If there is one word that we can use to describe what we have been experiencing, right from the time of the spread of Covid-19 virus, it has to be “CHAOS”.
The havoc that Covid had on our lives, the supply chain disruptions, the new war zones, elections around the world and their impact on the geo-political stability of the world, the tariff wars, the Sino-US escalations, I can go on and on.
When we are expected to lead our organisations in an environment that is as chaotic as the current business environment seems to be, we need some understanding of how to navigate this chaos.
When I was researching to see if there is any literature around this, I stumbled onto this book – “Surfing on the Edge of Chaos“, written by Richard T Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja in 2000.
The authors in the book talk about the fact that we are living in a constantly evolving complex adaptive system and have created a management philosophy based on 4 principles, inspired by the complexity theory.
Here are the principles that they base their management theory on:
- Equilibrium is a precursor to death. Any living system that is in equilibrium seems to be least affected by the change in their environment. This maximizes the risk of becoming irrelevant.
- In the face of threat or compelling opportunities, complex adaptive systems move toward the “edge of chaos”. This is where both risk and opportunity lives. This is also where our ability to experiment and learn and mutate tends to be highest.
- When we move toward this edge of chaos, new ways of self organisation, new ideas, new frameworks and ways of working emerge from the turmoil of chaos.
- Complex adaptive (living) systems can’t be directed along a linear path. Unforeseen consequences are inevitable. The challenge is to disturb them in a manner that approximates the desired outcome.
The most important aspect of leading a complex adaptive system (living system) and every business is one, is to understand the nuances of the adaptive nature of the system we are in and instead of trying to exert control, we need to switch to be able to experiment and allow for emergence and adapt to what emerges.
This reduces the stress we put on our system and at the same time opens up our businesses to potential new opportunities hitherto unknown and also address the risks that we take on.
Just like managing a project is a skillset that we learn and can master, leading at the edge of chaos and leading a complex adaptive system is also a skillset that we can master. There are clear principles at work, there are clearly articulated behavioral patterns that are recommended. We just need to find them, learn them and continue to practice them.
I dont think we will ever go back to the world of the past. We will continue to live in a world which will require us to lead our complex adaptive systems, right at the edge of chaos, but do it calmly.
