Based on the sources, here is a structured list of practical advice on “how to act” derived from the specific worldview of each author/source.
Alicia Juarrero
• Context-Dependence: Do not treat a system as a mere aggregate of parts. You must account for context-dependent constraints, as these are what enable the parts to self-organize and produce emergent properties[1],[2].
C. West Churchman
• Sweep In the Environment: Do not limit your view to the system’s immediate boundaries. You must “sweep in” the environment—including ethical, political, and moral considerations (even your “enemies”)—to truly understand the implications of your design[3],[4].
Claude Shannon (and associated complexity sources)
• Probe, Sense, Respond: In unpredictable systems, do not impose rigid control or detailed requirements. Instead, use a “probe-sense-respond” approach, launching safe-to-fail experiments to allow solutions to emerge[2].
Colin Eden
• Manage Complexity, Don’t Reduce It: Do not ignore the richness of a problem just to simplify it. Use methods like cognitive mapping to manage the complexity without destroying the interconnected “mess” that makes the problem real[5],[6].
Dave Snowden
• Manage Starting Conditions: Stop trying to design an ideal future state, as the complex domain is retrospective. Instead, manage the “starting conditions” and the “evolutionary potential of the present” to steer the system[7],[8].
David L. Abel
• Distinguish Choice from Chance: Recognize that true organization requires “Choice Contingency” (purposeful selection). Do not confuse “self-ordering” physical events (like a tornado) with “organized” systems (like a circuit) that require formal controls[9],[10].
Dee Hock
• Address the Interior: To lead an organization, you cannot just manage the “exterior” (observable behavior). You must equally address the “interior” domain of collective consciousness, culture, and shared meaning[4],[11].
George Lakoff
• Abandon Direct Causation: Stop looking for direct “A causes B” links. Adopt “systemic causation,” recognizing that in social and ecological spheres, causes are often indirect, diffuse, and interactive[12],[13].
Gregory Bateson
• Participate, Don’t Control: Abandon the fallacy of “unilateral control.” Move from a stance of manipulating an external object to one of “participation” and mutual learning within the system[14].
Herbert Simon
• Use Near-Decomposability: To understand a complex architecture, look for its stable subsystems. Analyze the system as “nearly decomposable,” focusing on the intermediate forms that allow the hierarchy to evolve and function[15],[16].
Horst Rittel
• Accept No Stopping Rule: When dealing with social “wicked problems,” do not expect a definitive solution. Accept that there is no “stopping rule” (no point where the problem is strictly “solved”) and that every attempt to fix it leaves irreversible traces[7],[17].
Humberto Maturana
• Trigger, Don’t Instruct: Understand that you cannot “instruct” a system to change from the outside. Your interventions are merely “triggers”; the system determines its own structural change based on its internal organization[15],[18].
James Wilk
• Filter the Flux: Do not attempt the impossible task of modeling the whole complex reality. Instead, use “minimalist intervention” to set constraints that filter the “flux” of events into a manageable outcome[19],[20].
John Warfield
• Structure Your Thinking: Overcome the “frustration” of complexity by using formal logic and “Structural Thinking.” Map the relational patterns among the components to defend against behavioral pathologies[21],[22].
Michael C. Jackson
• Use Multi-Methodology: Do not rely on a single tool. Adopt a pluralistic approach, selecting different methodologies (mechanical, organismic, or emancipatory) depending on the specific type of complexity you face[3],[23].
Max Boisot
• Operate at the Edge of Chaos: Do not seek total stability. Position the organization at the “edge of chaos,” a zone of instability where interactions between agents are maximized to allow for adaptation and emergence[24],[25].
Mike McMaster
• Use Attractors: Since you cannot predict the details of a living system, do not try to control it. Use “attractors” (principles or values) to influence the general shape and direction of the system’s emergence[21],[26].
Niklas Luhmann
• Practice Selectivity: Recognize that the system must ignore most of the environment to function. You must practice “selectivity” because it is impossible to connect every element to every other element[27],[28].
