Complicating the Complex

Almost every week I see confusion caused by the lack of a vocabulary that distinguishes between Cynefin's Complicated domain and its Complex domain.

The latest incident was an article entitled "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint" in the 27 April New York Times. I was walking through the airport that Tuesday morning and was amused to see a familiar diagram above the fold on Page 1.

The article was the latest in a long line of critiques of the use and abuse of PowerPoint, including a dash of McLuhanesque "media is the message" thrown in for good measure. There's not much to add here...though I do find it slightly puzzling that the focus is almost totally on how the tool can/is abused, versus how the tool can/should be used to be effective.

Regardless, the graphic shown is the real story...it's a classic Systems Dynamics concept map that provides a good example of the limitations of trying to create a Complicated map of a Complex context. In defense of those who created it, I suspect that the conversations that went into creating it were valuable. And, as a focal point for an ongoing series of conversations about the social/cultural landscape, it probably has some use.

However, this diagram has inevitably left out key entities and linkages that are (a) rarely active, and (b) extremely important....i.e., it left out linkages that may provide the most leverage in achieving a specific contextually activated goal. If you're familiar with the Cognitive Edge tools and methods, you understand that there's a more effective way to address this kind of need. Unfortunately, most folks still lack the vocabulary to distinguish between the Complicated from the Complex and fail to realize that this "unknown unknown" would significantly increase their ability to effectively characterize a Complex context.