Yo Chris, Thanks for the links; I am enjoying your vids. Thanks to you, and your vids, I am using a new word lately: ecotone
Daniel Sent from my iPhone On Jul 24, 2014, at 10:59 AM, chris.corri...@gmail.com wrote: > While Snowden and others introduced Cynefin in 2007, they have continued to > work on it in incredible amounts of detail. Far more than is useful to > recite here. But I would suggest that you visit > http://www.cognitive-edge.com to track the further development of this > framework. > > We could get sidetracked into a whole thread on this, but what is interesting > to note from a technical perspective is that the Cynefin framework is > actually an ontology - meaning that it describes ways of being rather than > ways of knowing - and it helps people to understand what to do when > confronted by certain situations. > > I find it a really really useful framework, but in my 6 or more years of > exploring it have come to realize that it needs careful and appropriate > application. > > At a base level however, the distinction between the minds of problems that > require emergent solutions and those requiring technical solutions has been a > useful distinction when working with clients who are struggling with a > variety of responses to the kinds of situations they face in their work. It > has been the most useful way. > > If you can stand it, there is a 55 minute recording of me giving a > teleseminar online on the use of Cynefin to understand complexity especially > in respect to using participatory processes like Open Space: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRn3BM56W74 > > Chris > > > On Jul 24, 2014, at 7:58 AM, Daniel Mezick <d...@newtechusa.net> wrote: > >> Harold, >> >> Yes, and more and more work is actually tipping into the complex/chaotic >> state as depicted on the Cynefin diagram. I suspect this trend is being >> powered by increases in the rate of change in the society, driven primarily >> by technology. >> >> Every day, more and more work is complex and chaotic. Loads of change, all >> day, every day. >> >> Maybe the Cynefin diagram needs to allocate more space to complex and >> chaotic work, to depict it more accurately: >> >> Diagram: >> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Cynefin_framework_Feb_2011.jpeg >> >> >> >> Fewer and fewer projects are qualifying for the traditional ABC management >> approach. More and more complex & chaotic work tends to favor empirical >> approaches and may explain the popularity of Agile. It also might explain >> the rise of Open Space as a legitimate tool for manifesting high performance >> in business. "Management" as important as ever, is a function of the >> self-organizing system. It is not a role. >> >> This link explains how Microsoft is laying off 18000 people and beginning >> what appears to be a forced march to Agile: >> http://www.tgdaily.com/enterprise/120066-is-microsoft-adopting-a-more-agile-approach >> >> ...this, from what was once a very, very successful software vendor. >> >> Ouch. >> >> Are we all being swept along by a tide of relentless change? I see some >> crazy-looking folks way out there, in the water, wearing wet suits, on >> surfboards. They appear to be greatly enjoying themselves. >> >> Daniel >> >> On 7/24/14 6:15 AM, Harold Shinsato wrote: >>> Chris, >>> >>> Thank you for bringing in the Cynefin framework! After hearing about >>> Snowden's framework at an agile software conference, it quickly spread >>> through the Agile community. Agile is even referenced in the wikipedia >>> article about Cynefin. I'd recommend that folks take a look at the article >>> at least for the simple graphic that helps understand the >>> model:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin >>> >>> It's interesting that although Snowden's article was published in 2007 in >>> HBR, a good chunk of the useful ideas had been worked on by Brenda >>> Zimmerman and others starting in 1998 after being inspired by the study of >>> chaos theory. >>> >>> Simple (or obvious) is like baking a cake. (Maybe things don't always go to >>> plan, but following a simple recipe at sea level with good tools and >>> ingredients will usually work). >>> >>> Complicated is like sending a rocket to the moon. Yes, many moving parts in >>> mission control. Many things can go wrong. But working the plan does most >>> of the work. >>> >>> Complex is like parenting a child. What you learn raising a child from >>> birth to age six does not give the answers for the next six years, let >>> alone for raising the next one. >>> >>> Snowden also adds a Chaotic and Disorder domain, and interesting boundaries >>> and relationships between the five domains. What's also interesting about >>> Cynefin is that the focus is on our knowledge or understanding of a system >>> - not really a description of the Universe or piece thereof. >>> >>> It's a mistake to dismiss the utility of Cynefin as a lens simply by >>> stating that the universe is self-organizing. If anything, this model's >>> utility is mostly in showing how traditional management processes (i.e. >>> command and control) are mostly inadequate for most issues especially in >>> today's environment. Cynefin has been used a great deal to help promote >>> agile practices in organizations, and surely can also be used to promote >>> OST. >>> >>> Harold >>> >>> >>> >>> On 7/22/14 12:57 PM, chris.corri...