speaking

simplexity

Consider this:

• Unusual weather patterns break records every year.
• The Internet doubles in size each year.
• We are increasing our use of powerful psychoactive chemicals to control our children's behaviour.
• Products that used to take 3-5 years to take to market are now designed and developed in just a few months.
• Calendars, cell phones, email, voice mail, and many other tools designed to make our life easier chew up even our bathroom break time.
• Most organizational change initiatives fail.
• Most reengineering attempts fail.
• Most large supply chain management software implementations either fail or are radically scaled back.
• Our systems today are built with mechanical fault intolerant tools and, as a consequence, they are now close to their system limits. (Count the bugs in Windows software.)
• As organizations get more risk averse, less degrees of freedom are available. This ultimately gridlocks the organization's ability to maneuver right at the time when it needs more agility.

the premise

The world is speeding up. New things happen everyday that few people, if any, ever anticipated.

Do you ever wonder why that is?

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all?

How do you handle sudden shocks and surprises in your everyday business and personal life?

AI anyone?

the talk

In this session, we will explore the world from the perspective of complexity theories.

You will learn, in a step-by-step process, where complexity comes from, the laws that govern it, and how this affects your world today and in the future.

Using amusing real life stories, Dr. Clifford Saunders will explain the reality of:

• The sandpile effect, which governs the law of complexity
• "Trumpetology" – or how to avoid getting locked into an unpleasant future reality
• Messy problem management at work
• Systems and social perspectives around you
• The role of fear, helplessness and information overload in a world of shrinking time

On the basis of those and other concepts, Dr. Saunders will paint a picture of the natural forces at work in our world today.

He will offer you a new tool kit of techniques to make your organizational and personal life more rewarding and successful.

the take-aways

You will leave with:

• A valuable reference list of key books to help you understand and manage complexity
• A hand-out explaining how to do your own "Trumpetology" exercise
• A method for avoiding the tyranny of "To Do" lists
• A technique for structuring information that will feed your mind
• Three methods for improving your co-working relationships
• Four methods for dealing with "that helpless feeling"
• Five tools for overcoming data overload and tunnel vision
• A renewed sense of connectedness amongst all things

AND you will have a great time!

about the speaker

Cliff Saunders is a renowned speaker, facilitator, teacher, author and consultant to Fortune 500 corporations worldwide.

He holds a BSc in Engineering, a MSc in Applied Psychology, and a Ph.D in Cybernetics.

His life's work has been dedicated to helping large organizations solve messy, complex, intractable problems.

Today, he focuses on helping people feel and function better in their every day personal and professional lives.

For more information on this or other topics, or to book Dr. Saunders to speak, facilitate or teach for your organization in this or other areas of expertise, please contact us.