The previous posts in this series have explored Charles Handy’s use of the Sigmoid curve as a metaphor to explain the ups and downs of our lives, and the secret of jumping to a new wave before it is too late.
Sometimes the curve we need to jump from is not just about our lives and careers – it can also represent our thinking. More specifically, the paradigms that limit our thinking and vision.
The graphic at right was developed by Dave Snowden from Cognitive Edge. Regular readers may recall earlier posts about him and the Cynefin framework.
Snowden’s work is front of mind for me at present, as I will be attending his seminar tomorrow – certainly looking forward to that.
He will be elaborating (I hope) on the much busier version of this slide that I have seen in some of his published presentations – and also his views on the subject of resilience. It is a lot busier because it includes the ‘dominant metaphor’, source of power and other attributes associated with each curve.
in his writing and speaking, Snowden also sounds a warning on the risk of using new language for old concepts. In our case, changing the name of what we do from BC to Resilience and thinking we have made the leap to the new curve – but we haven’t and are just hanging on to the old model.
To make the jump we need to adjust our thinking to the new models, to use different types of reasoning, apply new concepts – and to learn new principles to enhance our understanding and guide our interventions.
Building and maintaining resilience is more than complicated, it requires engaging with a complex system, or systems. A domain where the various systems, and the agents working within them, are co-evolving.
In this context we may be better served to start adopting the ecological meanings and concepts around resilience, rather than trying to impose Systems Thinking on the concept.
This seems to contradict much of what I was told in my MBA also – scary thought!
Are you able to tailor your approach to match the nature of the circumstances you face?
What techniques do you employ to achieve this?
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