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HSD - Human Systems Dynamics
p.4 In... complex and unpredictable environments, important factors that shape the future are unknowable... changes erupt without warning. We can plan, but we expect our plans to go awry... We experience unintended consequences... We need new ways to make sense in complex organizations... we need the capacity to adapt to the unexpected. We need adaptive action. [JLJ - what a convenient conclusion. The authors are going to be "selling" Adaptive Action to you for the rest of the book]
p.5 Our abilities to manage planning... depend on the ability to see, understand, and influence emerging change in complex environments.
p.9 We offer models and methods to generate creative options for action in response to unknown and unknowable challenges. [JLJ - that is exactly what I am looking for. I decide to read on...]
p.9 The goal of this book is to help you make sense of the uncertainty around you and build adaptive capacity to engage with the self-organizing dynamics of complex adaptive human systems... what we share here will help you adapt to change as it emerges around you.
p.12 Adaptive Action theory and practice... we hope it helps you play the infinite game in a way that sustains and enriches the play.
p.13 It is easy to become paralyzed by uncertainty... Whatever the reason, our work is to make sense of what is happening and take action in the moment. We play with meaning-making approaches that can inform reasonable options for action. We take intentional action to influence patterns in the world around us.
p.18 We have a name for this cycle of seeing what is happening, making meaning of what you see, taking action based on that meaning, and looking again at what is happening. We call it Adaptive Action. It is the only way to engage wisely with complex adaptive systems to see, understand, and influence change as it emerges, and it is the focus of this book.
p.24 when the number of relevant variables is high, and when causation is not simply one direction, the nature of change changes. New understanding of the underlying dynamics of change has labeled this dynamical change.
p.25 complex systems are by nature unpredictable. The best you can do is to build adaptive capacity to coevolve with the system as it changes over time.
p.26 When new patterns emerge from interactions in complex adaptive systems, we say they self-organize. That's because emergent patterns are shaped by connections within, rather than forces from outside of, the system... At every level of human action, self-organizing patterns shape and are shaped by meaning and behavior.
p.27 the three conditions that influence self-organizing processes: container (C), difference (D), and exchanges (E).
p.27-29 Something has to hold the parts of a system together close enough and long enough that they will interact to create a new pattern. We call this holding-together condition "container" and represent it as C. It doesn't really matter what does the holding together. It might be a shared idea... a... boundary... or any other physical... or conceptual feature of the system... In a complex adaptive system, the parts of the system have to be different in significant ways, or no pattern will emerge. This condition we call "difference" and represent with a D. Differences can be of any kind, as long as they are significant to the players... Finally, the parts of the complex adaptive system have to be connected to each other or nothing will happen. We call this connecting condition "exchange" and represent it with E. An exchange is any condition that transmits information, resources, or energy between or among parts of the CAS... These transforming interactions are the engine for self-organizing change in a CAS... Container, difference, and exchange are the conditions that influence a self-organizing process and shape how quickly the process moves forward, how messy the path is, and how clear the resulting pattern is.
p.30 the Adaptive Action model consists of three questions: What? So what? Now what?
p.31-32 First, Adaptive Action is a variation of a very old idea... When adaptation is called for, seeing, thinking, and acting in iterative cycles is exactly the right response... Second, Adaptive Action is a cycle. Every ending action makes the next beginning question necessary. Complex systems of all kinds... are driven by iteration... Third, Adaptive Action is framed as a series of questions. An Adaptive Actor always stands in inquiry... Fourth, Adaptive Action is simple enough to be flexible... it supports effective and efficient engagement between people and their environments. Fifth, it is the only way to reduce the risk of uncertainty in dynamical change... Sixth, there are millions of tools, models, and methods to support each step. You can even use the ones you know to fill in the blanks of What?, So what?, and Now what? ...Seventh, Adaptive Action cycles can be embedded inside one another to build a network of inquiry and action.
p.34 No matter where you go or what you do, information surrounds you... Every item of information must be filtered, focused, decoded, and stored before it can be used to inform action... Asking What? is the first step in the Adaptive Action journey toward understanding a complex world that may not make sense on the surface, a world in which every thread of meaning seems to be tangled with many other threads... If you see the relationships and dynamics that drive change in complex human systems, you can influence them intentionally and creatively. The What? step of Adaptive Action uncovers the dynamics of change as they emerge around you. During this step... you make sense of the complexity
p.35 you collect information continuously, because you never know when change will emerge.
