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When is a change a real change? When it is a paradigm shift! The term "paradigm shift" gets tossed around. Its meaning has become more and more hazy since 1962, when Thomas Kuhn first applied the term to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (University of Chicago Press, 2012). In this short video, Glenda Eoyang explores four signs of a true paradigm shift. She looks for those signs in human systems dynamics and other complexity-informed disciplines in social sciences. In the process, she explains why teaching complexity is often much more difficult than understanding it.
June 1, 2023 Most people agree that there is no “getting back to normal.” Still, many of us hope for a time in the future when change slows down, the world stabilizes, and we can at last redefine what it is to be in a “new normal.” The problem is that complex dynamics are often unstable. They shift from one semi-stable state to the next, passing through various levels of turbulence in between.  There is no golden future where change stops and normal returns. Instead, we live in the turbulent space between more-or-less-stable states. In any moment, we must remember the past, cope with the present, and prepare for whatever is next. We are always prepared for the “next normal.” In this Live Virtual Workshop, we will explore concepts and tools to help you deepen your preparedness for whatever is next for you, your team, organization, or community
In today’s blog, Royce shares a brief memoir she recently wrote, along with a poem that was inspired as she reflected on that story this week, on Memorial Day here in the USA.
The “attractor” is not the thing that “attracts”. It is the pattern of relationships that emerge over time in a complex system. When I first encountered attractors—strange and other kinds—I thought they were cool. Even more than that, I thought they were the key to the next generation of change paradigms. I still think that may be true, but I seldom talk about them anymore. I almost never teach them because it is so hard to understand them well and very easy to understand them badly. The only reason I am talking about them now is that I cannot think of a better way to explain what I see in this emerging present. So, here goes.
May 4, 2023 Children’s conversations often end with, “Yes, it is!” “No, it isn’t!” “Yes, it is!” The stakes can be much higher when adults fall into such a pointless exchange. The more power and privilege the people hold, the more distressing and destructive such “discussions” become. What is the alternative? In HSD we depend on Four Truths to help us navigate the turbulent waters of completing claims. Drawn from the 20h Century philosophy of Jurgen Habermas, the Four Truths open options for individual reflection and shared understanding to escape the traps of competing perspectives. Watch this Live Virtual Workshop to see how the Four Truths can help you get and stay unstuck from old habits of thinking, talking, and acting.
Inquiry. It is essential to changing the world—for yourself and for the greater good!
Build Adaptive Capacity
Any new paradigm challenges fundamental assumptions and beliefs. Old habits make it difficult to step across the line into new ways to think and act. For 20 years, the HSD community has built bridges from the closed-system paradigms of the past to the open-system opportunities of the future. We have tried our best to be gentle, patient, and subtle in our invitations, but time is running out! The challenges are urgent, and we are impatient! So, we are engaging in two initiatives to break through into the future: Dragons of Complexity and Adaptive Action for Sustainability!
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