Complexity
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 9:43AM 
Dealing with complexity is a growing challenge for today’s business leaders. Advancements in consumer-based technology have empowered employees to explore heterogeneous behaviour, somewhat making their own decisions on technology to support their personal and increasingly business messaging and collaboration. A pattern that is increasing as digital natives enter the workplace together with their born-digital expectations – now what's your plan to accommodate them and how are you going to respond? To behave heterogeneously, or as an individual, is one of the three main characteristic of a complex adaptive systems according to Michael Mauboussin, who neatly outlines the subject in this month’s Harvard Business Review.
A second characteristic of complex adaptive systems is that agents (us) who can (and are free to) interact with one another,we can freely message and collaborate as individuals, or perhaps even as digital natives. We can network, chat, message, self-organise and collaborate around products, services, events and ideas.
The third characteristic of complex adaptive systems, according to Mauboussin's article, is that of emergence, where a complex adaptive system abstracts and is allowed exhibit its own collective and natural behaviour. Behaviour that is not directed but behaviour that emerges as each agent (employee, customer, suppliers...) navigates their daily work life and private life. Ebbing and flowing in their own diverse way, exploring the edge and synthesising and making sense of their changing world. This is where business innovation happens, where employees, customers, suppliers and a whole host of stakeholders are free to explore. The edge explored, hopefully safely.
Question, has nature provided a way of dealing with complexity? Could diversity help? Allowing organisations to respond to complexity through the greater insight of diverse opinion, from supporting diversity for employees, plugging into and leveraging a broader ranges of experience. An earlier article in the same edition of HBR provides an example of this describing a somewhat counter intuitive approach to hiring, whereby candidates could be selected for their combined diversity and not necessary on their ability to state the same answers correctly. If we all think the same way then we do not benefit from a diversity and multiplicity of opinions and experience.
So what can business leaders, and specifically CIO’s take out of all of this? For me it underlines the importance of effective messaging and collaboration tools, to help employees connect and communicate. It also underlines the importance of harnessing diversity and not trying to homogenise your organisation unnecessarily. Yes we can all fill out the same holiday request form, but we must surely allow employees to explore their points of view, express themselves through creativity, with freedom to raise and channel ideas exposing their natural diversity to embrace the chaotic business world of today and tomorrow. Finally, and as I have said before emergence (as its name suggests) is not a behavior that can be mandated, it should instead be supported, with the freedom, provision of effective tools and or appropriate policies. Can diversity help respond to complexity enabled with digital-native technologies?
Complexity, Next Practice, Strategy
Reader Comments (3)
visit hamilton replica.cheaper and well.
Enjoy $15 savings at xclones.net with this coupon code S7D15U
Rules of the Code:
1. The coupon code is only applicable for $100+ full-price item(s) .
2. This coupon code is not applicable for promotional items or discount products.
high Replica Rolex Watches
quality ,low patek philippe replica with swiss movement
price, don't miss it ...belive cheapest tag heuer replicas
you can get it.vacheron constantin replica
Your writing is amazing. I really like your style and taste. I shall read your blog more often in the future. most of your fashion picks will also be on my wish list, for sure. I don’t know whether you like watch , there is a wonderful panerai replica watches , or the panerai replica watches