Resources

October 3, 2019 You tell yourself that research or evaluation is not your job. “Research is complicated, and hard, and…well, scientific!” “Research is what other people do.” Research seems like a rigorous and demanding process that you don’t have time for. And yet, you need to find new ways to address your challenges, new ways to serve your clients and customers, new ways to support and train your employees. Often leaders want to move more deeply into understanding and creating more innovative and responsive approaches and responses to the challenges they face. But they find that traditional approaches to research and development are too expensive and time-consuming to be practical in today’s world. HSD offers a path to support innovation and creativity that is woven into day-to-day options for action across a system. In this Live Virtual Workshop, Glenda Eoyang, offers new perspectives for applying Adaptive Action in both formal and informal research. She makes meaning of the research process: from establishing a question, to testing a hypothesis, to putting results into action.

September 19, 2019 Since January of 2019, members of the HSD community have shared an energizing inquiry. We’ve called the project HSD 2051, and it focused on the question: What is the impact of human systems dynamics on the world in 2051? This six-month journey has engaged more than 60 people in multiple kinds of dialogues about a wide range of questions. The process, based on the Strategic Foresight approach of School of International Futures, has led to insights and highlights for each of us. On September 19, we will share our HSD 2051 Adaptive Action cycle with you. See how the patterns of HSD will continue to emerge across times, contexts, questions, and points of view. 

September 5, 2019 You solve problems every day. You help others solve problems every day. You know about multiple decision-making and problem-solving models you can use in different situations. You find, however, that it’s sometimes difficult to be sure which model to use as you deal with the complex challenges you face in today’s world. Sometimes you follow a decision-making model into a rabbit hole, only to get stuck in the confusing swirl of data, meaning making, and possible actions. Historically, most decision models come down to gathering data, analyzing data, making a choice, and acting. The differences from one model to the next have to do with how they collect data, what kind of data they collect, what questions they use to make sense of those data, and ways they move the decision to action. On the other hand, Human Systems Dynamics uses Adaptive Action, in all situations. This iterative cycle of observation, reflection, and action builds on previous learning in each iteration. Pattern Logic and Adaptive Action allow you to focus on the underlying dynamics that shape your challenge or opportunity to move beyond the surface  symptoms of any situation. In this month’s Live Virtual Workshop, Glenda Eoyang shares some of the insights and “tips and traps” she has learned through her rich and varied career using Adaptive Action and Pattern Logic.