p.38 As you step into the What? cycle of Adaptive Action, stand in inquiry to identify and name patterns across your system. Pay attention to the patterns of interaction and decision making, noting the degree to which they support or detract from the system's full functioning. At the same time, access a variety of perspectives to gather a wide range of data to create a rich, full-dimensional picture that will inform decision making in the later cycles of Adaptive Action.
p.38-39 On a complex landscape, you simply cannot know for sure. Every answer has a short shelf-life. Questions, though, last forever. Only the good questions that result from disciplined inquiry remain helpful wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
p.39 Inquiry means remaining open to the unknown and to asking open-ended questions for which you don't already know or cannot anticipate the answers. To stand in inquiry is to be open to surprises and to engage in ongoing cycles of exploration. When you remain in inquiry, you're never finished, you continue to question and seek new information.
p.40 Generalizations allow you to look broadly across the system to identify themes and patterns that cover the whole landscape. They enable you to engage in conversation about what you see and what it means to you.
p.41 In times of complex change, surprise is a gift. It opens new opportunities or uncovers unseen challenges.
If you cannot watch everything that is happening at the same time, focus your attention on surprises.
p.42 Understanding patterns - identifying and naming them, coming to understand their source and their impact, and influencing them - lies at the heart of Adaptive Action... In general, a pattern is whatever you perceive in the complex landscapes around you.
p.43 We define patterns as similarities, differences, and connections that have meaning across space and time. Patterns, defined in this very specific way, are the What? you look for to begin Adaptive Action.
p.44 Recognizing patterns in the What? step of Adaptive Action provides system intelligence to inform later meaning making (So what?) and action (Now what?).
p.45 Looking for patterns can... be as subtle as being open to the nuances of interaction and behavior that may not be obvious on first observation... Understanding patterns is central to understanding human systems, which is why What? is the first step in the cycle of Adaptive Action.
p.46 Seeing patterns is a fundamental survival skill in times of rapid change. Adaptive Action consists of seeing and responding to patterns in the environment by taking action to strengthen or change patterns in human systems to seek greater fit... Your ability to see and understand patterns contributes to greater adaptability.
p.62 Dynamical change is unpredictable, yet recognizable patterns of activity and decision making emerge to decrease the tendency toward chaos and entropy and set the conditions for self-organizing change.
p.63-64 These spiraling, iterative cycles of cause and effect contribute to a system's complexity because it means you can never "treat" the root cause to solve challenges or issues. It means you cannot predict the specific outcomes of a chosen intervention. It means you cannot control the actions you put into effect because you cannot know what other actions will feed into that effort. It means you must depend on Adaptive Actions and pattern intelligence to inform effective action.
p.64 As you deal with dynamical change, the best you can hope for is to influence the emergent patterns that characterize your system. Only Adaptive Action can prepare you to be successful in dynamical change. Using Adaptive Action, you engage in ongoing cycles of seeing, understanding, and influencing the conditions that generate patterns in your system. [JLJ - shades of John Boyd's OODA loop here]
p.64 In the first step of an Adaptive Action cycle, you stand in inquiry. You step into the What? by formulating questions that will help you see the patterns surrounding you. As you seek to make sense of dynamical change, your questions can emerge from any understanding of a complex environment, including:
- Distinguishing the same and different
- Spotting patterns (generalizations, exceptions, contradictions, surprises, puzzles)
- Looking for similarities, differences, and connections that mark patterns as they emerge
- Considering all four truths [JLJ - from p.47, objective, normative, subjective, complex)
- Taking into account diverse patterns from near and far
- Acknowledging the difference in my patterns and yours
- Exploring the risks and benefits of seeing change as static, dynamic, or dynamical
p.64 The most effective way to influence complex systems and work in dynamical change is to use what you know about the underlying dynamics - the patterns - of the system. Through inquiry you collect data and information in such a system to examine the patterns that emerge through ongoing processes of self-organization and adaptation. To identify and understand those patterns, you examine similarities, differences, and connections that have meaning across space and time.
p.65 In the first step of Adaptive Action [JLJ - What?], you see beyond confusion into the complexity in your system. Massive amounts of information are filtered to separate simple structures from the surrounding chaos. Recognizing essential patterns... prepares you for the later steps of Adaptive Action. The next step of Adaptive Action is So what? In it, you will consider the meaning of the patterns you observe and explore the possibilities of nudging the patterns forward. Then in Now what? (the final Adaptive Action step) you will select and implement one action that seems likely to shift the patterns toward greater productivity and coherence... you will repeat the process... You will continue to move forward, and you will avoid getting stuck in complexities you neither predict nor control. [JLJ - very useful concepts for a machine playing a game]
p.66 It is easy to access data in today's complex human systems. In fact, the greater threat is drowning in available data... making meaning to inform action is not easy. The second step of Adaptive Action helps you separate signal from noise. It focuses on answering the question So what? and leads you to confront questions that challenge you.
