We all know that we live in an environment of constant change. “The only constant is change” is now a worn (out) cliche. However it is true that changes need a calm area in order to flourish. Years ago, many office notice boards had that quote from a sometime-BC Greek seaman about how they worked so hard in the navy and were just getting the hang of things when “they changed again”. That used to raise knowing nods. I have not seen it up in offices for a while. But how are we to respond to this rampant change? Steven Covey says we need people who are so invested in the vision and values of the organisation that they can work in a state of constant whitewater, where they have to make decisions without a lot of communication. Maturity modellers say we should button down our process. Personal Mastery and Coaching can also be brought in to help individuals harness the energy in all this change.
I think it is worth reflecting on the exciting place between chaos and stagnation. I have recently read a short summary of the theory of Chaos and Complexity by Victor MacGill who describes the “Edge of Chaos”. Where chaos prevails, new concepts are destroyed before they grow or can be understood. Where order is too strong, there is no room for creativity or risk. Life exists in the area of tension between order and chaos, where there is enough order for consistency and patterns to emerge but enough chaos for novelty and creativity. I like this idea because I have seen it in workshops. We need energy and movement for dialogue but we also need calm and quiet for listening, reflection and planning. I have therefore created a framework with this in mind. Where there is a cycle I have shown the steps as orange arrows between an outer area of stability (the rut) and an inner circle of chaos, the vortex.
I have created two models in this framework. I have alread published a note on the psychodynamics of change. Another model I use is the strategic cycle developed and described by Kaplan and Norton in “The Execution Premium” and in an article in the January 2008 edition of Harvard Business Review. In my next post I want to show how I have interpreted this cycle for my own work.
