Change ManagementThe Columbo Theory

Change Management – The Columbo Theory

Sessions last week with the OR Society:

Wednesday webinar: Systems Thinking into the Future: https://lnu.box.com/s/r58hhd4jys32j748462lwlen6nmw056t.

Thursday seminar: Systemic Intervention: Multi-Agency, Stakeholder-Engaged System Change: https://lnu.box.com/s/syksvznhloqvpp9xy3vmf69gzajmecz2.

And

Operational Research (OR) Society 64th annual conference

We also want to inform you and invite you to submit to the Operational Research (OR) Society annual conference physically at University of Warwick on 13-15th September 2022. The Systems Thinking steam has been the largest stream the last couple of years with 60+ presenters in parallel sessions and 1-3 hour interactive workshops.

There is no requirement to produce a written paper – just an abstract (maximum 300 words) describing your presentation, which will be published in the program. The closing date for abstracts is 30 June 2022. Everything you need to know about the event (venue, travel arrangements, accommodation, price, critical dates, requirements of presenters, etc.) can be found on the conference web site, where you can also sign up and submit abstracts: https://theorsociety.eventsair.com/or64-annual-conference/.

The Systems Thinking Stream:

There will be practitioner and academic stream keynotes, and Dan McGonigle (Head of the Systems Group in Defra) will be a plenary speaker for the whole conference, talking about the use of systems thinking in UK government.

For presentations in the stream, we welcome the widest possible diversity of practitioners and academics, whatever specialism you bring.

We encourage the submission of abstracts discussing:

Applications to (and across) organizational, social and environmental issues;
Theoretical and methodological innovations;
Thoughts on the diversity, impacts and ethics of systemic OR practice; and
Reflections on the past, present and future of systems thinking in OR.
Indeed, any insightful presentation of relevance to systems thinking and OR is very welcome. If you have any questions about the focus of your abstract and presentation, please write to g.r.midgley@hull.ac.uk (there is another email address further down this message if you have more general questions about the conference).

We have also been asked to look out for people who can offer experiential workshops (e.g., giving practical experiences of using a systems approach) in the Impact stream. If you think your work would fit in this category, and can facilitate a workshop lasting between 1-3 hours, please let us know by email before uploading your abstract. You can write to Sadaf Salavati – sadaf.salavati@lnu.se – about interactive workshops.

Contact

For further information about the conference (including anything to do with costs, travel or accommodation), please write to event.enquiry@theorsociety.com.

Kind regards,

Sadaf Salavati

via Linnaeus University Systems Community

It me!

I haven’t presented or run that many public events recently, and suddenly they all come at once. Here are six in the next couple of months – with info and booking links:

“Later in the bar”
Mon 23 May 2022 18:30–20:00 UK time, SCiO
Informal, open systems practice chat
Book at: https://systemspractice.org/events/later-bar-scio-uk-may-2022 (free)

Workshop: Systems thinking and systems convening for carbon capture change – facilitated workshop
May 28, 2022 – part of the Systems Change Alliance online conference – Carbon Capture Deep Dive: A Systems Change Perspective
I am facilitating an introduction covering systems thinking and aspects of systems convening.
Book at: https://systemschangealliance.org/events-calendar/carbon-capture-deep-dive/?swcfpc=1 (paid, part of conference)

The Viable Systems Model and human systems dynamics through the lens of Barry Oshry’s Organic Systems Model
14th Metaphorum Conference, Leuven, Belgium, 10-12 June 2022 NB I am still trying to confirm travel arrangements so I can attend this amazing conference.
The VSM is undoubtedly about people in organisation, at heart, and I consider it to represent some of the most essential, fundamental aspects of organisation. But not all. Long before I encountered Beer’s work, I was engaged in studying Barry Oshry’s power+systems framework, now called the organic systems model. Developed from extended observation of experiential workshops, this framework identifies sensemaking ‘worlds’ – Top, Middle, Bottom, Customer, Helper, Dominant, Other – ‘real’ conditions which seem to inevitably pertain in different relationships to responsibility, authority, and decision-making – and instinctive human responses to those conditions, which both exacerbate the conditions and create problematic human dynamics within and between the worlds which persistently shift people out of partnership – a shared focus on what we collectively value.
Book at: https://metaphorum.org/14thconference (paid, part of conference)

