Value Management: Complexity-Aware

Complexity theory is a science in its own right, but it broadly says that complexity begins with the interactions between; exchange of information amongst; and actions taken by numerous diverse, interconnected, and interdependent people and organisations.

Each action is influenced by other actions, by the varying underlying values and priorities of those taking them, and by the constantly changing external context.

This leads to self-reinforcing (often exponential) change, which is “emergent”, i.e.:

• It is largely self-organised, rather than being “led”, “driven”, “controlled” or “coordinated”.
• The resulting “whole” is greater than the sum of its “parts”: something new “emerges”.

The result? Constant unpredictability and risk, where boundaries are ever more fuzzy, no two situations are ever identical or repeating, and small discrepancies and changes can have extreme impacts.

Complexity Especially Matters Now

Complexity has always been the fundamental nature of reality, but – until fairly recently – its effects had been masked.

The pace of change was slower, there was time to respond to it, efficiency was the principal threshold of competition, and optimisation was the main key to competitive advantage: things seemed mostly manageable and a sufficient degree of control seemed possible.

However, all this has been shattered with the rise of information technology – in particular, broadband connectivity, the Internet, cloud computing, the ubiquity of devices and social media – and its uniquely accelerating and amplifying impact on everything that leads to complexity:

• An explosion in the speed, amount, availability and immediacy of information.
• Transformation of the options and capacity for interacting, by reducing or eliminating barriers of proximity, difficulty and cost.
• Unprecedented connectivity and interdependence between ever more – and ever more diverse – stakeholders and interest groups.
• Automation of mundane tasks, freeing up more capacity for all of the above, and supporting greater autonomy and empowerment.
• Most recently, the disruptive innovation of AI Chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which many speculate will see many traditional roles and practices made obsolete. 

This leads to today’s world being described as “VUCA” – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous – but this is misleading.

Complexity isn’t just one aspect of several; complexity is the root and driver of everything, from which volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity flow: “C-UVA” would be a more accurate term.