RIP Richard Cook.

Velocity 2012: Richard Cook, “How Complex Systems Fail”

Velocity 2012: Richard Cook, “How Complex Systems Fail” – YouTube

See also

https://stream.syscoi.com/2019/10/21/how-complex-systems-fail/

BATESON ANNIVERSARIES WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR GENERAL SEMANTICS

“The Map is not the Territory”

WEDNESDAY—September 21st

REGISTER HERE TO GET THE LINK

Zoom Link to register: https://us06web.zoom.us/…/tZEtcOyvrDktEtIz83D28ghubNCQu…

We are excited to invite you to the Bateson Anniversaries special two-hour session with The Institute for General Semantics titled—The Map is not the Territory—a term famously coined by Alfred Korzybski. We share the following essay before our session, taken from the text of Gregory Bateson’s talk at the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in 1970—Form, Substance and Difference.

Bateson reminds us that the differences are what make it on the map and that differences have differences. What differences do you perceive?

“We say the map is different from the territory. But what is the territory? What is on the paper map is a representation…The territory never gets in at all. Always the process of representation will filter it out so that the mental world is only maps of maps of maps, ad infinitum . All ‘phenomena’ are literally ‘appearances’… the delimitation of an individual mind must always depend upon what phenomena we wish to understand or explain.” (Gregory Bateson, 1970)

In 1933, decades before the Memorial Lecture, Korzybski writes,

“Two important characteristics of maps should be noticed. A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness. If the map could be ideally correct, it would include, in a reduced scale, the map of the map; the map of the map of the map; and so on, endlessly… If we reflect upon our languages, we find that at best they must be considered only as maps. A word is not the object it represents; and languages exhibit also this peculiar self-reflexiveness, that we can analyze languages by linguistic means. This self-reflexiveness of language introduces serious complexities… The disregard of these complexities is tragically disastrous in daily life and science. (Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics, 1933, p. 58).

We look forward to digging into the territory together with you.

Please register below to receive the link:

THE BATESON ANNIVERSARIES SPECIAL SESSION—THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY

Registration link

FINANCIAL AND MONETARY SYSTEMS

Everything from technology to living organisms is becoming more complex. This is why

Aug 30, 2022

This article is published in collaboration withThe Conversation.

Complexity can develop the ability to manage, control and navigate the complexity it has constructed.

Ragnar van der Merwe

PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg

Alex Broadbent

Professor of Philosophy of Science, Durham University

How to navigate an increasingly complex world | World Economic Forum

20 Systems (over) Thinker Tips

Download a high-resolution PDF or PNG of my infographic of John Cutlers “20 Things I’ve Learned as a Systems (over) Thinker”

It’s based on his blogplost that you can read here.

https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/20-things-ive-learned-as-a-systems

Download the infographic in English here: PDF / PNG

20 Systems (over) Thinker Tips – Context specific agile, product, and systems coaching

This is the end-August monthly events mailing from SCiO. Click on the group titles below to go to the events that interest you. Please remember that you can attend online events organised by any of the SCiO groups if they are held in a language you speak/understand. Further details of events may be available by clicking on the event titles below and you can also book each event directly from the Book now text. See also directly below for the first AGM notification for members.

The SCiO UK Open Event in September will be live and held in Manchester. Some groups post events quite late, so it is always worth checking the website – also for changes to dates and times. Please click here to see all the events in a browser.

SCiO Belgium		SCiO DACH
SCiO Espana		SCiO Nederland
SCiO UK

The Cherith Simmons/SCiO Apprenticeship now has a revised start date of 22^nd September and is still taking registrations and expressions of interest. For more information click here.

Steve

SCiO – Systems & Complexity in Organisation

Mobile      07712 140422         

e-mail      steve.hales@systemspractice.org                       

website    www.systemspractice.org  

This message is confidential to the intended recipient. It does not constitute a legally binding document on the part of either the sender or the recipient. If this message has been received by you in error please reply to: steve.hales@systemspractice.org  with UNSUBSCRIBE as the title  

Systems and Complexity in Organisation Ltd is a company registered in England with Company Number: 3499590 Registered address: Unit 14 Tower Street, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, L3 4BJ

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  SCiO UK

SCiO Open Meeting – 12th September 2022

Mon 12 September 2022 09:30–17:00 GMT+1

Face-to-Face Open Meeting: A new series of speaker presentations of interest to Systems & Complexity in Organisation’s members and others.  This session will be held in the Alliance Manchester Business School, high up in the Penthouse, and is the first post-Covid face-to-face event to be held by SCiO in the UK. We’re looking forward to seeing you! 

