Social innovation was once at the leading edge for social impact thinking and now seems stalled: what happened? This first of a two-part series builds on a piece I published on Medium and can be read here. Social Innovation was a term I used regularly to describe my field of interest. I loved how it …
Social Innovation’s Update: Part 1 – A Complicated History Read More »
Complexity is straining the ability of traditional plans to function as designed. When mass systems change is afoot, the key is not to jettison traditional planning, but collaborate with complexity rather than ignore it. In an earlier post I made the case that the days of linear planning were over. I stand by that, but …
What does systemic change at an exponential level look like? Look around and you’ll see why a new approach to perceiving the world is now critical. The first question above is answered below: Whether it’s area burned (above) or carbon emissions (below), the Canadian wildfire situation is a start and gigantic example of what exponential …
Innovation has a language problem and unless we address it people will continue to dismiss or inflate its place in helping us create a world we want. #innovation
Boring and dull get a bad rap. Innovation, despite its popular image, is often boring and dull, but it also leads to fulfilment and that is an exciting outcome worth striving for. Boring is the day-to-day work that most of us do. It’s consistent, largely uneventful, and steady. It’s what allows us to create reliable …
Innovation Is Like Everyday Life: Mostly Dull and Occasionally Dramatic Read More »
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 »