Workshop: Systems thinking and systems convening for carbon capture – advanced workshop
June 14th 2-6pm UK time – the Systems Change Alliance
This workshop will work dynamically to deepen an understanding of what systems thinking can offer for the changes we are seeking.
Book at: https://systemschangealliance.org/events-calendar/systems-thinking-and-systems-convening-for-carbon-capture/ (paid)

Systems leadership, change, theory, and practice
Mon 11 July 2022 18:30–20:30 UK time, SCiO Virtual Open Meeting – July 2022
Systems Leadership and Systems Change are very popular phrases at the moment – search the web for a sense (and sense Medium.com if you really want to boggle your mind).
Some of it is really good, some of it is risible, and much has little to do with systems thinking or systems practice.
This session will explore some of the existing territory and dimensions and sketch out Benjamin’s approach.
Benjamin will draw on two of his articles from last year (but reading them isn’t necessary to attend): https://i2insights.org/2021/06/22/systems-leadership/ and https://stream.syscoi.com/2021/06/21/a-schema-for-better-understanding-systems-leadership-and-systems-change/
Book at: https://systemspractice.org/events/scio-virtual-open-meeting-july-2022 (free, two speaker event)

It me!

I haven’t presented or run that many public events recently, and suddenly they all come at once. Here are six in the next couple of months – with info and booking links:

“Later in the bar”
Mon 23 May 2022 18:30–20:00 UK time, SCiO
Informal, open systems practice chat
Book at: https://systemspractice.org/events/later-bar-scio-uk-may-2022 (free)

Workshop: Systems thinking and systems convening for carbon capture change – facilitated workshop
May 28, 2022 – part of the Systems Change Alliance online conference – Carbon Capture Deep Dive: A Systems Change Perspective
I am facilitating an introduction covering systems thinking and aspects of systems convening.
Book at: https://systemschangealliance.org/events-calendar/carbon-capture-deep-dive/?swcfpc=1 (paid, part of conference)

The Viable Systems Model and human systems dynamics through the lens of Barry Oshry’s Organic Systems Model
14th Metaphorum Conference, Leuven, Belgium, 10-12 June 2022 NB I am still trying to confirm travel arrangements so I can attend this amazing conference.
The VSM is undoubtedly about people in organisation, at heart, and I consider it to represent some of the most essential, fundamental aspects of organisation. But not all. Long before I encountered Beer’s work, I was engaged in studying Barry Oshry’s power+systems framework, now called the organic systems model. Developed from extended observation of experiential workshops, this framework identifies sensemaking ‘worlds’ – Top, Middle, Bottom, Customer, Helper, Dominant, Other – ‘real’ conditions which seem to inevitably pertain in different relationships to responsibility, authority, and decision-making – and instinctive human responses to those conditions, which both exacerbate the conditions and create problematic human dynamics within and between the worlds which persistently shift people out of partnership – a shared focus on what we collectively value.
Book at: https://metaphorum.org/14thconference (paid, part of conference)

systems convening, systems thinking, and systems practice
A session for the systems convening community – June 13, 2022 12:30-1:30pm UK time
What light do systems thinking and practice shed on systems convening? What can they add?
Book at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEudeGprD0vH9JKdOCaj7utfGUoM5AGVu-r (free)

Workshop: Systems thinking and systems convening for carbon capture – advanced workshop
June 14th 2-6pm UK time – the Systems Change Alliance
This workshop will work dynamically to deeped an understanding of what systems thinking can offer for the changes we are seeking.
Book at: https://systemschangealliance.org/events-calendar/systems-thinking-and-systems-convening-for-carbon-capture/ (paid)

Systems leadership, change, theory, and practice
Mon 11 July 2022 18:30–20:30 UK time, SCiO Virtual Open Meeting – July 2022
Systems Leadership and Systems Change are very popular phrases at the moment – search the web for a sense (and search Medium.com if you really want to boggle your mind).
Some of it is really good, some of it is risible, and much has little to do with systems thinking or systems practice.
This session will explore some of the existing territory and dimensions and sketch out Benjamin’s approach.
Benjamin will draw on two of his articles from last year (but reading them isn’t necessary to attend): https://i2insights.org/2021/06/22/systems-leadership/ and https://stream.syscoi.com/2021/06/21/a-schema-for-better-understanding-systems-leadership-and-systems-change/
Book at: https://systemspractice.org/events/scio-virtual-open-meeting-july-2022 (free, two speaker event)

Systemic Evaluation Design. A Workbook$0+Bob Williams

Systemic Evaluation Design. A Workbook

CCSS Events Overview (May-June 2022) At the Centre for Complex Systems Studies (CCSS), we always believe in the added value of bringing different ideas and expertise together through various activities. With the possibility of meeting each other in person again, we would like to welcome you back to our CCSS and have scheduled the following on-site events:

Events Overview (May-Jun): Learn Complexity with Lunches & Ice Creams!