So what patterns emerge from this deluge of data?
So what are the most important patterns I'm seeing?
So what contradictions drive this change?
So what matters to me, to us, to them?
So what opportunities might emerge from the current patterns?
So what surprises or puzzles me?
So what are my options for action, given patterns uncovered?
Meaning making has been a core theme of management and leadership literature for a decade... Karl Weick... For him, it is in action that meaning is ultimately made.
p.67 Drawing from the complex capacity of the environment, and the rich and diverse observations of What? the second step of Adaptive Action [JLJ - So what?] helps you generate many potential options for action. During this step, you consider the current patterns that are emerging; you consider your purpose, intended outcomes, and desired path; and you imagine many ways to influence the pattern as it emerges. Sometimes you will choose to interrupt an emerging pattern; sometimes you will amplify it.
p.68 During the So what? step, you will ask, "So what are the patterns that influence the group? How are they manifested in the actions of and relationships between Joe and Jane [JLJ - the actors or agents involved]? ..." And ultimately you ask, "So what are the multiple options for action I might take to influence the pattern as it emerges?"
p.69 The So what? step, along with the models and methods introduced here, will help you generate creative, surprising, elegant and powerful options for action. The more options you see available to you, the more likely you are able to find an approach that addresses underlying dynamics of the situation. You will shift the pattern, rather than responding to the superficial symptoms that arise from the apparent chaos.
p.72 Connections at any level can shift the patterns at all levels.
p.73 The worst and most common mistake in dealing with human systems is depending on the delusion that you can predict when or how a human system will respond to your efforts to influence the patterns. You can never be sure about the impact your actions will have, but you can engage in Adaptive Action so that whatever happens, you will be able to see and respond to new patterns as they emerge.
p.88-89 What I found in every discipline, model, and method I examined were conditions under which coherent patterns emerged... Whatever the underlying medium, self-organizing patterns emerged only under certain conditions... In every one of these diverse, nonlinear environments, coherent self-organizing patterns emerged only when the conditions were "right."
p.89 For me, the conditions - container, difference, and exchange - both described the emergent patterns and explained the dynamics of the self-organizing process that generated them... Adaptive Action emerges from this theory of action, in which change is driven by accumulation and resolution of tension within the system... Change occurs when some means of interaction (exchange) releases the tension, and the boundaries and variations shift... This same theory of action provides an explanation of change in every human endeavor, at any level, and in any context.
p.89-90 Adaptive Action is the only effective and sustainable way to play the infinite game of the future. To influence change, you must be aware of the tensions as they accumulate within a context and make or break connections so as to increase accumulating tensions or else release them. You must see the patterns formed by the CDE in this moment, consider how the patterns support or distort your purpose, and take action to influence one or another of the conditions in hopes of shifting the pattern to a more useful configuration of containers, differences, and exchanges.
p.103 Adaptive Action is the fundamental building block of survival in a complex adaptive system. [JLJ - yes, but it must be informed, it must contain schemes which are likely to succeed, and it must be intelligently executed. What if your opponent is also constructing adaptive action cycles, and he is more perceptive, or more experienced? What if your opponent tries to wear you down, so to speak, where you lose your resources and ability to What? So what? Now what?]
p.106 We talk about the Adaptive Action cycle because every Now what? leads to a new What? ...Every completed Adaptive Action cycle results in a change to a systemic pattern, so it creates the need for a new What? and its subsequent Adaptive Action steps. These in turn necessitate the next cycle. The circle of What?, So what?, and Now what? is not just a coincidence or a convenience. It is the fundamental nature of adaptation. [JLJ - to me, it sounds like a good cognitive strategy for a complex environment]
p.106-107 A Learning Organization is one that asks the three Adaptive Action questions and answers them over and over and over... What are we observing? So what does it mean for us and our organization? Now what can we do to optimize patterns of productivity and sustainability? And we begin again
p.108-109 Adaptive Action... is a practice that helps you see patterns emerging from complex systems, make sense of those patterns productively and powerfully, and supports action to engage and change the patterns, even as they are emerging. It provides many ways to get unstuck, or avoid getting stuck in the first place, in complex and unpredictable situations.
p.109 When we finished our description of Adaptive Action, the silence in the room was overwhelming. This often happens when people see the breakthrough potential of the Adaptive Action. A profound silence overtakes them as the breadth and power of such a simple idea soaks in.
