Unleashing the Power of Social Invention
Remarkable results come from unleashing the immense power of grassroot creativity, boundary-crossing collaboration, and decentralized networks. A deep well of social inventiveness and self-organizing capability is held in vast reserves... just under the surface.
As leaders and managers, we achieve remarkable results by tapping this well. To move forward together, we take responsibility without being in control, we make timely decisions where no precedents exist, we shape direction from the top while depending on multiple local insights, we gain effectiveness while encouraging inefficient experimentation, and we ask others to change while in the process of changing ourselves. Perfectly paradoxical and wildly effective. examples
Complexity science offers inspiration and guidance, drawing attention to how order and novel innovations arise from within messy situations... when agreement, evidence and certainty are in short supply. The science suggests that moving forward can be facilitated by working with uncertainty, surprise, paradox and messy flux. NOT trying to plan, over-control, smooth over difference, or force agreement and buy-in. It suggests an approach that relies on the creative adaptability and social inventiveness of people facing complex challenges. principles I am because we are. African proverb