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| Scientific Origins of Complexity-Inspired Management What is accepted is no longer valid, what is valid is not yet accepted. Jamshid Gharajedaghi The word system originates from the Greek verb sunistanai, meaning to cause to stand together or to combine. Modern definitions include: a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole; and, a functionally related group of elements.
The main metaphor that has guided organization life since the beginning of the industrial era is that of the machine. A good organization is supposed to work like clockwork, a predictable production system made of interconnected reliable parts directed and controlled from the top. When results are disappointing changing parts (people) or rearranging them (restructuring) will  solve the problem.
Complex systems are characterized by nonlinear dynamics (small changes can have BIG effects) and emergent properties (system attributes cannot be explained by the mere sum of the parts). These systems are called Complex Adaptive Systems (CASs). Examples include stock markets, gardens, human beings, weather systems, and human organizations. Diverse individual agents are massively entangled yet adaptable and resilient. CASs are capable of undergoing spontaneous self-organization and leaps in performance. Very different than the machine metaphor. 
CAS disciplines transcend traditional approaches and have been a source of new insights in physics, biology, health, geology, psychology economics, and s-l-o-w-l-y in management and leadership. These new disciplines view systems in far-from-equilibrium states rather that at the point of stability or control. Creative adaptability arises in far-from-equilibrium conditions that include moderate uncertainty and disagreement among individuals in a system. Distributed, from-the-ground-up leadership co-arises and emerges in this zone. CAS-inspired approaches offer unique insights.
Systems are complex because cause and effect relationships are obscured. Delays, multiple locations, and  sheer number of details or moving parts make purely “rational” decision-making ineffective. In complex systems the causes and effects are causes and effects of themselves. Causality is not linear but circular. Causes and effects are not separable and therefore not manageable in isolation. The obvious interventions, focused on fixing the parts or the structure, can make the problem worse. CAS science focuses on the patterns of relationships among parts of the system, rather than the parts by themselves or the structure (the stuff of conventional management practice). Order and direction emerges from the grass roots up or from the fringe-in, not from a single or centralized intelligence. Coherent, higher-level patterns emerge from local interactions (e.g., conversations in human systems.) Individuals have the freedom to act in unpredictable ways and their actions are interconnected in ways that change the context for others. A single rumor or event can make a big difference. Systems move forward and change by examining, responding to and building on local patterns of interaction.  For more about the roots of compelxity and for examples of scholars and business leaders that have applied complexity principles to organizations and the economy, read more
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. Oliver Wendell Holmes
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny . . .‘ Isaac Asimov
| Principle | Statement of Principle | Further Elaboration | Complexity Lens | View your organization through the biological metaphor of complexity | …in addition to the metaphor of the “well oiled machine” organization | Good-Enough Vision | Build a good-enough vision and provide minimum specifications for moving forward | …rather than trying to plan out every little detail | Clockware/
Swarmware | When life is far from certain, lead from the edge, with clockware and swarmware in tandem… | … that is, balance data and intuition, planning and acting, safety and risk, giving due honor to each | Tune to the Edge | Tune your place to the edge by fostering the “right” degree of: information flow, diversity difference, connections, power differential, anxiety… | … instead of controlling information, forcing agreement, dealing separately with contentious groups, working down the layers of the hierarchy in sequence, & seeking comfort | Paradox | Uncover and work with paradox and tension… | … rather than shying away from them as if they were unnatural | Multiple Actions | Try multiple actions at the fringes, let direction arise… | … rather than believing that you must be “sure” before you proceed with anything | Shadow System | Listen to the shadow system and informal communities of practice… | … realizing that informal relationships, rumor, and sensemaking contribute to individuals’ mental models and actions | Chunking | Grow complex systems by chunking or bricolage… | … by allowing innovations to emerge out of the links among simple systems that work and are capable of operating independently | Competition/
Cooperation | Mix cooperation and competition… | … it’s not one or the other. | |
Adapted from: EdgeWare, Lindberg, Plsek & Zimmerman, 1998, VHA Inc. Complexity Science Helps Us Appreciate
I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. Dwight D Eisenhower
The Power of Relationships Behind the Structure
• Formal roles do not explain the whole or how things get done; informal networks and communities-of-practice play critical roles
Non-Linearity • Small changes can have BIG effects and BIG efforts can make no difference
Self-Organizing, Emergent Properties • Unintended results are very important & irreducible to the parts
“Change Management” Is Simultaneous Mutual Shaping
• As we are shaping and responding, we are being shaped by the change… much more than simply adapting to external change
Surprise & Serendipity
• Even though we planned ahead, you can rely on surprise
Diversity Is A Strategic Advantage
• Difference is a source of novelty and learning if you work with it
Organizational Design Is Continuous Refashioning
• You will not get it right in advance; design is an ongoing dynamic unfolding, retrospectively coherent process
Success Creates It’s Own Failure
• Successful management schemes will eventually lead to rigidity and failure The Power of Self-Discovery
• Solutions that are generated and spread through self-discovery (in contrast to "best practices") do not encounter resistance to change
There are two kinds of truth. There are superficial truths, the opposite of which are obviously wrong. But there are also profound truths, whose opposite are equally right. Niels Bohr
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