Patrick Hoverstadt
• Look for Drivers: Do not focus on the surface effects or the stability of the system. Look for the “underlying drivers” and the dynamic processes that are constantly changing the system[29],[30].
Paul Cilliers
• Be Modest: Abandon the “arrogance” of seeking a totalizing model. Adopt a “modest” position, acknowledging that all descriptions of complex systems are limited, provisional, and involve ethical choices[2],[31].
Peter Checkland
• Focus on Learning: Do not treat the system as a description of the world. Use “the system” as a mental device to structure debate, facilitate learning, and accommodate conflicting worldviews among stakeholders[3],[32].
James Ladyman & Ross Ashby
• Simulate Emergence: When a system is too organized for statistics but too complex for analysis, use computational simulation (like agent-based modeling) to observe how simple rules generate complex aggregate behaviors[4],[33].
Relational Biologists (Rosen/Pattee)
• Accept Non-Simulability: Acknowledge that complex living systems have no “largest model.” You must use complementary descriptions (e.g., dynamic laws vs. rules) that are formally incompatible but jointly necessary to capture the whole[34],[35].
Robert Flood
• Manage Within: Do not try to “manage over” the totality of a system. You must learn to manage and organize “within” the unmanageable and unorganizable[7],[36].
Robert Pirsig
• Value Stuckness: If you get “stuck,” do not panic. Value this state as the failure of your static patterns, which creates the necessary opening for “Dynamic Quality” (new insight) to emerge[21],[37].
Russ Ackoff
• Dissolve, Don’t Solve: Do not try to “solve” a problem by isolating the parts. Attempt to “dissolve” the problem by redesigning the larger system or its environment so the problem no longer arises[6],[38].
Stafford Beer
• Match Variety: To control a system, you must ensure your control mechanism has as much “variety” (number of possible states) as the system itself. “Only variety can absorb variety”[39],[40].
The Other Group (TOG/MOM)
• Cultivate Resilience: Stop seeking certainty or “truth” in complex systems. Focus on “cultivating resilience” in your decisions to survive the inevitable uncertainty[39],[41].
Theory of Constraints (Dettmer)
• Manage the Constraint: Do not try to manage every variable. Identify the system’s “constraint” (or Archimedes point), as this single leverage point governs the performance of the entire system[29],[42].
Tim Allen
• Use Narrative: When formal models fail due to contradiction and uncertainty, use “narrative” to bridge the gap between the different levels and scales of the system[24],[43].
Triz (Bukhman)
• Pursue Ideality: Guide the system toward “Ideality” by identifying and resolving the contradictions that prevent the system from performing its function without cost or harm[34],[44].
References
[1] Alicia Juarrero.md [2] Claude Shannon.md [3] C. West Churchman.md [4] Claude Shannon.md [5] Claude Shannon.md [6] Claude Shannon.md [7] C. West Churchman.md [8] Dave Snowden.md [9] David L. Abel.md [10] David L. Abel.md [11] Dee Hock.md [12] Alicia Juarrero.md [13] George Lakoff.md [14] Gregory Bateson.md [15] C. West Churchman.md [16] Herb Simon.md [17] Horst Ritell.md [18] Humberto Maturana.md [19] James Wilk.md [20] James Wilk.md [21] Alicia Juarrero.md [22] John Warfield.md [23] MOM.md [24] Claude Shannon.md [25] Max Boisot.md [26] Mike McMaster.md [27] C. West Churchman.md [28] Niklas Luhmann.md [29] C. West Churchman.md [30] Patrick Hoverstadt.md [31] Paul Cilliers.md [32] Peter Checkland.md [33] James Ladyman and Ross Ashby.md [34] Alicia Juarrero.md [35] Relational Biologists - Robert Rosen Howard Pattee Dennis Noble.md [36] Robert Flood.md [37] Robert Pirsig.md [38] Russ Ackoff.md [39] Claude Shannon.md [40] Stafford Beer.md [41] TOG.md [42] Theory of Constraints.md [43] Tim Allen.md [44] Triz.md