Valid responses embrace the greater complexity that is now rife
The world is more global today. Valid business responses need to take this into account. Continue reading
Thanks to technology and other factors, pace has now accelerated. Furthermore, the certainty that gives all sorts of institutions their authority is breaking down. The result is greater complexity.
Actual complexity undermines command-and-control structures. That’s why we’re seeing their effectiveness wane. As these structures are shaken, rules-based processes are overtaken by idea-driven cultures, where conversations are recognized as important occasions when “the real work” gets done.
Boundaries demarcating an organization are becoming blurred. Supply “chains” are evolving into complex ecosystems in which vendors, manufacturers, customers and competitors interact in new ways. Not only does strategy need to respond, so do communications. “Internal communications” and “media relations” are becoming anachronistic as new forms of conversation, talking and listening evolve.
By combining ethnography, engineering and creative communications in a single praxis, we are finding relevant ways of responding to complexity and shaping proactive strategy.