Title: Soft Systems and Sense Making Workshop Schedule 1315 1515
1(No Transcript)
2Soft Systems and Sense MakingWorkshop Schedule
(1315 1515)
- Complexity challenge for management the Cynefin
perspective DS - Social Complexity
- Knowledge Domains
- Sense Making Framework
- The sense making framework as a management tool
BM - Pfizer and Westpac
- Butterfly Stamping Workshop Exercise DS
- Complex Adaptive Systems a Soft Systems
perspective BM - Systemic knowledge capture rich pictures
- Emergent relationships
- Conversation Mapping Workshop Exercise BM
3Soft Systems and Sense Making Workshop Schedule
(1530 - 1730)
- Insights into complexity through Narrative DS
- Narrative Collection
- Narrative Analysis emergent patterns
- Using narrative in managing a complex issue
Mortgage Leaking BM - Identifying management options with narrative
Workshop Exercise DS - Applying Cynefin and Soft System tools, Strategic
Risk Management BM - Strategic Risk in business and government
enterprises - Understanding and contextualising the risk
- Conceptual Modeling of emergent patterns of
variables - Assessing resilience of improvement models
- Software developments for enhancing Cynefin
tools. DS - Comments,questions and critique Workshop
Exercise DS/BM
4Systemic Development Institute www.systemics.com.
au sda_at_shoal.net.au The Cynefin Centres
forOrganisational Complexitywww.cynefin.net
5 Three rules of knowledge management
- Knowledge can only be volunteered it cannot be
conscripted - Retention due to power
- Retention due to fear of abuse
- Retention due to time restraints
- I only know what I know when I need to know it
- I always know more than I can say and I will
always say more than I can write down - Context management (embodied)
- Narrative management
- Content management (abstract)
DS
6The landscape of management
Computational Complexity Axelrod, Kauffman
Social Complexity Stacy, Cilliers
Un-order non causal
Systems DynamicsSenge, Peters
Process Engineering Taylor, Hammer
Ordered causal
Heuristics
Rules
2004 IBM Report to the European Commission
DS
7Sense making
?
?
Computational Complexity Axelrod, Kauffman
Social Complexity Stacy, Cilliers
Un-order non causal
?
Systems DynamicsSenge, Peters
Process Engineering Taylor, Hammer
?
Ordered causal
Heuristics
Rules
2004 IBM Report to the European Commission
DS
8Making Sense
Dominant
New Science
False fear
The nature of Systems
Ordered linear
Complex emergent
Chaotic turbulant
The way we Know
Explicit codified
Narrative based
Concrete just know
Our multiple Identities
Individual aggregates
Social stimulation
Informal trusted
Our Perception
Information processing
The power of ideology
Pattern processing
The exercise of Power
Hierarchical structures
Networks and crowds
Contextual assertive
9Cynefin framework common summary
Complicated
Complex
Sense Analyse Respond
ProbeSenseRespond
SenseCategorise Respond
ActSenseRespond
Chaotic
Simple
DS
10Cynefin sub-domains
- Areas
- Legitimate Centre
- Illegitimate extreme
- Vertical boundary
- Horizontal boundary
- Topography
- Convex
- Concave
- Can be combined with a boundary
DS
11Domain perspectives stage two
- Groups working together distribute meaningful
data over the Cynefin model - Uses all sub domains and can use boundary
conditions - Can be completed virtually plans to create
software for this
12Domain perspectives stage one
- Each group working on its own then distributes
data following a time interval - Patterns are then represented
- Two measures of dissonance
- Overall pattern
- Item distribution
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
13Pfizer Strategy
COMPLEX
COMPLICATED
Discover Levers
1
2
3
24
16
11
19
21
26
12
20
29
30
34
29
33
9
Generate Attractors
Design Best Practice
Disorder
6
5
14
13
4
18
22
17
7
10
32
28
27
23
25
15
31
CHAOS
ROUTINE
Apply Rule
Cynefin sense making framework
14P10
G1
R1
Rx1
P7
R4
R6
Rx4
P3
Rx3
P9
G7
G8
R5
Rx2
P6
P8
P4
R2
P1
G9
P5
G6
R3
G11
G10
G5
G3
Rx5
R7
G2
G4
Rx6
P2
Rx7
R8
15Complex
R1
Rx1
Business units working in silo communication
between business units during BSR
Outsourcing contracts should not be on tangible
benefits only need to understand/measure
intangibles
Competition in marketplace pressures on our
cost base, revenue falling, staff are put on
greater demand i.e time
R2
Rx2
Westpac insufficient differentiation from Big Four
Complex processes financial institutions
industry forces us to have complex processes.
