The limits of complexity

In our daily lives, we are engulfed with complexity. It is all around us: just think about business transactions, global trade, health care systems, jet engines, the energy grid, the tax code, computers, ... Many would even add the remote control of their stereo or the radio in their car to that list. Yet despite that almost permanent … Continue reading The limits of complexity →

How efficiency can kill you – in simple charts

In the previous post I've investigate the antagonistic relation between efficiency on one side and resilience on the other. As that is a pretty abstract subject, I tried to draw up a few simple charts to underpin the story of how efficiency, when taken to extremes, depletes resilience and ultimately promotes system failure. First, let's think of a simple task, the … Continue reading How efficiency can kill you – in simple charts →

Efficiency will kill you slowly

Our western societies are obsessed with efficiency. Just think about topics like lean production, just-in-time logistics, energy consumption, time management: we are always trying to make things cheaper, to use less resources, to pack more action in less time, you name it. While these considerations are usually driven by good intent, I'd argue that they can pave the path to desaster … Continue reading Efficiency will kill you slowly →

Opposing objectives

The front–loop of the adaptive cycle is very present in our daily experience, no wonder that it dominates our thinking as well. It's the place where we are most comfortable, where we want to be. Continued growth and the accumulation of resources create an impression that all change is positive, that all change is progress: your business model is … Continue reading Opposing objectives →

Between potential and connectedness

So far I've described the adaptive cycles only in very elementary terms. Time to add a level of detail so that this concept can gain more contour and depth. Let's take the lying eight as the starting point. Without a doubt that is the most common depiction of adaptive cycles that you can find on the … Continue reading Between potential and connectedness →