Educate about the nature of complex systems
Preconditions:
- People have heard of complexity in common language but generally don’t distinguish it from “complicated.”
- People believe that the way to solve complex problems is primarily through analytical means.
Postconditions:
- People understand what differentiates complicated from complex.
- People know how to determine whether they are in a complex domain.
- People understand that the mechanism for managing complex systems is through systematic trial-and-error (probe-sense-respond).
There are plenty of implementations of Complex System education, for example:
- Dave Snowden’s description of Cynefin.
- Flexion’s “The Nature of the Work” workshop.
- Education in the fields of Complexity Science.