Navigating Complexity - Get the Power to Adapt and Thrive

HSD releases the power and possibility that lie at the heart of your human systems.  When you work and play, in your public and private lives, individually or with a group, you interact with others to make meaning and take action.  You couldn’t live without these complex interactions, even if you wanted to, but why would you want to?  They support you when you feel overwhelmed with speed and unpredictability of change.   You may feel out of control when others don’t play by your rules, but you cannot play without them.  The complex dynamics of people and their interactions challenge and support you in all you do.

The practice of HSD gives you power to adapt and thrive.  You get the most out of your human systems, even when you are overwhelmed by chaos in the moment.  It lets you see patterns in complex dynamics, so you are not blind to the creative potential that lies within the chaos.  The science of HSD is simple, and the results are always surprising.  You can see my own vision for the future of human systems in this short video.

Two principles lie at the core of the art and science of human systems dynamics.

Interactions in human systems create patterns.  The patterns emerge at many different levels, and each level influences others.  Individuals perceive their worlds, make decisions, and take actions to create order out of their chaotic experiences.  Groups negotiate their differences to co-create shared reality and coordinated action. Institutions invest in infrastructure to define and execute strategy. Communities create culture as they organize to meet the needs of one and all.  HSD models, methods, theory, and practice help you see and understand these patterns in real time, as they emerge.  

HSD Associates have their own experiences and examples of patterns in action.  Later this month in Chicago, at Navigating Complexity: HSD 2014, you will have a chance to see and hear how people understand and leverage patterns in many different settings, including:

• Leadership
• Community building
• Education
• Public policy advocacy
• Design and innovation
• Diversity and inclusion
• Youth development
• And many others

You can influence current patterns to shape the future.  Adaptive Action is a simple, three-step process for seeing and influencing patterns as they emerge from the complex interactions in human systems.  The first Adaptive Action step—WHAT?—reveals patterns that are buried in the chaos.  The second step—SO WHAT?—breaks through habit and assumption to uncover surprising opportunities in the patterns.  The third step—NOW WHAT?—leads to practical action to influence the future as it unfolds. Adaptive Action isn’t magic.  It doesn’t put you in control of the future because people are impossible to predict and certainly beyond your control. It does, however, empower you to see the present, understand its possibilities, and take action to influence the future.  At Navigating Complexity conference, you will practice Adaptive Action as you:

• Engage with other curious professionals to see how they leverage complex dynamics
• Assess and improve your own adaptive capacity
• Explore models and methods that help you see and influence patterns in the complex dynamics of human systems
• Share stories about how  Adaptive Action shifts patterns to improve performance
• Create and innovate for yourself and others
• Discover Adaptive Actions to influence complex patterns in your own human systems

Patterns and Adaptive Action—simple, but not always easy.  Every situation is unique. No outcome is guaranteed. Each pattern is co-created in the moment. No one has total power, but everyone has opportunity to influence.  As a community, the HSD network sets conditions to support your journey of discovery.

Theory accelerates learning. 

Conscious practice builds capacity. 

Community offers the experience of others.