Navigating Complexity

Class Description

Date:  30 March 2026

Duration:  1 Day

Location:  Zürich, Switzerland

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Complexity science is transforming management, offering the prospect of achieving more with fewer resources and lower risk. But it involves a very different way of thinking and acting than most people have been trained for. This short programme, by one of the pioneers in applying complexity science to social systems, will provide a basic understanding of the principles, but more importantly, the practice of managing in conditions of inherent uncertainty. The course is based on the Field Guide to Managing Complexity (and Chaos) a joint publication of the Future Systems Directorate of the European Union and Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Centre.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is organised in four modules:

• What is the nature of a complex adaptive system, and how does complexity science differ from systems thinking? The PAGODA model, a simple acronym that summarises the principles of managing complexity, will be the main feature of this session.

• How do we map the territory? Using principles from Physics, we examine what we can actually change and the associated costs over time. A simple framework will be outlined to derisk projects and programmes by first mapping what is in play and what realistically is not. Interventions can then be designed to create better pathways. To use a simple metaphor, understand the soil conditions of your garden, and if necessary, make changes, before deciding what to plant in it.

• What can we learn from nature? Bees in a swarm always end up in the best location of all the ones investigated. Antelopes stay aligned in a herd without any objectives or goals. Mushroom roots can redistribute resources to saplings from mature trees in a forest under drought conditions. Practical methods for distributed decision-making and resource allocation, as well as alternatives to purpose and the generation of informal networks for dynamic problem-solving, have all been developed based on these insights and will be taught in the course.

• Homo Narrans or Homo Sapiens?

• What is the role of storytelling, story gathering and story listening in human systems? Narrative carries deep learning and knowledge in all human systems and can be managed. Mapping culture through the watercooler stories of an organisation, walking the ‘Genba’ using field capture of experience in lessons learning and 360º feedback for individuals and teams and other uses will be outlined.

Through all four modules, the key differences between human and AI reasoning and use will be discussed and illustrated. How to create a hybrid approach to the use of new technologies.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Anyone responsible for change, organisational design, project initiation or management

COURSE PRESENTER

Anna Panagiotou