- Dec 29, 2019
Operational Blind Spots: Dynamic, Social & Generative
- Randall Rogers
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Despite employing intelligent, educated, capable professionals the vast majority of companies I visit suffer from (3) three significant operational blind spots:
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity is a type of operational blind spot whereby cause and effect are separated by space and time such that we do not know (or are unaware of) the effects of our decisions and/or actions on the broader enterprise in which we work. And, because of this, we often find that what we do and or decide leads to minor-to-serious unintended consequences. Our lack of understanding of the interconnections and inter-dependencies in our business is partly to blame for this condition in addition to poor and/or non- existent systems-based (aka 'process') documentation.
Social Complexity
Social complexity is a type of operational blind spot whereby we don't fully engage all needed parties to address the what and how of the work we do. For example, I'll see a client company of mine looking to transform an end-to-end process but only invite some of the key stakeholders to ideate and problem- solve the new. This is fatal. To transform any 'system' today, whether speaking of an end-to-end process, the broader organization or the larger ecosystem in which the company operates requires ALL voices, ALL diverse perspectives present to ensure a 'whole' conversation ensues; that a 'whole' picture emerges of both what the opportunity is and how best to address it.
Generative Complexity
Generative complexity is a type of operational blind spot whereby the 'logics' of the past are inadequate to inform the 'logics' of our future. I see this quite often in my travels - companies applying, for example, an Industry Level 3.0 depth of thinking when Industry Level 4.0 thinking is required. The world operates at too fast a pace today with far more interconnections and interdependencies than what existed just 15 years ago.
Hence, we cannot rely on our past seeing, thinking, and our personal experiences alone to drive our future. Instead, what we must do in this foreign, fast, and fluid world is to experiment our way forward. No detailed project plans will help us now, as our flashlight can only see 20 feet in front of us.
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