A case study of warping and weaving systems methods – Niki Jobson (Dr)

Mechanisms of Self-Creation in Living Beings and Organizations –  Clemens Dachs (Dr)

Designing Democracy – Robin Asby (Dr)

Critical Social Learning Systems: an inquiry, case study and some learning – Tony Korycki

Penthouse Room, Manchester Business School, Booth Street West, MANCHESTER  M15 6PB UK,

All welcome; £30; English; Book now

SCiO UK Virtual Development Event – October 2022

Tue 18 October 2022 19:00–21:00 GMT+1

SCiO’s Development Days offer an opportunity to draw upon the collective expertise of SCiO members in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. By taking Development Events online, using the Zoom meeting platform, we aim to make them accessible to more SCiO members Development Events are both for members who are just starting out on a journey to explore Systems Thinking approaches, and for those who have many years of exploration and practice…. Read more

Members only; FREE; Online event; English; Book now

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  SCiO Belgium

SCiO Belgium – spreker sessie – Jan De Visch – Ontwikkelingsgerichte systeemdynamieken in teamontwikkeling

Tue 13 September 2022 18:00–20:00 CET+1

Een veranderproces start meestal met het uitkristaliseren van het ‘waarom’, de ‘verwachte opbrengsten’ en een ‘transformatie hypothese’. De ‘transformatie hypothese’ is meestal het onderdeel in de verhaallijn die duidelijkheid verschaft over hoe de transities concreet gerealiseerd kunnen worden, rekening houdend met cultuur, processen en ecosystemen. Althans, dat is de theorie. In praktijk merk je dat de veranderkundige verhaalllijnen vaak uitblinken in eenvoud en gefragmenteerde actiestappen; en zelden rekening houden met de verschillen in perspectief-inname van betrokken partijen. Het systemische perspectief blijft ook heel vaak beperkt tot een klein aantal betrokkenen die gefrustreerd zijn dat collega’s onvoldoende integratief en holistisch kunnen denken. De eenvoudige verhaallijnen leiden tot weerstand en het over het hoofd zien van kritische interafhankelijkheden, wat op haar beurt vertragingen en herwerk creëert. Hoe je  hiermee omgaat, en welke condities je kan creëren om transformatie in goede banen te leiden vormt het onderwerp van deze bijdrage die gebaseerd is op het boek ‘Geen samenwerken zonder samendenken’.Belgium

All welcome; FREE; Online event; Dutch; Book now

SCiO Belgium – VSM deep dive sessie 1 – Strategisch management: twee VSM ontwerppincipes uitgelicht.

Tue 11 October 2022 18:00–20:00 CET+1
In de deep dive cylcus nemen we het Viable System Model in-depth onder de loep en toetsen we dit aan de praktijk.
De cyclus zoomt in op het praktisch maken van het werk van Stafford Beer, aan de hand van de publicaties van één van zijn belangrijkste leerlingen, nl.  Fredmund Malik.Strategisch managment wordt door Stafford Beer beschreven als een meta-ststemisch controlemechanisme voor complexe systemen. Eén van de cybernetische uitgangspunten hierbij is dat je nooit het volledige detail kan beschrijven van hoe complexe systemen werken. Vanuit deze hypothese maakt het dan ook geen zin om een zekere authoriteit de verantwoordelijkheid te geven voor het management van informatiestromen en kennisprocessen. Effectieve controle bereik je door in te zetten op een hoger niveau, namelijk via principes die zelfsturing en zelfregulatie mogelijk maken. De principes laten een indirecte sturing van complexe systemen toe. We bespreken er twee, namelijk (1) het principe van compleetheid van structuren, en (2) het principe van relatieve autonomie. Vervolgens bespreken we hoe deze in eigen cases een rol spelen.
Members only; FREE; Online event; Dutch; Book now

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   SCiO DACH (Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz)

SCiO DACH – Einführung in das Viable System Model

Thu 15 September 2022 19:00–20:00 CET+1

Einführung in das Viable System Model durch Carola Roll. Der Termin richtet sich an „VSM-Neulinge“, aber auch an alle Interessierten, welche sich eingehend mit den Basics des Models beschäftigen wollen. Nach der Präsentation und einigen Beispielen aus der Praxis besteht die Möglichkeit, Fragen zu stellen und zur allgemeinen Diskussion.

