Building Systems to Deconstruct Complexity
Engage the collective wisdom of group genius and systems thinking by modeling the inter-related elements of a complex problem. The impact of a variety of actions can be “played out” through this approach. The preferable courses of action become transparent, and the team can move forward with confidence.
Overview
Complexity paralyzes individuals, organizations and teams, not only choking profits at many companies, but also slowing down teams during the design and development of new products, services and experiences. Root causes can include highly sophisticated interaction concepts, digital user interfaces, and preparations to enter a global market. Today’s highly diverse teams need support to develop a shared framework to visualize and explore the problem they are working on and a way to see multi-level relationships. On the enterprise level, the effects of complexity pertain to all business processes along the value chain and hence complexity management requires a holistic approach and a holistic understanding of the relationships among individual building blocks: strategy, customer, product, organization and process.
Workshop
In the workshop participants experience how to conceptualize, visualize and solve complex business problems in a collaborative environment through a play-based approach. A complex problem is broken down into simple, easy to understand 3-dimensonal metaphorical models. These models are shared with the team through story-telling to bring every participant on the same page and to create a single shared model. Individual 3D models are assembled in a time and/or causality based model representing an inter-related system. This system of building blocks and connections is an easy to understand physical representation of the complex problem at hand: concrete, appropriable, and comprehensible. Participants then explore and experience how the overall system responds to external influencing factors. They also synthesize their learning by crafting simple guiding principles, a flexible framework of guidelines to use in real-time decision-making.
You Will Learn to:
- Represent complex issues through simple 3D metaphors and models.
- Explore the different types of relationships and the nature of connections in a systems environment.
- Model and test scenarios within a complex interrelated system.
- Use the power of scenarios to build and test concepts and solutions.
- Frame and reframe a problem.
- Use diverse ways of thinking to approach a problem.
- Solve a problem in a collaborative environment.
- Improve your story-telling capabilities.
- Practice non-judgmental, free-thinking and playful interaction.
- Use new visual thinking tools.
- Feel good about sharing and listening.
- Craft simple guiding principles.
- Take decision action when faced with complexity.
Who should attend?
Creative and business leaders who …
- are looking to unlock the knowledge, experience and creativity of a group of people;
- want to analyze, understand and solve complex situations and issues and gain new essential insights;
- look to co-create practical and sustainable solutions that are enthusiastically supported by everyone involved;
- want to be prepared to successfully manage constant change.
Agenda:
- The nature of complexity.
- Examples of complexity in the creative and business world.
- The human mind and complexity – emotional responses to complexity.
- Why it is difficult to manage complexity.
- How complexity affects a systems environment.
- Changing the paradigm.
- Hands-on techniques to move forward and achieve positive change in a complex environment.
Duration: Two days