From the website:
Cognitive Edge was founded in 2005 with the objective of building methods, tools and capability to utilise insights from Complex Adaptive Systems theory and other scientific disciplines in social systems. This approach, known variously as Naturalising Sensemaking and Cognitive Complexity has developed three main focus areas:
The development of SenseMakerยฎย – a software ecology which integrates decision support, research, monitoring and knowledge management
Comprehensive global education programmeย – ย a broad network of practitioners able to use the methods and tools developed by Cognitive Edge. ย Approximately 2,700+ Network Members now exist both within organisations and as independents
The research agendaย – acknowledged by the Academy of Management with two awards for the Cynefin framework, which is at the heart of the approach
People
Derived from David’s LinkedIn Profile and Wikipedia page:
David is currently working on the application of natural sciences to social systems through the development of a range of methods and the SenseMakerยฎ software suite. He is known for the development of the Cynefin framework and is the founder and chief scientific officer of Cognitive Edge, aย management consulting firm specializing in complexity and sensemaking.
Specialities:
- Sensemaking
- Knowledge Management
- Complexity Science applied to organisations
- Narrativeย
Web Properties
Recent Content
Last 50 posts on own channels (YouTube, Podcast, Medium or Website/Blog):
Vector theory of change โ a theory of change for complex systems
Published on: 19 Jan 22 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Linda Doyle
Vector theory of change โ a theory of change for complex systems
Published on: 19 Jan 22 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Linda Doyle
Entanglement: empathy via abduction
Published on: 27 Nov 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
How to Create a Citizen Sensor Network
Published on: 24 Nov 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by lindadoyle
The process of strategy 3 of 3
Published on: 19 Nov 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
The process of strategy 2 of 3
Published on: 11 Oct 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by dave snowden
The process of strategy 1 of 3
Published on: 5 Oct 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
What gives you hope for the future?
Published on: 30 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Linda Doyle
Of people, roles and ritual (3 of 3)
Published on: 29 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Of people, roles and ritual (2 of n)
Published on: 28 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Of people, roles and ritual (1 of n)
Published on: 27 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Ralph Stacey 10/9/1942 โ 4/9/2021
Published on: 26 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Prevarication by platitude
Published on: 14 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
20 years on, some memories
Published on: 11 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Learning: an anthro-complexity perspective
Published on: 9 Sep 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
โฆ which ruminates when walking
Published on: 27 Aug 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
โฆthe eye was bewildered
Published on: 25 Aug 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Weโre launching a Citizen Engagement & Democratic Innovation Programme White Paper
Published on: 23 Aug 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Linda Doyle
15 years on
Published on: 25 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Too fast, too soon?
Published on: 24 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
แผฮฝฮดฯฮฑ ฮผฮฟฮน แผฮฝฮฝฮตฯฮต, Mฮฟแฟฆฯฮฑ, ฯฮฟฮปฯฯฮปฮฟฮบฮฟฮฝ: some thoughts around trying to translate Cynefin into Greek
Published on: 20 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
Pleaches, Liggers & the โCโ words
Published on: 19 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
At the Complexity turn โฆ
Published on: 18 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Siphonophorae not hybrid (2 of 2)
Published on: 16 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Siphonophorae not hybrid (1 of 2)
Published on: 15 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Comment on Maps or charts? by Greg Brougham
Published on: 14 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Greg Brougham
Comment on Maps or charts? by Pierre
Published on: 14 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Pierre
Comment on Maps or charts? by Luis Garcรญa
Published on: 13 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Luis Garcรญa
Maps or charts?
Published on: 13 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Spotting anomalies
Published on: 12 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Natural science as counter-factual
Published on: 11 Jul 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Comment on The tyranny of the explicit by Dissolution of problems in organisations (Complex Adaptive Systems) โ part 1/2 โ Introduction โ System Collaboration Blog Book
Published on: 28 Jun 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dissolution of problems in organisations (Complex Adaptive Systems) – part 1/2 – Introduction – System Collaboration Blog Book
How the elephant got his trunk: what evolution can teach us about complexity
Published on: 7 Jun 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
How the elephant got his trunk: what evolution can teach us about complexity
Published on: 7 Jun 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
Comment on Bad titles and the need for theory to inform practice by Series: Are you stuck in a rabbit holeโฆ? โ Introduction โ System Collaboration Blog Book
Published on: 23 May 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Series: Are you stuck in a rabbit hole…? – Introduction – System Collaboration Blog Book
Coherence and โtruthโ
Published on: 4 May 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
To curate or be curated?