p.118 We believe that the CDE Model and Adaptive Action set the foundation for a theory that generates wise action, and for action that informs evolving theory about uncertainty in organizations... Only such a paradigm shift will support explanations that inform effective action in our complex world.
p.119 Without a theory, the practitioner is stuck being a magician... The wisdom of practice becomes a performance art rather than an honored professional competency... Without a theory, you the practitioner are stuck essentially alone... More often you find that working with others is difficult if you cannot explain the whys and wherefores of your professional decisions.
p.120 Without a theory, the practitioner is stuck and cannot transcend faulty intuition... The people who come to HSD are wise practitioners looking for theory that matches how they work. What they find is a simple and elegant theory that assumes open boundaries, many potentially relevant factors to consider, and causality that goes up, down, back and forth, and all around. In short, in Adaptive Action and in HSD models and methods, they find a dynamical theory that matches their successful dynamical practice.
p.120-121 How is it possible for a single, simple theory to find use at so many levels of human systems organizations... How can three steps of Adaptive Action successfully address so many apparently intractable challenges? How can a single paradigm be useful and meaningful for theory and practice in any academic discipline or any organizational role? The answer is that HSD informs inquiry; it does not provide answers. In fact, we believe that answers have very short shelf lives in complex adaptive systems... Making sense of the uncertainty of complex human systems requires that we stand in inquiry and explore our worlds with authentic questions, rather than answers.
p.146 In static change, the goal is to move the system from one state of rest to another. To lead this kind of change, one needs to have a vision of the end state... The reason these strategies fail is that most change in human systems is complex, unpredictable, and dynamical.
p.160 The three simple Adaptive Action questions establish a rigorous and powerful framework for inquiry that reaches past uncertainty, engages with the real world, and leads to real action.
p.181 Work is a social act... Humans make decisions and take actions that generate patterns of interaction and behavior. Human systems are open to influence as individuals bring their own Decision Maps to interactions in a landscape that enables influences from the whole, part, and greater whole.
p.186 Because Adaptive Action invites you to see the patterns of interaction at deeper and more dynamical levels, you are able to explore beyond the symptoms of dissatisfaction or discontent, to see the underlying tensions and mechanisms that may be generating the public discourse.
p.186 Continuous and diverse cycles of What? So what?, and Now what? help us to examine what's on the horizon from many perspectives. By considering multiple containers, diverse differences that make a difference, and connections that enliven change, we can respond quickly and adapt with agility when uncertainty distracts us, even in the short run.
p.189 In a self-organizing system, you must use the power of the present to reveal the patterns of the future. Starting where you are is not just the best way to practice the What? step of Adaptive Action in a complex system; it is the only way.
p.192 Adaptive Action always begins and ends from a point of inquiry: open-ended questions that help us gather data and make meaning in the moment.
p.195
- Start with freeze frame.
- Focus on the tension
- Find the conditions for self-organizing.
p.196 The facilitators can amplify a difference in the system to bring some tension to life.
p.214 Choosing simple tasks and taking one action at a time are possible when you recognize that change occurs in ongoing cycles of Adaptive Action, and when you recognize that change in any part of the system can trigger changes throughout the system.
p.222 In a traditional paradigm, the imagined end is a kind of cause. A dynamic change process... can appear to be driven as much by the target as it is by the initial conditions... there is no such certainty in dynamical change. The conditions in the moment motivate changes that appear in the evolution of a pattern. It is the tension in the present that sets the conditions for the emergent future. So, why do you need a vision?
p.222 in a complex adaptive system the visioning process is actually an exercise in pattern formation and Adaptive Action, rather than an exercise in target creation.
p.222 Rather than pulling toward some predestined point, the vision captures a coherent pattern that can inform choices in the moment. [JLJ - excellent - we need to generate possible actions, and so we use cues in/extracted from our environment to trigger programmed exploration routines]
p.223 In any type of... whole-scale change in uncertain times, Adaptive Action becomes the center of a theory of change. Conscious cycles of What?, So what?, and Now what? inform decision making and action for individuals
p.224 By building adaptive capacity across their systems, leaders prepare for effective, sustainable responses in uncertain times. Using Adaptive Action as the centerpiece of change across the system builds skills among individuals, establishes adaptive and responsive policies and procedures, and positions the organization to deal with the challenges and opportunities of the frontiers they face.
p.229 If you don't know when change will come, the best you can do is check for change frequently, make sense of what you see, and be prepared to take action when the time is right... you continue to check for the emergent patterns you want, see and understand the patterns you have, and influence conditions to generate or amplify patterns that will move you toward sustainability and fit[ness].
p.236 Our models and methods work because they are based on rigorous and reliable explanations of complex dynamics
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