All welcome; FREE; Online event; German; Book now

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  SCiO Espana

SCiO Espana – La dinámica del diálogo trabajando con el Modelo de Sistema Viable

Tue 4 October 2022 19:00–21:00 CET
In English: Ponente: Jan De Visch. Executive Professor Human Capital Management at Flanders Business School, and Managing Director at  Connect & Transform.
En esta conferencia, Jan revisará el proceso por el que los empleados dan sentido a los sistemas en los que trabajan y cómo este influye el diálogo entre ellos. La pregunta central es si los empleados, trabajando como un equipo, serán capaces de integrar las distintas perspectivas para una mejor toma de decisiones.
El trabajo de Staford Beer ilustra la naturaleza fractal de los sistemas organizados (como las organizaciones), esto significa que la estratificación del trabajo puede ser distinguida desde los niveles más sencillos hasta los más complejos. Sin embargo, nadie trabaja a un solo nivel, y suelen sentirse más o menos cómodos dependiendo del nivel en el que están, generando tensión en las personas y los equipos. Jan nos mostrará que la consciencia y la gestión de esta tensión es el centro del proceso de desarrollo organizacional que ilustrará con un caso de estudio. Así mismo, nos mostrará una serie de herramientas para el proceso de co-diseño de la nueva organización.
La dinámica del diálogo trabajando con el Modelo de Sistema Viable – Jan De Visch

All welcome; FREE; Online event; English / Spanish; Book now

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  SCiO Nederland

SCIO-NL monthly meeting (live in Vianen and in Dutch)

Fri 9 September 2022 11:00–15:00 CET+1

SCIO-NL komt elke 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen in Vianen (Hagenweg 3c). Er staan geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp.

Hagenweg 3c, Vianen, Netherlands

All welcome; FREE; Dutch; Book now

SCIO-NL monthly meeting (live in Vianen and in Dutch)

Fri 14 October 2022 11:00–15:00 CET+1

SCIO-NL komt elke 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen in Vianen (Hagenweg 3c). Er staan geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp.

Hagenweg 3c, Vianen, Netherlands

All welcome; FREE; Dutch; Book now

Integrating a systems approach into Defra

Published 23 May 2022

Integrating a systems approach into Defra – GOV.UK

Document references:

Defra appoints six new Academic Fellows to lead Systems Research Programme (3 May 2019)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/science-research-programme-launched-to-inform-defra-policy-making

This is my bag of tricks — patterns, rules-of-thumb, tools, cheatsheets, gimmicks, leverage points, questions, risks, and unknowns.

Patterns — Gordon Brander

See also ‘library’ page at

https://gordonbrander.com/lib

Centre for Systems Studies Anniversary Event

Webinar

The 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Centre for Systems Studies 21 September 2022, 12.30-4pm Discovery Room, Hull University Business SchoolOnline & In-PersonOn 21 September 2022, we are holding an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Centre for Systems Studies (CSS) here at the University of Hull. Members of our systems community will give presentations and discuss the past, present and future of the Centre. Over the last thirty years, the applied research of CSS has been widely-acknowledged as paradigm changing. This event will provide an opportunity to mark past achievements, and also to discuss where we want to go next as we continue to renew our research agenda into the future. This celebration will be hosted as a hybrid event. Limited in-person places will be available, and people will also be able to participate online. Those wishing to obtain a ticket for the in-person event will need to select the ‘in-person’ option on the registration form.

Emergent Engineering: Reframing the Grand Challenge for the 21st Century

Emergent Engineering: Reframing the Grand Challenge for the 21st Century | Santa Fe Institute

EMERGENT ENGINEERING:
REFRAMING THE GRAND CHALLENGE
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
David C. Krakauer, SFI
Santa Fe Institute, 2019

From first-order to second-order evaluation practice: time to shift the groundby Sharon Scotcher | Aug 30, 2022 | Blog

From first-order to second-order evaluation practice: time to shift the ground – EES

A Systemic Perspective on National Preparedness01 September 2022In this article John Beckford articulates a set of themes on applying systemic thinking to the notion of national preparedness. These themes will be explored in a set of subsequent papers commissio

A Systemic Perspective on National Preparedness | National Preparedness Commission

(This is the International Society for the Systems Sciences)

You are invited to join us on a journey to rediscover and appreciate the richness of our discipline during my presidential term. Grouped in monthly themes, we will explore traditional and emerging systems perspectives, with an added emphasis on reflection on interrelatedness of these different perspectives. Every fourth week, the session will be dedicated to intuitive reflection on the connections of the perspectives discussed during the month. I hope to create a rich library of material to be used by everyone entering the discipline or wishing to widen their own systems perspective.

Based on our experience of the past year, we decided not to have a weekly repeat of a main session, but rather alternate monthly between the two time slots used before. This means that during September, there will be one weekly session at 7 AM Pacific Daylight Time without any repeat, and October the sessions will be on Wednesdays at 7am in the Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney) without repeat. All sessions will be posted on ISSS shortly after completion. November will be on Saturdays, followed by December on Wednesdays, and so forth. Sessions will be announced in the Calendar on ISSS.org.

The Zoom Link will be in the ISSS calendar on ISSS.org on Thursday – [that should be here: https://www.isss.org/calendar/?cat=&view=day&month=9&day=3&year=2022]

Roelien Goede
ISSS President

Sustainability from ecological anthropology: the second life of trees

Sustainability from ecological anthropology: the second life of trees – Coevolving Innovations