I only met Rosabeth Moss Kanter once when we both spoke at a conference in Boston many years ago, along with Larry Prusak. Well Larry and I spoke, she performed a rap and to this day I don't know if... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

Two similar quotes from contrasting sources which capture (in very different ways) the essence of dealing with uncertinaty: "The key is being scrappy. It's the guys that they see an idea and they don't know how they're going do it... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

One of the things about narrative work using SenseMaker® is that you are often dealing with material, especially the results which cannot be shared. I'm pleased to say that the Welsh Audit Office are an exception to this and have... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

It's time to bring this series of seven posts on the origins of Cynefin to a close. I started it a few months ago when I needed to update an old version of the model to cover off a... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

We've now reached the penultimate episode in this series (and don't worry Dumbledore won't die, this is not The Hero's Journey). It will complete the key developments on the framework during the IBM period. Tomorrow I will talk about... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

The Cynefin framework is frequently (and legitimately) used as a categorisation model around the four domains of simple, complicated, complex and chaotic. Working at this level it allows people to understand the difference between the four domains, the decision models... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

We ended episode 3 of this series with the Cynefin framework in a recognisable form after well over a decade of evolution. In this penultimate episode (and its not he hero's journey so the mentor will not die) I want... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

I have resolved to complete this history over the next couple of days. In part 1 I took the history from its origins in my reflection on Boisot's I-Space, to a quadrant model contrasting abstraction with learning/culture. In part 2... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

Back in March I started a series on the origins of Cynefin. The first post described the original inspiration from Boisot's I-Space model and there were a few side postings, one on the importance of the name and then with... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

Moving on from the yesterday's Vogans to their traveling companions the Dentrassi; for those who are not aware these creatures are simply the best cooks in the Galaxy and pick up stray hitchhikers to annoy their Vogon hosts. I've... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

To continue with my theme of yesterday by looking specifically at the near obsessional need of many organisations to write their values down in the mistaken impression that this will somehow or another make a strategic difference. OK it... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

The persistence of failed ideas continues to surprise me, and especially in the case of those who claim to embrace complexity approaches to organisational development. A lot of people like the shinny new wine of complexity, but they want to... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

Catching up on my RSS feed late last night while watching Godfather II into the early hours of the morning, I found this post on leadership from Walter Smith's ever thoughtful blog. He is building on a speech at West... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

A day out today other than some email in the early hours. I had made the mistake of complaining at the seminar on Thursday that I was stuck in Canberra for three days. I argued that it would have... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

I agreed to take part in an interview some weeks ago on success. The transcript is now available here. It needs proof reading and also some side bars to indicate humour (English friends please note). To make it clear this... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

The Sloan Managment Review recently published a paper on evidence based decision making which is well summarised in the abstract as follows: Many managers think they've committed their organizations to evidence-based decision making - but have instead, without realizing it,... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

"Whereas young people become accomplished in geometry and mathematics, and wise within these limits, prudent young people do not seem to be found. The reason is that prudence is concerned with particulars as well as universals, and particulars become... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

For those who haven't seen it Cynthia Kurtz has posted a fascinating and substantive piece on her involvement in the creation of the Cynefin Framework. I have some minor quibbles: the main creative contrast was between her background in biology... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

I sort of knew this before but only really articulated it at the seminar today here in Wellington. The essence of interventions in a complex space is that you get the system to model itself you don't (unlike systems thinking)... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com

By the time I got round to booking accommodation in Dunedin this weekend there was nothing, and I mean nothing left in the town itself. Net result I ended up a hours drive out of town in a Bed... Dave Snowden http://www.cognitive-edge.com