Published on: 9 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
The Woozle effect
Published on: 8 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Looking back at the Acorn Study; Part 9: Seedlings
Published on: 8 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Published on: 7 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
โฆfraught with moral peril
Published on: 6 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
A word or two about words โฆ (2/2)
Published on: 4 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
A word or two about words โฆ
Published on: 3 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Fool or foolish?
Published on: 2 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
I will lift up my eyes โฆ
Published on: 1 Apr 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Flexuous flight
Published on: 29 Mar 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Naturalising narrated
Published on: 28 Mar 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Dave Snowden
Looking back at the Acorn Study; Part 8.2: And then COVID happened
Published on: 18 Mar 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
Looking back at the Acorn Study; Part 8.1: And then COVID happened
Published on: 11 Mar 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
Looking back at the Acorn Study; Part 7: Hope, loss, and sacrifice
Published on: 4 Mar 21 in Cognitive Edge – Website
by Anna Panagiotou
If you want to take a shortcut, this blog is launching an explainer on vector theory of changeโa theory of change for complex systems. *** Imagine standing at the base
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If you want to take a shortcut, this blog is launching an explainer on vector theory of changeโa theory of change for complex systems. *** Imagine standing at the base
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The last three blog posts provided the core scaffolding for what I have been calling the Estuarine framework (pending getting a proper name for it). Iโve got a lot of
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New uses for sensors are being created all the time; from marinas using them to increase safety by guiding yachts boats into place to taps in the public toilets. Animals
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Iโve got into the habit of tweeting a summit picture from each Wainwright summit as a part of my challenge to complete all 214 in less than 40 days. For
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Thanks to a sudden slip on greasy rock descending from Red Screes Iโm home a couple of days early. ย The absence of cartilage under both patellas, managed through kinesiology tape
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This post follows on from the September series which looked at the whole issue of the learning organisation, and I have no intention of getting involved in the debates about
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What gives you hope for the future? Thatโs what weโre asking communities around the world. Introducing A New Community Engagement Demo SenseMakerยฎ Collector ย Our new SenseMakerยฎ collector focuses on
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In bringing this three-part series of blog posts to an end I just want to remind readers that they are in effect an extension of the original post on learning
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To continue from my post of yesterday, and with less intent to be polemical, but definite intent to disturb, I want to advocate an approach to design and development within
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From time to time I am invited to speak at The Stoa, a group that got together at the start of the pandemic and has continued since. ย Always an interesting
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I canโt imagine that anyone interested in complexity in organisations will not know the work of Ralph Stacy, or not be saddened to learn of his death earlier this month.
