Kenevan framework

From: jimruttshow8596

The Cynefin framework, created by Dave Snowden, is a sense-making tool that helps individuals and organizations understand complex issues related to strategy and organizational decision-making [00:00:35]. Snowden, the founder and chief scientific officer of the Cynefin Company and the founder and director of the Cynefin Centre, has pioneered a science-based approach to organizations, drawing on anthropology, neuroscience, and complex adaptive systems theory [00:01:01].

Origin and Evolution

The Cynefin framework originated from the work of Max Boisot in Knowledge Management while Snowden was at IBM, focusing on informal and formal systems [00:00:32]. Over time, it mutated into a complexity and form framework [00:00:40].

Core Principles

The framework operates on the basic principle that there are three types of systems: ordered, complex, and chaotic [00:02:46]. These systems experience phase shifts, often metaphorically described as solid, liquid, and gas [00:02:52].

Distinction: Complicated vs. Complex

The Cynefin framework distinguishes between complicated and complex systems [00:03:49].

• Complicated derives from the Latin root “to unfold” [00:03:53]. Something complicated can be unfolded and folded, remaining the same [00:04:01]. Such systems can typically be taken apart and reassembled, with their logic implicit in their static design [00:04:59]. Examples include a lawnmower motor or a Boeing 777 [00:05:34].
• Complex originates from the Greek, meaning “entangled” [00:03:55]. Something entangled is constantly shifting and changing, like bramble bushes in a thicket [00:04:06]. In a complex system, one cannot take it apart and put it back together and expect it to work as before, because much of the information is in its dynamics [00:05:08]. Examples include a human cell or an economy [00:05:18].
  • A key characteristic of a complex adaptive system is the absence of linear material causality [00:06:07]. Such systems have dispositionality and are modulated, but lack causality in a meaningful sense [00:06:13].
  • The properties of the whole in complex systems are always different from the properties of the part, as seen in superconductors [00:06:44].
  • Emergence is a key aspect of working with complexity [00:07:10].

The Apparatic Domain

The Cynefin framework introduces the concept of the Apparatic Domain, which is the “triple point” where it is equiprobable whether something will become solid, liquid, or gas [00:03:03]. “Apparatic” (ἀπορητικός) means a question you can only answer if you think differently about the problem [00:03:13]. It represents a situation where traditional straightforward answers are insufficient [00:03:24]. An “aporia” is the realization that “business as usual” won’t suffice [00:56:47]. In a crisis, people must be moved into an apparatic state to encourage different thinking [00:56:40].

Constraints

Constraints are crucial to the Cynefin lens [00:07:41].

• Enabling vs. Governing Constraints: Alicia Juarrero distinguishes between enabling and governing constraints [00:07:51]. Ordered systems are generally governed, while complex systems are connected [00:07:59].
• Connectivity vs. Boundaries: Unlike most systems thinkers who define systems by boundaries, complexity thinking emphasizes connectivity, where boundaries within the system are not always necessary [00:08:01].
• Mapping and Change: Constraints can be mapped and changed [00:08:31]. One cannot control the output of a complex system; instead, one must describe the current state and identify what can be done next [00:08:35]. This is akin to the “adjacent possible” and the “do the next right thing” strategy [00:09:16].
• Influence on Emergence: Knowing which constraints are in play and managing them allows for influencing emergence [00:09:34]. If enough “modulators” (constraints and Constructors) are controlled with real-time feedback, the system’s outcome can be influenced [00:10:24].

Open Systems

Complex systems are generally considered open or at least semi-permeable to an outside [00:11:19]. They are not subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics at the system level [00:12:06]. This contrasts with traditional systems thinking, which often deals with closed systems with defined boundaries [00:12:29].

Short-Term Teleology and Top-Down Causality

In human systems, there is evidence of short-term teleological cause [00:12:17]. Narratives can have material reality, and assemblages can form as strange attractors [00:13:28]. To change culture, one must shift the current state in the right direction, potentially by finding “lines of flight” or leverage points that produce dramatic change within the system [00:14:11]. Effective top-down causality in human complex systems focuses on managing three things:

1. Boundary conditions [00:14:31]
2. Catalysts for attractors [00:14:34]
3. Allocation of energy [00:14:36]

Practical Applications

The Cynefin framework informs practical approaches to managing complexity. The document “Managing Complexity and Chaos in Times of Crisis: A Field Guide for Decision Makers,” co-authored by Dave Snowden, serves as a guide for navigating complex adaptive systems from an organizational perspective [00:20:38].

