WORKING IN A COMPLEX
ORGANIZATION
Getting Stuff Done and Staying Positive
Cathann Kress, Vice President for Extension and Outreach
WHAT’S CAUSING
COMPLEXITY?
 More regulation and competition
 Internet, other systems, access to
information
 Greater connections, more rapid change
WICKED PROBLEMS
Predicaments that cannot be definitively
resolved — and attempts to fix them often
generate more trouble.
– Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber
SYSTEMS OF SYSTEMS = “MESS”
 No unique “correct” view of the issue
 Most problems connected to other
problems
 Data often uncertain or missing
 Multiple value conflicts
 Cultural or political constraints
 Economic constraints
SYSTEMS OF SYSTEMS = “MESS”

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



Consequences difficult to predict
Considerable ambiguity
Great resistance to change
Limited time
No central authority
Those seeking to solve the problem are
likely also causing it
SO, WHAT DO YOU DO?
 Shift from finding solutions to improving
problem solving abilities:
– Bravery among decision makers
– Thinking through a problem
– Are you applying the right type of solution?
– You can solve some problems; and for some
problems you don’t like the solutions.
“When we say the world is more complex
what we mean is that there are more
things to consider, but a lot of things we
have to consider really don’t make a huge
amount of difference, so maybe we don’t
have to consider them.”
– Hilmer
GETTING STUFF DONE
FOCUS
 Breaking down complexity
– Clarity of purpose
– Emphasize principles and values around how
we operate
– People are the key; break down complexity
by ensuring that people understand their roles
and purpose (they can innovate because they
have context)
PERILS OF MULTI-TASKING
 Hampers creativity
 Raises anxiety
 Slows us down
FILTER
 Set realistic time frames.
 Some problems become unfathomable
when we set short deadlines for finding a
solution.
 Some problems take decades to resolve.
THE GOOD, THE FAST, and
THE CHEAP
 Quick and high quality
isn’t cheap.
 Quick and cheap isn’t
high quality.
 High quality and cheap
takes time.
Complexity is present in any project.
FORGET
 Old ideas rarely solve new problems.
 Get comfortable with ongoing
experimentation.
DO THESE FIRST
3
4
FORGET THEM
2
DO THESE LATER EASY WINS
1
COMPLEXITY
5
VALUE/COMPLEXITY MATRIX
1
2
3
VALUE
4
5
MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IN
CONFRONTING COMPLEXITY
Persistence
STAYING POSITIVE
HOW CHANGE HAPPENS
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggards
IDEAS, MESSAGES, AND
BEHAVIORS SPREAD
JUST LIKE VIRUSES
AND EPIDEMICS DO.
CHANGE HAPPENS
DRAMATICALLY
Fold a piece of paper 50 times
How tall will the final stack be?
a) The size of a phone book for a
mid-sized city
b) The distance from your nose to the end
of your finger when your arm is extended
c) The height of a refrigerator
d) The distance from the earth to the sun
EPIDEMIC PROGRESSION
 25 folds = 33,554,432 layers of paper
 50 folds…could reach the sun
 The end result (reaching the sun) seems
far out of proportion with the cause
(folding one sheet of paper).
We are trained
to think that what
goes into any change
must be directly
related in intensity
and dimension to
what comes out.
THE LAW OF THE FEW
80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs
 80% of work is done by 20% of the people
 In creating change, a tiny percentage of people
do the majority of the work.
PEOPLE SPECIALISTS
 Word of mouth begins when someone
tells a Connector – “People Specialist”
 Experts at the “weak link”
 Six degrees of separation
INFORMATION SPECIALISTS
 Who tells the connector about the
new trend, idea, or message?
 Information specialists – who love
information because it helps others
 An effective way to gain attention
PERSUADERS
 Someone who can do the convincing
 Through energy, enthusiasm, charm,
likability, and optimism
THE MESSENGER
MATTERS…
BUT SO DOES THE
MESSAGE.
THE STICKINESS FACTOR
A message
makes an
impact
when you
can’t get it
out of your
head.
The Tetanus Story
 Tetanus messages
– “high fear”
– “low fear”
– free shots
 100% reported the dangers
The Tetanus Story
 Those given “high fear” more likely to
report they should get inoculated
 Only 3% actually did (didn’t stick)
 Repeated messages, but included a
map and hours shots were available
THE SECRET OF “STICKINESS”
 The message
needs to be
practical and
personal.
 Not louder,
more repetitive,
or proven
through more
research.
POWER OF CONTEXT
 Getting people to change
often lies with small details
of immediate surroundings.
 We are heavily influenced
by environment.
 People assume you can
explain events based on
personal issues rather
than context.
The Ketchup Story
 High School with
36% minorities
 Fistfights literally
every day at lunch
 5 story building;
22 minutes for lunch
WHAT REALLY MATTERS…
IS OFTEN
THE LITTLE THINGS.
DEALING WITH COMPLEXITY
We have become
convinced that
we need to tackle
the whole problem
all at once…
We don’t.
HOW CHANGE HAPPENS
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggards
DOING A LOT WITH A LITTLE
 Cultivate unique skills to translate
between Innovators and the Majority.
 Focus efforts on the small and personal.