Persistent, dramatic changes are taking place that influence our work, communities, and personal lives and understanding what it means to learn, respond, and succeed will take changes in how we evaluate it all. A key feature of change in a complex system is that once its shifted, it never goes back; there’s no ‘undoing’ what’s …
Systemic changes are happening all around us and the need for preparedness for an uncertain future has never been more salient. While operational plans and strategy are critical, psychological preparedness is just as important. Preparedness is anticipating certain kinds of events and outcomes tied to those events. Let’s look at environmental issues. For example, every …
We need systemic action informed by systems thinking to address the global challenges facing humanity. Alas, too many are focused on the thinking (and talk), not action. My aim for writing this is because I believe strongly in the potential of systems thinking for action. I don’t see much hope for humans if we can’t …
Systems Thinking and Systemic Action Aren’t The Same Thing Read More »
Humans tell stories to each other through narrative, pictures, and data and models can help us make sense of things, but do they help us act? Or worse: do these models contribute to inertia? If you want to get a lot of traction on social media with a certain crowd, put up a model or …
Models for Clarity or Confusion: Are Your Sense-making Efforts Serving You? Read More »
Asking if its better to have people work in a physical office together or from home is the wrong question if you’re not willing to look at the work itself. Since COVID-19 forced the world’s office workers home as their base for the better part of 36 months the world of commercial real-estate hasn’t been …
Work Design For People and Production Not Places Read More »
Creative ideas, new insights, and sustained action thrive in a community. As the world adapts to new ways of organizing and distributing our work, it’s worth considering what kind of spaces support this. I work with organizations seeking to innovate and rarely does the topic of space come up at the start of the conversation. …