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The road to hell, they say is paved with good intentions and nothing is more frustrating in the general field of sense-making and complexity work than when you encounter said
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If you go back in time then two books could be considered to have laid the foundation for what I have termed the โsystems thinkingโ era which runs from the
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Carwyn Edwards sent me an interesting link via social media the other day. ย It was to an article by an anthropologist at Dartmouth College on the link between great thinking
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Back from holiday (of which more tomorrow) and a chance to pick up the blog agai as well as to reconnect with โcivilisationโ in general. ย Part of that return was
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So on this day, 15 years ago I wrote my first ever blog post. ย I was just settling into staff accommodation at Nanyang University (The banner picture I grabbed from
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This post picks up on the idea ofย shallowย monogamyย in my post of a few days ago looking at some of the obstacles to the adoption of complexity thinking. ย The other two
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Unless this is the first time you have stumbled across this blog by accident, you might have come across the idea of โthe Wikiโ. This usually does not refer toย The
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Two interesting sets of interactions on social media triggered todayโs post. ย One was a distinction made between cutting down a tree and trimming a hedge. ย That one came from a
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We live, as the Chinese curse tells us, in interesting times; ย and those times, to paraphrase Lincoln require us to both think anew and act anew. ย As ever any radical
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Yesterday I raised the idea of using a colony of different organisms that have evolved to collaborate as a single entity as a metaphor for new forms of organisation. ย In
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Peopleโs perspectives on an organisationโs past give them a limited view of the present. This has a strong in๏ฌuence on its future. The Future, Backwards method helps to widen these perspectives. The Future Backwards method is one of the primary workshop tools within The #Cynefin Coโ and one of the most popular. It was developed initially as an alternative to
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We have a fantastic opportunity for teams who want to join our Agile Development Cohort. We are looking for teams who are ready to take on a collaborative exploration of complexity and sensemaking in the Agile space. We still have a few available spots for teams to be part of our small (<10) cohort. This is a unique chance to
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Dave Snowden: Its always a pleasure to teach in Latin America even with simultaneous translation (and its takes 30% longer to say something in Portugese than English and the Welsh speak English 30% faster as well). I think one of the reasons is that, unlike Anglo-Saxon audiences they are happy to go with the flow and gain understanding over the
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Itโs day one at KM world in Washington DC and the Cynefin team are off to a flying start with not one, but three workshops! First off, Beth Smith and Ellie Snowden are facilitating a Cynefin favourite, Future Backwards. In this fun method, participants benefit from the oral history of an organisation, from multiple perspectives. Stay tuned to hear more
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Dave Snowden always emphasises the need for numerous small projects instead of one big project, either focused on resolving immediate issues or changing the substrate or energy gradient of the system. One of his quotes about #complexsystems is, “The only way to scale a #complex system is by decomposition to the lowest level of coherent granularity (LCCG) and then allowing
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“Estuarine mapping” The approach overall is based on three key aspects of working with #complex systems and #organizationaldevelopment : ๐ Initiating and monitoring micro-nudges, lots of small projects rather than one big project, so that success and failure are both (non-ironically) opportunities. ๐ Understanding where we are and starting journeys with a sense of direction rather than abstract goals. ๐
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The #Cynefin Co team, led by our delightful Grumpy Santa ๐
Dave Snowden, successfully navigated through the year 2023 by combining virtual and in-person events ๐โจ We travelled across the world, including UK, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, and the United States to offer knowledge and training sessions to eager participants. We’ve been to more
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We are excited to announce that the #Cynefin Co Base Pack Hexi will be available for pre-order for delivery in 2024. ๐ Our team has listened to feedback from version one Hexi users, and made a series of improvements to the kit. โจThe product and packaging have been streamlined for easier transportation. Because of the packaging changes, we are able
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Our #Cynefin Co team have been busy these past weeks in the USA at KM World and the Retreats! If you are a new follower or your team is curious about Cynefin, join our upcoming โจ December Virtual Cynefin BaseCamp โจ The recommended entry point into the world of #complexity and the Cynefin Co’s practice. Facilitated by Daniel Walsh, with