Availability of simpler processes?
R3
G5
Short term vs. Long term (investment)
How do we embed a customer centric culture when
we reward on widgets completed as per KPI
objectives?
WBC reactionary vs Proactive (product and process)
P3
G6
We re-invent the wheel lack of knowledge sharing
P7
Lots of time and money spent on exploration not
implementation, review or follow up.
G7
Back office staff do not have a true view of the
customerdo not appreciate the impact of their
work on the ultimate customerour culture and
language are more focused on the process, not the
customermindset is internal view not as customer
view
P9
P8
16Complicated
Short term vs. Long term Performance Measurement
Required to meet current year plan numbers what
happens if project/tasks stretches over 3 years?
How do we measure year 2, year 3 performance?
Enterprise vs Business unit accountability
(balanced ownership)
G1
R5
Internal customer relationship disjointed
G8
Permanent redeployment of staffResource (FTE)
balance and spread throughout the organisation
no commitment for permanent roles because of SPP
R6
Consultants vs. Internal development do not
retain and grow our people
G9
Communicationsour culture /practice of managers
having to cascade communications messages is
risky and an inhibitor to true communication of
our vision and strategy
P1
G10
Compressed decision-making Too many layers
We do not engineer the solution from end-to-end
(ie identify root cause) rather we patch part of
the process. No enterprise view mindset
P4
G11
Maintain flat expense with EDA and market
pressures
Unrealistic and unreasonable expectations of
our managers our outsourcing partners our
staff and their workloads
P5
Rx3
Too risk averse (loose opportunities) eg ING
online accounts
We do not share our stories of our mistakes and
the learning from them tend to hide mistakes,
clean them up and move on or gloss over them.
Current outsourcing contracts not flexible
P6
Rx4
Strategy disconnect, Alignment between group,
business unit objectives, mismatches (strategic
vs. tactical) e.g. business units waiting on
deliverables by SPP, ie there is a waiting time
burn out as conflicting demands on staff due to
lack of clarity of projects
P10
R4
Outsourcing Are we heading in the right
direction with outsourcing? Is the outsourcing
model right? What have we learnt from the
mistakes and successes of our outsourcing
relationships/partners?.
17Simple
G2
Outsourcing Business Unit involvement in the
process no feedback locked in
G3
Contract is around , not service.Change from
purchase price to whole of life (SLA correct?)
costing
G4
Top Down vs. Bottom Up budget process
Rx5
Ask Once strategy programs lose focus and
quickly move into next fadeg Westpac didnt
make 1, post mortem not visible, PIR not
completed, lose credibility
Rx6
Accountability doesnt follow us around the
businessPoor PIR discipline (post implementation
review)
Rx7
Little opportunity for bottom up innovation
Business does not stick to first year BSR
figuresscoping clarity financial estimates not
accurate
R7
Our policies dont enforce our strategieseg
Home Finance Managers (HFM) do not have email, so
how can they communicate? The technology is
available but policy is the inhibitor
P2
R8
Leveraging knowledge across the
organisationideas kept within the businessmore
sharing across the organisation
18and the butterfly stamped ..
- CYNEFIN AND SOFT SYSTEMS
- WORKSHOP
- Christchurch Conference
ML
19Butterfly Stamping Exercise
- Based on a story by Rudyard Kipling
a story about The Most Wise Sovereign
Suleiman-bin-Daoud - Solomon the Son of David
ML
20 The Butterfly That Stamped
- THERE was never a Queen like Balkis, From
here to the wide world's endBut Balkis talked
to a butterfly As you would talk to a
friend.There was never a King like Solomon,
Not since the world beganBut Solomon
talked to a butterfly As a man would talk
to a man.She was Queen of Sabaea And
he was Asia's Lord But they both of 'em
talked to butterflies When they took their
walks abroad! - THE END
ML
21SRM Practice 1 Cynefin Sensemaking Framework
16
22Crisis management single or multipoint
?
?
