Discover our blogs

Aerospace | Cranfield University

Aerospace

Agrifood | Cranfield University

Agrifood

Alumni | Cranfield University

Alumni

Careers | Cranfield University

Careers

Careers | Cranfield University

Defence and Security

Design | Cranfield University

Design

Energy and Power | Cranfield University

Energy and Sustainability

Environment | Cranfield University

Environment

Forensics | Cranfield University

Forensics

Libraries | Cranfield University

Libraries

Libraries | Cranfield University

Manufacturing and Materials

Libraries | Cranfield University

School of Management

Libraries | Cranfield University

Transport Systems

Water | Cranfield University

Water

Homepage / No. 10, Parliament, BREXIT and the Chaotic Domain!

No. 10, Parliament, BREXIT and the Chaotic Domain!

05/09/2019

No-one who has been watching parliamentary events play out this week can be in doubt that we are “living in interesting times” – or to put it more bluntly in a state of chaos!

In this state, there is no “play-book”, there is no linear “if this then that” or reliable “Cause & Effect”, strategies and tactics that worked before won’t work now – the world is truly VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). There are very few approaches that can work – one of which is to Act – Sense – Respond in quick-time.

Anyone who has been following these blogs will recall that we introduced a framework for understanding which Domain any Real-world System and its surrounding Environment inhabits  – namely the CYNEFIN framework. See: https://blogs.cranfield.ac.uk/leadership-management/cbp/why-mrs-mays-tactics-are-as-likely-as-any-to-work-in-the-current-brexit-chaos-and-the-cynefin-framework

We can see the Act – Sense – Respond loops being played out before our very eyes in real time on our mobile phones. The one thing we can be certain of is that the UK and British politics will be changed forever one we get out of this Chaotic State!

So in your organisation, in which States are your Business Systems/Business Processes and associated Environments – Simple? Complicated? Complex? Chaotic? You better know otherwise you’ll be employing strategies and tactics that may work in one Domain, but don’t work (or even make things worse) in the Domain you are actually in!

And right now, it’s not at all clear, despite the brainpower in the shape of Dominic Cummins et al in No. 10, that the Government knows it is in the Chaotic State! But then, how would we know?

 

David Anker

Written By: Cranfield University

Categories & Tags:

Leave a comment on this post:

Sign up for more information about studying master’s and research degrees at Cranfield

Sign up now
Go to Top