Key Practices in Crisis Management

• Building Informal Networks: Rapidly creating informal networks across silos is crucial in a crisis [00:29:25]. Methods like “entangled trios” (combinations of three roles, one of which can be an avatar) facilitate knowledge flow and distributed decision-making [00:17:57], reducing administrative costs and increasing transparency [00:18:11].
• Mapping Knowledge at the Right Granularity: Knowledge should be stored at a fine-grain level to allow for rapid repurposing for novel situations, a concept known as acceptation in evolutionary biology [00:30:00]. The heuristic is to break down information until agreement is reached [00:32:10].
• Setting Draconian Constraints: In a crisis, leaders must act decisively and quickly to stabilize the situation, not necessarily to solve the problem, but to increase options for others [00:34:28]. This involves making “option-increasing decisions” rather than purely decisive ones [00:35:07].
• Comprehensive Journaling (Gamba): Replacing traditional reporting with continuous journaling provides real-time, granular data from multiple agents [00:40:01]. This reduces time burden on employees, increases engagement, and helps identify weak signals and emergent categories for “lessons learning” (not “lessons learned”) [00:40:39]. This approach can be enhanced by Large Language Models for aggregation and clustering [00:44:46].
• Creating Specialized Crews: Focused teams based on roles (e.g., continuity crew, journaling crew, devil’s advocate crew) foster collective intelligence [00:49:50]. Groups of three to five members are often ideal for decision-making and problem-solving, as seen in military models like fire teams and platoons [00:52:05].
• Maintaining Cadence: In emerging from a crisis, maintaining “cadence” (rhythm) is crucial [01:05:14]. This means keeping up the pace of working at the right level of granularity and continuing to use sensor networks, informal networks, and distributed knowledge, rather than reverting to old ways [01:06:01].

Strategic Interventions with Narrative

Instead of traditional strategy that sets long-term goals, Cynefin advocates for mapping the present to identify what can be done next [01:10:06].

• Micro Scenarios and Narrative Topographies: The framework uses mass generation of narrative, enabling the workforce to gather micro-scenarios [01:10:18]. These narratives form “fitness landscapes” or “narrative topographies” that map culture, safety, and attitudes [01:11:07].
• Vector Theory of Change: This approach identifies where the organization is and what is possible next [01:10:29]. The focus is on asking, “What can I do tomorrow to create more stories like these and fewer stories like those?” [01:12:36]. This allows for fractal representations, meaning the same source data can be aggregated and presented at different levels of competence to act, from national leadership to local schools [01:12:47].
• Dispositional Management: This approach aligns individual actions with overall system alignment by guiding people to move in directions relevant to their context [01:13:28]. It promotes continuous, parallel small actions, allowing for more failure and thus more learning, effectively “steering the ship” [01:14:42].

Future Developments: Constructor Theory and Esterline Mapping

Snowden’s work is extending into applying Constructor Theory to social design [01:17:45].

• Esterline Mapping: This method maps constraints on a grid based on the energy cost of change against the time to change [01:18:15].
• Counterfactual and Liminal Lines: A “counterfactual line” denotes actions where the energy cost or time to change is too high, making them impossible to change [01:18:41]. A “liminal line” identifies things that the organization itself cannot change, but someone else might be able to [01:18:55].
• Microactions: This process leads to 50 or 60 microactions aimed at changing the dispositionality of the system, making desired outcomes more probable [01:19:30].
• Constructors in Social Systems: A “Constructor” is something that produces a transformation when things pass through or contact it [01:21:56]. In human systems, a Constructor can change in the act of construction [01:22:09]. Counterfactuals also relate to how people feel about a subject, not just physical reality [01:22:19].
• Energy Reduction Process: The fundamental principle is to establish what cannot change, and then the action with the lowest energy gradient will prevail [01:22:59]. This views evolution as an energy reduction process, aligning with concepts like catalysis in GameB, which seeks to reduce the activation energy for desirable changes [01:23:12].
• Granularity of Energy and Time: “Energy” is a shorthand for resource and attention [01:26:01]. The framework maps how the energy-time grid is perceived across different parts of an organization, combining grand strategy and tactics into a single framework [01:26:34].