Can result in
or
Crisis management dynamics
DS
23Innovation expert entrainment
allows
then
DS
24Innovation bureaucratic entrainment
allows
then
DS
25Systemic Thinking Development Holon
Environment
Knowledge Utilisation
Issue/Team/
Organisation
(System)
KNOWLEDGE
SHARING
KNOWLEDGE
GENERATION
Learner
Subsystem
13
26Process (continued)
- Seek out the items from the conversation map that
go with each theme, and list them under that
heading - Now combine these into a single short statement
that encompasses all the ideas, and articulates
the theme for others. - From these statements, select those that appear
to have significant leverage when judged against
the criteria of cost / revenue goals. The themes
that emerge from several branches of the
conversation map may have the greatest leverage.
Select as many as you wish.
27Conversation Map
28Emergent Patterns from Conversation Map
29Narrative inquiry
- General rules
- Never ask a direct question
- Simulate real or imagined experience
- Ritualise anecdote capture
- The anecdote circle
- Common experience
- Stimulate ditting
- Can be virtual or physical
- Participative Observation
- Participative Observation
- Take the junior role
- Always ask permission and show respect
- Naïve interviewing
- Population sample based interviews
- The Set up
DS
30Narrative the agenda
- Some key preliminaries
- Areas of narrative work
- Inquiry
- Indexing access
- Interventions
- Creation
- Differences between narrative and the
organisational story telling movement - Common confusions
- With neural linguistic programming
- With appreciative enquiry
DS
31 A Technique for immediate Narrative Collation
18
32Emergent patterns
19
33Narrative Clustering and Emergent System
20
34Table Talk Issues emerging from Presentation
Each table group is invited to consider the
presentation and from their experience of the
interface between systemic principles and
practices formulate a table critique that
identifies issues for further discussion between
workshop participants.
35Two Case Examples
- Implementation of the integrated systems practice
and knowledge complexity tools is the Corporate
business environment. - Strategic Risk Management
- Marketing. Use of cartooning to amplify emergent
archetypes from narrative analysis technique.
(Slides not available for public dissemination.)
36The importance of strategic risk
Risk is not just a four letter word.
It
s a vital element of strategic
planning. (p16)
. Not all risks are best managed
. .
by control. If you manage your
business well, you should be aware
Systems Thinking
of where risk might arise. . . If
people don
t spot risk in time, it is
usually because they have not
thought about it.
(p5)
Systems Thinking
At the end of the day, strategic
risk is where business succeed or
fail . . .
(p5)
Systems Thinking
7
37The Strategic Risk Focus
- Strategic Risk is generated in an organisation
through uncertainty about the ongoing behaviour
of its component parts. - It assumes that uncertainty cannot be eliminated.
- Sources of uncertainty can be explored so that
managers are able to recognise and understand the
degree of uncertainty in a situation and plan
appropriate management strategies. - Three sources of uncertainty are discussed in
this presentation - Opaque Assumptions
- Informal knowledge interdependencies
- Resilience to future plausible events
8
38Organisational Uncertainty Opaque Assumptions
- Every strategic and operational activity in an
organisation is based on assumptions. These
assumptions relate to - the variables associated with the activity e.g.
Skill levels of staff - relationships between the variables in play e.g.
Impact on customers of poorly skilled staff - The impact of these variables on the desired
outcomes of the activity. - In complex situations the variables are based on
a planners experience (worldview) rather than
any agreed body of knowledge i.e. they do not
exist objectively but are a function of the way
in which the planner construes their situation. - These assumptions very quickly become embedded in
the strategic or operational process, with the
implication that they are never challenged or
questioned. They are opaque (not visible) to
stakeholders further along the planning chain. - Opaque assumptions therefore become a significant
strategic risk since in complex situations the
assumed relationships may continue causing
unanticipated and unintended outcomes for the
organisation.
9
39Organisational Uncertainty Informal
Interdependencies
- With a greater need for up-to-date knowledge
organisations are becoming more dependent on the
flow of knowledge around the organisation.
Adequate flow intensity is generally related to
the competence of networking between staff who
have and who need various types of knowledge to
manage the organisation. - Staff build networks according to need and rarely
restrict themselves to formal channels of
communication. - There are a multitude of informal networks which
are critical to the organisations capacity to
operate effectively, and therefore create a
significant level of strategic risk not from
the perspective that they cause harm, but from
the perspective that they can be destroyed and
lost. - Unintentional disruption of these informal
networks through restructuring activities,
transfers, and the like is common often leading
to a loss, rather than a gain, in productivity
from the change program, whilst people slowly
rebuild new informal networks.