@gmail.com wrote: >>>> I seek simplicity in trying to describe where and how Open Space does it’s >>>> magic. >>>> >>>> One of the ways I have had excellent success over the years in describing >>>> this work is derived from David Snowden’s work on the Cynefin framework. >>>> >>>> The short story is this: >>>> >>>> We are faced all the time with problems that are basically knowable, and >>>> problems that aren’t. Knowable problems mean that with the right >>>> knowledge and expertise, they can be fixed. A technical team can come >>>> together and analyse the causes, work with what’s available and craft a >>>> solution. Then they can get an implementation plan in place and go ahead >>>> and do it. These kinds of problems have a start line and a finish line. >>>> When you are done, you are done. Building a bridge is one of those kinds >>>> of problems. You build it and there is no tolerance for failure. It >>>> needs to be failsafe. >>>> >>>> Open Space doesn’t work well for those kinds of problems because the >>>> solution is basically already known, or at least knowable. >>>> >>>> Then there are problems for which no know solution exists, and even if you >>>> did get a solution, you can’t really “solve” the problem because the >>>> problem is due to a myriad of causes and is itself emergent. For example, >>>> racism. Look around and you will find very few people that identify >>>> themselves as racists, but look at the stats for Canadian society for >>>> example and you see that non-white people are trailing in every indicator >>>> of societal success. Essentially you are seeing the results of a racist >>>> society but no racists anywhere. This is an emergent problem. Racism >>>> itself is a self-organizing phenomenon, notwithstanding the few people >>>> that actively engineer racist environments. Such a problem didn’t really >>>> start anywhere and it can’t really end either. What is needed is a way of >>>> addressing it, moving the system away from the negative indicators and >>>> towards something else. >>>> >>>> In other words, this is a complex problem. >>>> >>>> The way to solve complex problems is to create many “strange attractors” >>>> around which the system can organize itself differently. Open Space nis >>>> the best method I know of for creating such strange attractors, as they >>>> are born from the passion and responsibility of those that want to create >>>> change, and they are amplified by people coming together to work on these >>>> things. >>>> >>>> It’s “post and host” rather than “command and control.” >>>> >>>> And because you can’t be sure if things are going to work out, you have to >>>> adopt a particular mindset to your initiative: one that is “safe to fail.” >>>> In other words, if it doesn’t work, you stop doing it. If it does work, >>>> you do more of it. And all the way along you build in learning, so that >>>> the system can see how change is made and be drawn towards those >>>> initiatives that are currently making a difference. Certainly this kind >>>> of problem solving is not useful for building a bridge, as you cannot >>>> afford a failure there. But for problems with no known solutions, it is >>>> brilliant. >>>> >>>> Harrison has spent decades outlining this simplicity in even less words >>>> than I have now and his writing and thinking is, and continues to be far >>>> ahead of it’s time and maybe a little under appreciated because it is >>>> delivered in simple terms like “don’t work so hard.” But ultimately this >>>> is the best and most important advice for working in complex systems. >>>> >>>> Open Space. Do it. Learn. Do it again. Don’t work so hard. >>>> >>>> More than that really starts to build in the delusion that people can >>>> possibly know what to do. From that place solutions will be deluded. >>>> That they may work is pure luck. Open Space offers us a disciplined >>>> approach to addressing complexity in an ongoing way. Don’t be fooled by >>>> its simplicity. >>>> >>>> Chris >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Harold Shinsato >>> har...@shinsato.com >>> http://shinsato.com >>> twitter: @hajush >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> OSList mailing list >>> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >>> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> -- >> Daniel Mezick, President >> New Technology Solutions Inc. >> (203) 915 7248 (cell) >> Bio. Blog. Twitter. >> Examine my new book: The Culture Game : Tools for the Agile Manager. >> Explore Agile Team Training and Coaching. >> Explore the Agile Boston Community. >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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