Uncommon Common Sense: Riding the Dragons of Complexity

Complexity sciences, and their applications to human systems,  have been around since the early 1980s, but the power in academe, business, industry, and government still sit squarely in Newtonian worldviews. Why? What are the  challenges of thinking through the lens of complex adaptive systems?

In the history of science, practice leads theory into a new paradigm. We see the influence of complexity all around us today,  while the theory remains at the edges of disciplines like economics, public health, education, public policy, business, philanthropy, and politics.  Explore the underlying assumptions that inform future-oriented practice while they  challenge traditional theory. Eoyang calls these radical views of reality dragons. As in ancient maps, the unknown beyond was filled with monsters and dragons. Today, too, “there be dragons” beyond the bounds of traditional knowledge.  You will explore six radical ideas that  will inform your personal understanding and action in a complex world.

Glenda H. Eoyang, PhD
Founding Executive Director Human Systems Dynamics Institute geoyang@hsdinstitute.org
www.hsdinstitute.org 
 
Glenda Eoyang works with public and private organizations to help them thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the applications of complexity science to human systems, and she founded the field of human systems dynamics (HSD) in 2001. She received her BA in physics and philosophy from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico and her doctorate in Human Systems dynamics from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, OH. Through Human Systems Dynamics Institute, she leads a global network of over one thousand scholar-practitioners. They apply HSD to wicked problems ranging from early childhood education to violent extremism, public health, and corporate futures and strategy. She has published across disciplines in both  academic and practitioner literature. Her book, Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization (Stanford University Press, 2013) outlines her wide-ranging theory and practice.  It is  a roadmap for anyone who chooses to work at the intersection of order and chaos.