10
40Organisational uncertainty Future Resilience
- In most organisations new strategies and
initiatives are developed to improve the known
situation. These initiatives are undertaken
based on assumptions regarding the organisations
future environmental circumstances often based
upon the dynamics of the organisation in the
past. Similarly current business-as-usual
reviews focus on how an activity is performing in
the current known environment. - Globalisation, tele-computer technologies, and
other recent technological advances have created
organisational environments where change can have
a rapid and extensive impact on organisations
previously considered protected from such
changes. - An area of strategic risk is therefore the degree
to which current and planned organisational
activities and strategies are resilient to
changes in the organisations operating
environment.
11
41The Theoretical Argument
- The concept of Strategic Risk, as presented here,
can be explored from a number of theoretical
perspectives we have chosen to draw on four that
share a commitment to holism. - Complexity Science contributes a means of
separating issues on the basis of whether their
cause-effect relationship is knowable or not and
the perspective that some variables in an issue
may act as attractors while others may act as
barriers to the possible relationships between
variables. (SnowdenStacey Maturana Varela) - Systemic Thinking from a soft systems
perspective contributes insights on the concept
of emergence, boundary judgments, improvement,
interdependencies and conceptual modeling.
(Checkland Midgely Bawden) - Experiential Learning contributes the perspective
that far more knowledge exists in an organisation
than is utilised and that the knowledge never
stops being generated and updated. (Kolb) - Collaboration contributes the perspective of
participatory leadership and forms of egalitarian
modes of communication. (Wengers) - Foresighting is drawn on to make sense of
plausible future events and techniques for
scanning the future. (Schwarz)
12
42Foresighting Future directed strategic
conversations
Researching and assembling plausible future
events from multiple perspectives
Engage organisational stakeholders to plot on a
matrix the perceived degree of uncertainty and
level of impact of each event on the
organisational program being reviewed.
Select the plausible events with a lower degree
of uncertainty and higher level of impact from
the matrix and assuming the event has occurred
assess the resilience of the activities in the
program being reviewed. Draft ways to enhance
resilience and identify appropriate future action
if the event eventuates.
14
43Social Complexity Sensemaking Framework
Knowable Cause and effect separatedover time
space Analytical/Reductionist SCENARIO
PLANNING SYSTEMS DYNAMICS
Complex Cause and effect coherent in retrospect
do not repeat Pattern Management PERSPECTIVE
FILTERS COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
Known Cause and effect relations repeatable and
predictable Legitimate best practice STANDARD
OPERATING PROCEEDURES PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING
Chaos No Cause and effect relationships
perceivable Stability focused intervention ENACTME
NT TOOLS CRISIS MANAGEMENT
15
44Leadership Management of Complexity
CONTEXTUALISE
Expert research
- Strategic Intention
- Competitive Advantage
- Crisis Management
IDEAS
Line Managers
EXPLORATION
A
B
I
D
RESILIENCE
E
MODEL
EMERGENCE
TWOCAGES
STORIES
PATTERNS
INTERDEPENDENCIES
45Summary of SRM Practice
28
46Legend to Managing Complexity Systems Model
- Leverage of proposed transformational activity
- Resilience of planned probe to initiate change
- Changes required for Probes implementation
- Criteria for assessment of Probes impact
- Resilient, networked Probes
- Amended Probe to meet implementation requirements
- Probe engagement feedback from the target
environment on changes achieved both intended and
unintended - Resilient model of Probe
- Conceptual models of transformation activities
- Purpose of transformation
- Plausible future events identified from various
sources - Clarification of stakeholder engagement
- Buy-in of stakeholders to strategic intention
implementation
- Contributions to strategic intention from across
organisation - Future significance, feasibility of intention
- Probes feedback on complex issue for improvement
- Details of exploration on continuing intent.
- Raw data for contextualisating
- Material for sensemaking dynamics
- Routine/Complicated/Chaotic issues referred
elsewhere - Contextual significance link to Vision of issue
being explored - Complex issues for exploration
- Model of potential change probe
- Informal conversation and awareness of strategic
issues - Rich picture of complex issue
- Strategic intention for change (Context)
- Resilience of proposed change
- Change statements for development into
transformational activity
47Cynefin Sensemaking Framework
16
48Conversation Map
17
49From emergent patterns to change initiatives
Transformation statement - WBC customers using
the banks buildings to access services have 2
3minutes of non activity. This time ought to be
utilised by WBC to improve its relationship with
customers through providing learning experiences
that may make banking activities more efficient
for both parties. Worldviews - Learning is a
positive and valued experience which enhances the
learners sense of self-worth and support of the
learning provider. Owners - WBCs Retail Banking
group Clients of change - WBCs customers and
staff Actors in the change activities - staff,
customers, learning experience creators
etc Guardian - Independent consumers
group Environmental influences - Less people
using bank buildings, turn round time in bank
shortens, learning seen as manipulative, media
response, etc. Strategic activities to implement
change - Distribution of learning resources
staff trained to follow-up coordination of
program generating customers will to
participate designing learning modules
evaluating and improving modules.
