It’s Time to Love the Chaos

Left-brained, linear thinking is pervasive in our culture. Many of today's professions, including business, law and all the sciences, are based on a foundation of knowledge creation through data collection and analysis. With the right amount of information and careful thought, every problem can be solved and every task can be organized into an orderly process. We can smooth out the chaos and create control.

But as our world becomes increasingly complex, we're finding our ability to tame the chaos has its limits. Our processes start to fail so we add more steps, but then they become too cumbersome to manage. Our data seems insufficient so we collect more, but its volume overwhelms us. We build in quality checks and balances, but before long we have a bloated bureaucracy. How, then, do we get our arms around the craziness and create the order that we desire?

The answer is: you don't. The new game in town, especially in business, is to let go of control, let go of the chain of command, let go of step-by-step thinking and instead embrace all the energy and insight that chaos has to offer. We live in a complex world, and by designing systems that leverage, rather than fight the chaos, we create flourishing enterprises that bring out the best in our business. And even better, it brings out the best in our people.

Does this mean we abandon our systems and let things go wild? Not at all. But instead of making processes the center of our business and expect people to adapt, we need to make our people the heart of our business, and offer resources and tools that uniquely suit them. We need to trust in the intelligence and ability of our people. Only then can we expect to work our way through the tough problems that we're all facing in today's environment.

So instead of thinking about how to get rid of the chaos that occurs in a dynamic business environment, we need to see it as a positive reality, something to embrace and draw energy from.

It's time to love the chaos!

Jennifer