April 14, 2000	Dr. Brenda Zimmerman View the presentation here!
April 21, 2000	Dr. Kevin Dooley View the presentation here!

Rapid change. A precarious environment. An uncertain future. A powerful tool.

Emerging out of chaos theory and the study of complex adaptive systems , complexity science reveals the patterns of relationships within organizations, how they are sustained, how they self organize and how outcomes emerge. Encompassing theories from biology, anthropology, economics, sociology, management theory and many others, complexity science is an interdisciplinary examination of the fundamental questions about living, adaptable, changeable systems.

Beyond theoretical research, complexity science offers powerful, practical tools for thinking about, organizing, and changing organizations in a chaotic and unpredictable environment.

Principles of Complexity Science

1. View your system through the lens of complexity, in addition to the metaphor of a machine or a military organization.

2. Build a good-enough vision and provide minimum specifications, rather than trying to plan out every little detail.

3. When life is far from certain, lead from the edge, with clockware and swarmware in tandem; that is, balance data and intuition, planning and acting, safety and risk, giving due honor to each.

4. Tune to the edge by fostering the "right" degree of: information flow, diversity and difference, connections inside and outside the organization, power differential and anxiety; instead of controlling information, forcing agreement, dealing separately with contentious groups, working systematically down all the layers of the hierarchy in sequence, and seeking comfort.

5. Uncover and work with paradox and tension, rather than shying away from them as if they were unnatural.

6. Go for multiple actions at the fringes, letting direction arise, rather than believing that you must be sure before proceeding with anything.

7. Listen to the shadow system, realizing that informal relationships, gossip, rumor and hallway conversations contribute significantly to agents' mental models and subsequent actions.

8. Grow complex systems by chunking - allowing complex systems to emerge out of the links among simple systems that work well and are capable of operating independently.

9. Mix cooperation and competition - it's not one or the other.