21
50Conceptual Model of desired improvement
1
2
6
3
5
4
22
51Uncertainty/Impact Matrix
We have used this cluster of High Impact / High
Likelihood trends to test the resilience of our
strategies initiatives.
Medium
Likelihood
High
Size of bubbles of responses
Impact
High
Medium
High Impact / High Likelihood Trends
B9 Compliance costs drive global consolidation
competitive environment is about
scale B18 Challenge to meet tighter regulations
while also being driven to offer differentiated
products and markets B20 Westpac cost base
includes high cost of regulation may make us
less competitive H1 Increased global
competition (UK examples) with reduced barriers
to entry H2 Skills shortage H6 Global
sourcing H10 Increase in financial
crime T4 Anywhere, anytime banking T5 Speed,
speed, speed. Decision making, real-time taking
away personal nature of banking privacy and
security.
M1 Impact of declining ageing population and
reduction of number of bread winners to support
parents / grandparents. M3 Use of grey power to
build knowledge back into the organisation
M7 Greater investment in training M10
Generation Y as customers Not as loyal, not
borrowing, not paying back M18 Get bored
quickly, need variety M20 Management/Leadership
More open. Management by walking around M25 How
to keep generation Y in the organisation To
retain knowledge. Need to be more attractive.
23
52Uncertainty/Impact Matrix
Investment by Govt/Business in rural learning
system
Higher
Uncertainty
Lower
Higher
Impact
53Wind Tunnel
25
54Knowledge Interdependencies Map
Performance Measurement Management
Project Governance
Customer
Research houses
ISR/ECASS
Staff
KPI consistency
Customer data
VOS survey
Guidance on KPI/ Access to reporting
data
VOC data/ reports
Survey
Developing an organisational quality mindset
PMP
Voice of staff
Commonality of language
Supporting behaviour
Excel database Requirements for data to go
into GDW
Ensuring a disciplined change management
approach
Enabling Continuous measurement
Dashboard/ scorecard
GBIS
Material/support
Coaching/education around fact based decisions
BC Success
SPP PC approach
Information /mindset
Information/ Infrastructure
Project Prioritisation / Business Case
Material/support/ consistency
IS for project candidates
Framework/VOC
Quality approach
End to end process
Business case success
IVR
Governance model
Process
Managing the quality organisation
Providing quality tools
SPP coordination
Business case
Information
IBM GSA
Communications/ Stakeholder Management
Co-ordination/Input/ Guidance
Quality approach
Schedules
Tools/software
Enterprise culture
Training/ coaching/ progress dates
Software
Software vendors
Key quality changes on the business
Content/ delivery/ expertise
Training facilities
Access to existing channels
Business case
Validate/ resources
Consistency
Training Facilities
Existing Comms channels
Training providers
BAU
26
55Ground-truthing Resilient Model of change
27
56What does success look like
- The intentional engagement of diverse
perspectives in management planning,
implementation and evaluation. - The use of language symbols like improvement,
unintended consequences, social complexity. - Intentional and detailed articulation of
assumptions used to formulated recommended
action. - Recruitment of staff with different disciplinary
backgrounds, anthropology, history, ecology, art. - Capacity to describe and map knowledge flow
pathways (networks). - Increase focus on front-ending change
initiatives. - Bottom drawer collection of strategies to
proactively engage plausible futures.
30
57What does success look like
- Increase in strategic-over-coffee-conversations
between cross organisation stakeholders. - Less consultants peddling solutions.
- More reflective evaluation and monitoring by
senior leadership team. - More extensive networking with external agents.
- Innovation groups are multigenerational.
- Strategic risk management is not an event but a
day-to-day business as usual activity. (ie
uncertainty is not the enemy but the ally) - Participatory leadership is dominant in issues of
change and development. - An expectation, recognition and dependence on
continuous dissemination, diagonally across the
organisation, of Experiencial Learning.
31
58Further Information
- For additional information about the Systems
principles and practice ideas presented contact
Bruce McKenzie email sda_at_shoal.net.au - For additional information about the Cynefin
material visit www.cynefin.net