In my professional work, I think a lot about the differences between simple and complex systems. As I wrote in my earlier article “It’s (not) complicated”: “We all understand simple mechanical systems like pulleys. Complex systems, like rainforests, however, work differently. They exhibit unique characteristics, including modularity, homeostasis, self-organization, resilience, emergence, non-linearity, inter-dependence with other complex systems, and collapse.” Some systems actually are complicated, though, or at least partially complicated—more like a Rube Goldberg machine than a rainforest or a pulley. The human olfactory system is a good example. Biophysicist Luca Turin has argued persuasively that some defining aspects of…
Beyond average thinking
Before we look at data sets, we can all cultivate better data sense. To that end, I’d encourage us all to look at one common kind of data with suspicion: the average. We all use averages on a daily basis—e.g., when we split a dinner bill or keep tabs on our favorite athletes. They can be useful. But the following examples show how these easy-to-compute shorthands can also lead us astray. Making money online For a pure e-commerce business, Average Order Value (AOV) is a standard measure of financial health. In addition to aggregate revenue, it gives business owners a…
It’s (not) complicated
We all understand simple mechanical systems like pulleys. Complex systems, like rain forests, however, work differently. They exhibit unique characteristics, including modularity, homeostasis, self-organization, resilience, emergence, non-linearity, inter-dependence with other complex systems, and collapse. In work and life, we encounter complex systems every day. They include: Human brainsHuman bodiesHuman relationshipsOrganizational culturesFinancial marketsDigital media ecosystemsCompetitive business environmentsGlobal climate One sure-fire way to make big mistakes is to expect complex systems to behave like simple ones. You’ll notice people doing this all the time. E.g., “My investments are down right now, but you know, the pendulum always swings back.” These simple system metaphors can warp our understanding of what’s really going on. Complex…
Unstorytelling
Our default way of experiencing the world is through stories. Whether they come from the latest Good Wife episode, the companies we purchase from, or the theater of our minds, stories are safe-to-consume simulations about how things were, are, will be, or could be. I love stories, and they can do many good things: They entertain us.They help us contemplate what we would do in unfamiliar situations.They help us act.They make abstract concepts relatable and human.The create order out of apparent disorder.They bind communities together.They make us smarter by either challenging or reinforcing our existing ideas.They sharpen our pattern recognition skills.They help us restore self-control.…
There is suffering
The first noble truth in Buddhism is that there is suffering. At first, that seems obvious. Every life has its sorrows, some many more than others. Everyone dies. Atrocities are happening all over the world. Accepting that “bad stuff happens to good people” can be a balm. This isn’t the only kind of suffering, though, that the Buddha was talking about. The process of becoming an adult invariably leaves psychic wounds… deep-seated fears that left unexamined can distort a life. These fears feel like they’re about the future, but they are really about the past. In Heidegger’s words: “The dreadful…
Navigating through chaos
We all get overwhelmed sometimes. Our stories, resources, and energy can be insufficient to accommodate a new reality. We become disorganized, inefficient. Like any complex system, we enter a chaos state. This is an ever-present possibility for even the most enlightened or skilled individual. In a chaos state, we often find ourselves clinging to old ideas, to losses, to hopes for the future. We try to run the old program, even though the operating system has changed. Sometimes reality will shift back to something more pleasant and familiar. But it doesn’t always. As St. John of the Cross said: “Swiftly, with nothing spared, I am being…
Climb the ladder
There’s a classic tool from learning psychology that I sometimes use with clients. It’s called the ladder of learning. This model says that whenever we learn a new skill, we always go through four steps: Unconscious incompetence: You are blissfully unaware that you are bad at something. You feel strongly in synch with your environment and confident in your abilities. This feels wonderful, but by the same token, you aren’t learning anything.Conscious incompetence: New information begins to intrude on your awareness, or you are beset with new challenges that demand attention. Your habitual methods for dealing with problems stop working. This is an extremely stressful situation, and it requires…
Time, energy, attention
There’s an analogy that consultants often use about a professor who tries to fit some rocks, pebbles, and sand into a jar. The punchline is that if you put the rocks in first, there’s magically room for everything else around the edges. If you fill the jar with sand, it will fill to the top. In daily life, it can be hard to prioritize our most-important goals, given the constant distractions we encounter. One trick to improve how you manage time is to recognize how well you manage your energy. When our energy reserves are low, we focus on the…
Emotional intelligence
Emotions often get a bad rap in business settings. They are irrational, contagious, easily manipulated, and at odds with sound thinking. At least, that’s one view. I say instead that emotions are an integral and powerful part of how we think. And behind each individual feeling, there is a specific and decodable thought. For example: Anger = I am not getting what I want.Fear = There is danger here.Hatred = I am in ideological disagreement with someone with whom I share a close relationship. (Thank you to Robert C. Solomon and his book The Passions for pointing out this one.)Admiration = This person has a…
What will serve
I once heard Joan Halifax speak about the difference between what we desire and “what will serve.” Separating the two can be tricky. As a coach and strategist, I tend to start with wants. We can’t see the path forward, and the resources all around us, until we recognize what it is we’re trying to do. That said, there are times to put our wants aside. To recognize that each situation has its own unique logic. To rise to the occasion or surrender to it, even if the occasion is not to our liking. Wanting things is okay, as long as we can hold those…