OD - as good as it gets?

March 21, 2008

Ben Ramalingam of ALNAP was kind enough to get in touch with a link to a working paper he co-authored: “Exploring the science of complexity – ideas and implications for development and humanitarian efforts”. I confess that so far I have only skimmed it but it seems really worth a read if you have any interest in developing your ability to take part in creating change. The context is international aid, but as with Jake Chapman’s paper on UK governmental policy making the diligent application of control freakery and recipe driven programmes shines through like a stream of bat’s piss, as Monty Python would say.

Here’s a few lines from the executive summary: “Four changes seem to be [of] particular importance: the openness to new ideas, the restraint to accept the limitations of the approach, the honesty and humbleness to accept the limitations of aid efforts and to accept mistakes, and the courage to face up to the implications of these ideas.” A pretty good description of the challenges facing those of us who think we have something to bring to the change party in the commercial world also – especially when contrasted with what’s on offer here or here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

About the Cynefin Company

The Cynefin Company (formerly known as Cognitive Edge) was founded in 2005 by Dave Snowden. We believe in praxis and focus on building methods, tools and capability that apply the wisdom from Complex Adaptive Systems theory and other scientific disciplines in social systems. We are the world leader in developing management approaches (in society, government and industry) that empower organisations to absorb uncertainty, detect weak signals to enable sense-making in complex systems, act on the rich data, create resilience and, ultimately, thrive in a complex world.
ABOUT USSUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Cognitive Edge Ltd. & Cognitive Edge Pte. trading as The Cynefin Company and The Cynefin Centre.

© COPYRIGHT 2024

< Prev

Spatulas and learning

Johnnie Moore passes on a cracking story that does a great job of capturing the ...

More posts

Next >

Petticoated philosphers & virago queans

In 1911 the Union of Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes awarded a prize to one Florence ...

More posts

linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram