There are three kinds of chaos. They’re fundamentally different from each other. Don’t mix them up… (For a quick overview of the themes in this post, see the video ‘Three kinds of chaos‘.) I was going to start this off …

Three kinds of chaos Read more »

What’s a simple way to make sense of complexity? For me, the go-to tool for this is SCAN – a visual-checklist to map out uncertainty and complexity relative to a given moment or given action: SCAN has been around for almost …

Making sense of complexity: A reframe for SCAN Read more »

It began with an octopus; wandered into an accidental remark about “a flocking of Boyds”; and then drifted off somewhat sideways from there. But seems that this crabwise shuffle may be leading somewhere useful – for my current explorations of …

Sensemaking and the flocking of Boyds Read more »

Following on from the previous post ‘Sensemaking: Into the void‘, what’s a good everyday analogy or example on how to develop our skills in sensemaking and strategy? In particular, how to understand, apply and use the ‘sense, make-sense, decide, act‘ …

Sensemaking: Down in the dungeons Read more »

How do we make sense when we don’t know what’s going on? What happens when we find ourselves diving into ‘the void’ of the unknown and uncertain? And what can we do there, to make enough sense of ‘the unknown’ to make useful …

Sensemaking: Into the void Read more »

And now, the last part in this brief series on insights about the SCAN sensemaking / decision-making framework that arose whilst working on our clean-up, for more general use, of the tools in the inventory. This time it’s about how …

Insights on SCAN: The dangers of belief Read more »

Yet another in this theme of insights about the SCAN sensemaking / decision-making framework that arose whilst working on clean-up for more general use of the tools in the inventory. This time, it’s about a crossmap between SCAN and John …

Insights on SCAN: Rethinking OODA Read more »

Another one in this theme of insights about the SCAN sensemaking / decision-making framework that arose whilst working on clean-up for more general use of the tools in the inventory. This time it’s a set of nice simplifications that become …

Insights on SCAN: Emphasising the question Read more »

Continuing on with this theme of insights on the SCAN sensemaking / decision-making framework that arose during our work on cleaning up our inventory of tools for change. This time it’s a follow-on to the previous post about ‘reducing the …

Insights on SCAN: Managers and masters Read more »