An Introduction to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)NATALIYA SHEVCHENKODECEMBER 21, 2020

An Introduction to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

CCSS Meeting #50:Complexity: Evolution and a Creative Universe On Thursday 19th May (12:00 – 13:00), we will host a hybrid lecture with Prof. Peter Allen (Cranfield University, UK).

CCSS Meeting #50: Complexity: Evolution and a Creative Universe

Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems

NEW! Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems (MOOC) – Systemic Design Labs

Requisite Variety and Its Implications for the Control of Complex SystemsW. AshbyPublished 1991MathematicsRecent work on the fundamental processes of regulation in biology (Ashby, 1956) has shown the importance of a certain quantitative relation called the law of requisite variety. After this relation had been found, we appreciated that it was related to a theorem in a world far removed from the biological—that of Shannon on the quantity of noise or error that could be removed through a correction-channel (Shannon and Weaver, 1949; theorem 10). In this paper I propose to show the relationship between the two theorems, and to indicate something of their implications for regulation, in the cybernetic sense, when the system to be regulated is extremely complex.

[PDF] Requisite Variety and Its Implications for the Control of Complex Systems | Semantic Scholar

Click to access AshbyReqVar.pdf

How Embodied Is Cognition?Daniel D. HuttoPatrick McGivern4564 Views6 Pages1 File ▾Cognitive Science,Philosophy of Mind,Embodied Cognition,Philosophy of Cognitive Science,EnactivismShow more ▾E is the letter, if not the word, in today’s sciences of mind. E adjectives proliferate. Nowadays it is hard to avoid claims that cognition – perceiving, imagining, decision-making, planning – is best understood in E terms of some sort. The list of E-terms is long: embodied, enactive, extended, embedded, ecological, engaged, emotional, expressive, emergent and so on. This short piece explains: the big idea behind this movement; how it is inspired by empirical findings; why it matters; and what questions the field will face in the future. It focuses on the stronger and weaker ways that different E-approaches understand cognition as depending deeply on the dynamic ways in which cognizers use their bodies to engage with wider world.

(99+) How Embodied Is Cognition? | Daniel D. Hutto and Patrick McGivern – Academia.edu

The origin and conservation of self‐consciousness: Reflections on four questions by Heinz von FoersterHumberto Maturana Romesín KybernetesISSN: 0368-492XArticle publication date: 1 January 200

The origin and conservation of self‐consciousness: Reflections on four questions by Heinz von Foerster | Emerald Insight

Full text: https://www.univie.ac.at/constructivism/pub/hvf/papers/maturana05selfconsciousness.html

Asymptotic burnout and homeostatic awakening: a possible solution to the Fermi paradox?Michael L. Wong and Stuart BartlettPublished:04 May 2022

Asymptotic burnout and homeostatic awakening: a possible solution to the Fermi paradox? | Journal of The Royal Society Interface

On Twitter,

@fluffbuster says:

Hey Sys Thinkers & Change If you want practise thinking about just 3 simultaneous interacting causes – here is a great video. Also – see how clear simple semantic-triplet statements about Things/Properties/Relations can communicate anything, even .

What is VSMod ®?VSMod® is the software created to facilitate the application of the Organizational Cybernetics and more specifically the Viable System Model to the design or diagnosis of organizations from the point of view of their viability.VSMod® helps, in first place, to design a new organization, by providing the means to create its structure and to guide the designer during the process of identification of the functions required for its viability, as well as the communication channels required by those functions to work properly. The other fundamental use is to help the diagnosis of any organization from the point of view of its viability.VSMod® permits the following activities:Creating a new VSM study or modifying an existing one.Creating the structure of a complete system using as many recursion criteria as wished.To navigate through the structure of the systemVisualising the complete detailed map of the VSM corresponding to the system-in-focus selected.Adding information to the model in any format (text, audio, video, graphics, simulation models, links to web pages, etc.) and in every one of the VSM components (including communication channels, environments, etc.).All the above-mentioned functions relating to the addition or visualisation of information may be carried out at each of the recursion levels identified for the model.As well as many other features…

VSMod – Home

Intro video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLKvLyDTpF4&t=6s