emergent or unpredictable ways. Traditional analysis tends to be more linear: analyse, decide, implement, and forget.

● Systemic Understanding: Actions emerge from understanding the systemic conditions and dynamics generating current patterns, not just reacting to events. Traditional analysis often focuses more narrowly on specific problems or circumstances.

● Shifting Dynamics: The actions aim to shift underlying system dynamics and patterns, not just address surface-level symptoms. Typical analysis frequently focuses on solving the immediate, presenting issue.

The “Now What?” step embraces an experimental, iterative approach of taking reasonable action based on current understanding, observing the impacts on system dynamics, and using those learnings to inform the next action cycle. This adaptive, sense-making stance contrasts with conventional analysis that aims to fully study a situation before determining a comprehensive solution to implement.

Challenges with the “Now What?” Phase

Let’s reflect on some challenges you and your organization may encounter when working in the “Now What?” step of Adaptive Action.

● Seeing More Data as Key to Decision-Making: The “Now What?” step encourages action even when incomplete information is uncertain. However, it can be challenging to quell internal anxiety and avoid the tendency to gather more data before acting. The discomfort of making decisions with incomplete information can hinder progress.

● Viewing Actions as Experiments: The actions taken in this step are treated as experiments to generate new learning, not final solutions. Embracing an experimental mindset rather than seeking a comprehensive fix can be difficult for those accustomed to traditional, definitive solutions.

● Aiming to Shift System Dynamics: “Now What?” actions aim to influence underlying systemic conditions and dynamics, rather than merely addressing surface-level symptoms. Identifying high-leverage interventions in complex systems can be challenging, as effective actions may seem small or indirect, requiring patience and strategic thinking.

● Avoiding Predictability: Actions in complex systems will have unintended consequences, so “Now What?” actions cannot rely on predictions of specific outcomes. Organizations often dislike unpredictability and may struggle to embrace ambiguity and the inherent uncertainty in this approach.

● Contextual Wisdom: Determining a “wise” action depends on the specific context, making universal prescriptions impossible. This requires awareness, openness to learning and unlearning, and continuous practice to discern the appropriate action for each situation.

● Embracing Iteration: The “Now What?” phase is iterative, as any action generates new “What?” observations, restarting the cycle. Over time, sustaining an iterative, adaptive stance can feel taxing, especially if the cycle is not seen as a learning opportunity or if the process lacks precise, immediate results.

The “Now What?” step challenges traditional approaches that aim for complete analysis before taking action. This phase requires acting despite uncertainty, learning through experimentation, and continuously adapting as new patterns emerge. The call to action in this stage reduces the risks of inaction or paralysis due to uncertainty. Rather than getting stuck in analysis paralysis, Adaptive Action encourages taking reasonable action, even with incomplete information, to make progress.

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Case Study: Adaptive Action Cycle in a Non-Profit Context

Context: USAID carried out an initiative in Bangladesh to strengthen the economic resilience of local agro-retailers who are facing challenges due to deeply embedded gender norms restricting female involvement.

1. What?

● Observation: Initial approaches failed to engage female retailers, with low participation and unmet sales targets.
● Data Collection: Feedback was gathered through surveys and focus groups with male and female retailers and community leaders.

2. So What?

● Analysis: Feedback highlighted cultural and gender-based barriers female retailers face.
● Reflection: The team saw the need for a more inclusive strategy.

3. Now What?

● Action Planning: They introduced gender-sensitive training, created safe spaces for women, and engaged male leaders to support female empowerment.
● Implementation and Adjustment: They continuously monitored feedback, refining interventions to remain effective.

Outcomes:

● Economic Impact: Generated over $400,000 in sales.
● Engagement: Engaged 5,000 retailers with increased female participation.
● Sustainability: Fostered local ownership and sustainable change.

Reflection: USAID’s Bangladesh project applied the adaptive action cycle to effectively overcome barriers, resulting in significant positive outcomes and laying the groundwork for long-term development. This approach shows how continuous learning and adaptation can navigate complex, real-world challenges.

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Putting it All Together Exercise:

Phase 1 –On your own

● What parts of your strategy planning process can use the adaptive cycle to create more environmental fitness, internally and externally?

Phase 2 –In your Trio

● Share one or two items on your list with others. Share one sentence around your rationale.

Phase 3– In a Trio

● We invite you to share your list with your trio. Compare your list and choose ONE similar or common topic. Ask yourselves, “So what” may that mean for your organisation?

Phase 4

● And “Now What?” could be an experiment you could launch to learn how your system will respond. A small experiment is best at this stage to grow your confidence. Be prepared to share with the other groups.

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Project Studies

At the end of the first workshop, participants will decide whether to implement the program horizontally, in collaboration with other business units, or vertically, within their own functions.

Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 3) – Finance

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 7) – Legal

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 8) – Management

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 10) – Production

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Project Study (Part 12) – Education

The Head of this Department is to provide an Adaptive Action report Clarifying Purpose on the Introduction to the Adaptive Business Strategy process. This report should detail the integration of workshop concepts into the department’s planning, development, implementation, management, and review stages in collaboration with all key stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to the lessons and insights that emerged or were noticed at different levels and contexts. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

1. Clarifying Purpose
2. Future Back
3. Trends that Matter
4. Portfolio Analysis
5. Scenario Planning
6. Organising
7. Simple Rules
8. Adaptive Planning
9. Navigating Uncertainty
10. Decision Making
11. Evaluating
12. Monitoring Progress

Before starting, please provide a baseline assessment of the workshop’s focus area as it currently stands in your business unit. Then, evaluate its effectiveness based on outcomes, documenting assumptions and metrics whenever possible.

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Program Benefits