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A special invite to Our Haunt members๐ The holidays are coming, and weโre feeling playful. So gather around the yule log, take off your normal hats, and put on your wizard hats. #Estuarine Mapping has been a big topic of conversation this year, so weโll take all the worry and all the intimidation out of it, and weโll use it
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Dave Snowden – #Complexity on One Slide Itโs taken a couple of decades, but a lot of things have started to come together in what Dave Snowden terms anthro-complexity or naturalizing sense-making. Combining Deleuzian Epistemology, Constructor theory from Physics, and Complexity Science will hopefully provide a coherent and easy-to-understand picture of the field. There were always interesting elements, but now
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Get your team started in 2024 with our foundational training offerings book any of our scheduled 2024 trainings before 31 December 2023 and enjoy a price freeze! 2023 prices are valid for all purchases in 2023, even for 2024 events. See your options: โจVirtual Cynefinยฎ Basecamp, February, March 2024 โจNarrative BaseCamp (Virtual), February, May, August 2024 โจVirtual Knowledge Management Basecamp
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As the year comes to a close, we at The Cynefin Company want to take a moment to express our gratitude and wish you all a very Merry Christmas. ๐๐ We are incredibly thankful for the hard work and dedication of our staff, without whom none of our success would be possible. Your passion and commitment are truly inspiring, and
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This is a lovely gift to our Premium Members – recordings from a rich series of 11 #Cynefin Retreats since the first Retreat in Snowdonia in 2017. Thank you, Elmi Bester, for your assistance. Members can now access the recordings & and reflections in Our Haunt ๐ค https://members.thecynefin.co/news-events/post/2024-cynefin-retreats-and-now-available-the-retreat-collection-of-37GKjo57oPgIUWT?utm_source=MBR-FB-NOV&utm_medium=MBR-FB-NOV&utm_campaign=MBR-FB-NOV&utm_id=MBR-FB-NOV If you are not yet a member, you can sign up here
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We’re looking forward to our next Meetup with our members in our series on the 3As – Assemblages, Affordances, and Agency. Weโll continue to explore these 3As in the context of Estuarine Mapping, and how we can work with these concepts in practical and tangible ways. With the 3Aโs we have a perspective that helps us to see the options
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Dave’s Thinking: Focus day ๐ก In the context of approaches to #strategy ๐ก Dave Snowden has talked about maps and mapping a lot over the years. the process of strategy we are talking about maps, and the use of maps to navigate a partially charted future. So the way things follow this sequence: 1. Map the constraints, ideally using SenseMakerยฎ
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The landscape of #Narrative! We’ll delve into the triangle of distributed #ethnography, sense-making, and narrative practice. Get ready to embark on an exciting journey with the Narrative BaseCamp as we delve into: ๐ Narrative in anthro-complexity and its key, but often invisible role in human cognition, pattern-seeking and recognition, and #decisionmaking. ๐ Understand narrativeโs power as a form of communication,
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Our next global #community of #complexity, Cynefin and SenseMakerยฎ practitioners events list and latest Quarterly Meetup with Dave Snowden & Friends: Agency & Identity recordings (1 Hour) ๐ ๐ In this Meetup, we focused on Agency & Identity, which was part of the 3As typology of Assemblages, Affordances, and Agency. We continued to explore these 3As in the context of
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Customer experiences as #narrative landscapes! A company sees customer experience as the make or break for succeeding at a brand transformation or a brand change initiative. Most if not all of my introductory conversations emphasize that SenseMakerยฎ is a narrative or engagement-driven solution that uses technology to aid in scalability as well as to facilitate wider and deeper scanning….The experience
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Happy #WorldHealthDay! A chance to reflect on the theme #HealthForAll. Today Nina Abrahams from our Health and Care programme has written a blog about the need to invest in health – from clinical settings to climate change. Today’s blog is here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01KGkBS0
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Dave will be sharing his expertise on stimulating and using informal networks for knowledge flow at UNICOM Seminars, Effective Knowledge Management Conference on April 27, 2023. Don’t miss out! To enhance your knowledge management skills do registration ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01KvMhx0
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Join us at the Virtual Cynefinยฎ Basecamp in May 2023. Only 3 seats left! This immersive experience will introduce you to the Cynefin framework and its tools and methods through first-person participation. Book your ticket here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01K684c0 #Cynefin #Complexity
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Festival of Hope, Beth Smith and Dave Snowden ๐ก https://hubs.la/Q01Jfnbr0 #complexity #sensemaking #youthleadership #leadership
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Canโt make the upcoming Wales Retreat? We will be recording the plenary sessions and offering this as a package along with some virtual discussion and reflection sessions with our team. See details at ๐https://hubs.la/Q01J4lyB0
