🌿🧭🌳 OD69: Network ∙ Weak Signals ∙ Alignment ∙ Nature 🌿
Sense & Change Network, Weak Signals & Helpful Cassandras, Interactive Alignment, Inspiration from Nature, Biophilic Design's History and Future
Join 4,000+ others who get our bi-weekly Strategy & Organization resources on Business Strategy ∙ Org Design ∙ Org Development and adjacent fields like Change ∙ Foresight ∙ Complexity ∙ Leadership and others.
Dear readers,
Back in May we launched the Sense & Change Network, a place to connect with like-minded curious peers from diverse backgrounds.
Since then, an exciting mix of gatherings have been happening in the network:
#orgtalks - tackling organizational challenges together
networking sessions
working session on hybrid work setups
sharing session about dealing with information overload
invitation to join group coaching sessions hosted by one of the members
feedback session on learning designs
(soon) practice session on sense-framing
(soon) sharing session on sustainability and circular economy
We’re now opening the second round of applications (till the end of September). If you’re interested, see more details and apply here:
#practice
Weak Signals & Helpful Cassandras
Following a recent conversation with a Director of Strategy & Innovation that we’re working closely with, we’ve revisited the idea of weak signals and reconnected with the concept of helpful Cassandras, described by prof. Rita Gunther McGrath (highlights ours):
In his influential book about inflection points, Only The Paranoid Survive, Andy Grove called people who see issues early ‘helpful Cassandras’ after the Greek prophetess who foresaw future calamities but was not believed. In your organisation, such Cassandras are not typically situated at headquarters or found conveniently hanging out in the business lounge. They tend to be at the ‘edges’; those places in which the organisation touches some element of its environment.
(…) consider whether what you are hearing suggests that ingrained assumptions about your business may be changing. If the answer is “yes”, you may well be looking at the seeds of a strategic inflection point. The good news is that the leading indicators of a pending inflection are almost always here, today, somewhere. The skill lies in learning to accept their implications.
In your day to day practice, (how) are you paying attention to weak signals?
Interactive Alignment
Next pick is coming from the Mirror Mirror team, looking at the interactive alignment between people from 4 points of view (highlights ours):
‘Interactive alignment’ is about shared meaning between people as an enabler of effective action
(…) it is:
A state of shared understanding between people about their challenges (cognitive alignment) and how they collaborate to deliver (behavioural alignment). This state is constantly moving because contexts change and the ways people see things evolve over time.
A process (…) There is no such thing as full alignment because of the hundreds of micro alignment gaps that are undetectable and / or pointless to resolve. And it doesn’t happen by itself. (…) The process of alignment needs structure, objectivity, psychological safety, willingness and dedication.
A means of engaging, empowering and uniting people to take effective action.
A competence to engage in constructive challenge, objectively and intentionally.
In your practice, what do you use for achieving (temporary) alignment?
What works? What doesn’t?
#reflect
When was the last time when you were inspired by nature?
#study
Biophilic Design’s History and Future
This piece from the IN magazine about biophilic design made us think about the interconnections between biophilia and biomimicry. Would biophilic people be more open to learn from nature and be inspired by its solutions? Would people that use biomimicry develop a love of nature?
(…) natural forms can improve our wellbeing almost as much as actual nature
One peer-reviewed academic study of 20,000 people published recently in the journal Nature Communications found that time spent in natural surroundings is worth about £4.5 trillion a year in terms of improved mental health alone.
Mankind is usually playing catch up with these things, and so we are increasingly able to understand the principles of how and why nature does the things it does.
Nature is rarely wasteful and invariably creates forms perfectly aligned to functions. We can only benefit from understanding how these forms came about and what they achieve.
Perhaps part of the problem is that we tend to look for simple answers to complex problems. So, we pay lip service to biophilic design by specifying some plants in the office or hanging a picture of some trees on the wall.
In other words, it is possible to help people develop a sense of coherence in their surroundings, which we can take to mean both their physical and cultural environment.
h/t @naomiorgdesign for this resource
Hope you enjoyed this edition!
The newsletter is time and energy consuming to make, so please consider helping us keep it free by sharing it with your extended network.
See you again in two weeks ✌️
This newsletter is curated by Raluca and Bülent Duagi, the Sense & Change team.
As Strategy & Organization professionals, we're partnering with visionary Tech companies to help them address their most complex strategic & organizational challenges.
Our professional mission and intended legacy is:
Creating and sharing sustainable knowledge that helps people deal with the complex challenges they (will) face.