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As the holy month of Ramadan begins today, we at Cynefin Co. extend our warmest wishes to our Muslim colleagues, friends, and clients around the world. We hope that this month brings peace, happiness, and prosperity to all who observe it. #RamadanMubarak๐โจ
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We are excited to share with you that The Cynefin Company has been mentioned in the book “The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups” by Tracey Camilleri, Samantha Rockey, and Robin Dunbar! Book Link https://hubs.la/Q01HtwBV0
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This is your last chance to book yourself into the Annual Mike Jackson Lecture at Hull University next week. We invite you to check out our latest post by Dave Snowden. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity! Here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01Hl5wy0 #cynefin #systemthinking #lecture
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Our new Hexi approach & associated methods, like the Estuarine Mapping, are continuing to generate excitement. Anna Panagiotou will be offering a CodeCrafts workshop about it all this spring in Vienna. Registration ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01H8fxf0 #vienna #australia #germany #europe
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Our ongoing series on the findings from our MassSense on COVID & climate continues. In this 2nd instalment we exploring the relationship between individual & collective. Don’t miss out on Part 2 of this insightful series here ๐ https://hubs.ly/Q01GMs290 #cynefin #COVID19 #society
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The discussion covers the related concepts of scaffolding and constraints, which are important in the context of complex systems and organisations. https://hubs.la/Q01Gx0NJ0 #cynefin #complexity #theoryofconstraints #leadershipdevelopment
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We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming Virtual Estuarine Mapping & EUFG Masterclass, taking place on March 29th, 2023. To register and learn more, visit our website now ๐ We can’t wait to see you there! https://hubs.la/Q01GffZ50 #cynefin #training #masterclass #complexity
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We are delighted to announce the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) conference on ‘Better Decisions: Making Sense of Complexity,’ featuring keynote speaker Dave Snowden, taking place on March 14 in London, & available online on March 23, 2023. Registration ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01G4QTg0
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We have our final Eagle confirmed for our upcoming Retreat, 19-22 April in Wales! Welcome, @carynvanstone! Caryn specialises in driving performance change & cultivating adaptive cultures within various organisations. Explore your choices here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01G1Rnt0 #cynefin
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March is International Womenโs Month, and the 8th of March is International Womenโs Day. Happy International Women’s Day! #iwd2023 #womeninstem #womenintech #internationalwomensday2023 #womenentrepreneurs #EmbraceEquity
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Cynefin Retreats use the Tricopticon process, designed as a fresh compromise between a formal conference and the more unstructured unconference. Wiki page ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01FzPN70 Youtube explainer video ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01FzNs40 Cynefin Retreat: ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01FzM4z0
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“Anything that can help us better understand the complexity of life and all things organisational, is pretty essential in these challenging times and so I really wanted to share Daveโs vision and approach in this Never Normal newsletter” – Peter Hinssen https://hubs.la/Q01Ft_dz0
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The Cynefin Framework and Megaproject Decision-Making Seminar with Dave Snowden on the 8th & 15th of March 2023. The 8th of March registration is fully booked but the 15th of March registration is still open for you. Secure your free spot today here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01Flzj60
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Rewilding Agile – A Discussion with Dave Snowden https://hubs.la/Q01DWxjL0 #agile #cynefin #rewilding #scrum #leadership
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Thank you Lloyd Mander for sharing your feedback with us. It means a lot to hear your support for our efforts! “I had a great professional development day today in Wellington with Dave Snowden who ran a Masterclass on Cynefin, Estuarine Mapping & Strategy” https://hubs.la/Q01DPblS0
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Our next in-person Estuarine Mapping & EUFG Masterclass is on the 16th of March 2023 in Madrid, Spain. Dig into more details on that event here ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01DLhgX0 #madrid #spain #masterclass #events
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Understanding the organisation as a complex adaptive system offers many opportunities to organisations to increase the rate of innovation and remove excessive costs by understanding what can actually managed. ๐ https://hubs.la/Q01DsDDx0
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Thank you Nicolas Mas for your feedback, it is much appreciated. #Singapore “We learnt about the Cynefin Framework (pronounced /kษหnษvษชn/ – a Welsh word) and how it can be used to navigate and address complexity” #agile #cynefin
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Can we use Cynefin Framework to mediate conflicts? A discussion between “Dave” and “The Brand Called You” https://hubs.la/Q01Dcswg0
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