Strategic action
Chapter 4 - Corporate futuring
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Welcome to the Strategic action page
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In strategy execution, theory and action must go hand in hand.
Theory without action is shallow. Action without theory runs blindly.
To prevent these fallacies, think about the words of John Maynard Keynes:
"... He (the strategist) must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher -- in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular, in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must be entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood, as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near to earth as a politician ..."
Your best practice is to use frameworks (not punctual methods) because they combine theory and practice.
To be honest and open, I am a great admirer of the frameworks designed by Dave Snowden - The Cynefin Company
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Frameworks
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This page takes you directly to the original documents regarding the frameworks.
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| The Cynefin Co | |
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| Organisation | https://thecynefin.co/ |
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ASHEN
ASHEN is a framework that can be used as a method in the context of knowledge mapping in an organization. It's purpose is to ask meaningful questions in a meaningful context previously created, because ASHEN needs to be deployed complementary to other methods, such as Dependency matrix or Decision Mapping. The purpose of these questions is to help the formulation of implicit or tacit knowledge, so that it can be codified.
ASHEN is composed of five perspectives or "questions", which help looking at knowledge from five different angles. As such, it is also a typology.
The ASHEN acronym stands for:
- Artifacts
- Skills
- Heuristics
- Experience
- Natural talent
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| ASHEN |
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| https://cynefin.io/wiki/ASHEN |
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Cynefin framework
Cynefin® is a framework for understanding what kind of problem space you are in to guide decisions-making and action. It was created by David Snowden and takes its name from the Welsh word meaning "the place of your multiple belongings."
Dave Snowden et al, Cynefin® - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd.
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At its most basic, the Cynefin® framework allows us to distinguish between three different kinds of systems:
- Ordered systems in which cause and effect relationships are either clear or discoverable through analysis;
- Complex systems in which the only way to understand the system is to interact;
- Chaotic systems in which turbulence prevails and immediate stabilizing action is required.
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| Cynefin framework | |
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| Overview | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin |
| Domains | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin_Domains |
| Field guide | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Field_guide_to_managing_complexity_(and_chaos)_in_times_of_crisis |
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Estuarine framework
It is based on the idea of an estuary (but not a delta), with the metaphor emphasising the complex and multiple flows of possibility in the system.
In an estuary the water flows in and flows out, so there might be things you can do only at the turn of the tide. Some elements might be stable, like a granite cliff, which only need to be checked rarely, while others, like sandbanks, could shift daily. As the water flows in and out, some elements might be covered or visible. Alternative metaphors illustrating similar dynamic and non-linear processes may be used, especially in environments where there is no familiarity with estuaries.
| Estuarine framework | |
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| Overview | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Estuarine_framework |
| Vector theory of change | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Vector_theory_of_change |
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Uncertainty matrix
The uncertainty matrix draws from strategy and knowledge management work. The Uncertainty Matrix can also be part of the Estuarine Mapping flow as a way of making sense of the actions generated after the mapping on the Estuarine Framework is complete, or as a way of identifying needs and target areas for actions.
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| Uncertainty matrix |
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| https://cynefin.io/wiki/Uncertainty_matrix |
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Flexuous curves
There are 6 main points outlined in the framework. These are the F-Curve / Flexuosity / Apex
- Something novel emerges and gains some form of traction with those frustrated by the dominant paradigm of the day, or who are seeking some form of functionality that is not a part of the current affordance landscape.
- The initial enthusiasm for the idea is difficult to maintain, there are few risk-takers around than innovators would like and scale is never easy. For products, this is Moore’s chasm where the next level of purchaser wants more proof before they will commit.
- The novel left-field idea becomes orthodoxy, it suddenly sees mass adoption although by this stage it may be compromised. It is on everyone’s lips, popular articles are written, its language (and all novel ideas generally have some specialist language and seeing its third party use is a buying signal).
- The novelty is now wearing off and the idea is starting to reach the end of its life cycle, limitations of scale and context adaptability are starting to show and frustration is building in progressive circles, but it is now the orthodoxy, the thing that everyone else is doing so there is little risk in its adoption.
- is oblivion, a fond memory at best
- is sustainable and you live to fight another day, but it will take the significant distraction of the overall eco-system for you to gain a new opportunity
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| Flexuous curves |
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| https://cynefin.io/wiki/Flexuous_curves |
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Agency - Affordance - Assemblage
The 3As is a typology to describe a situation in such a way that we can focus our decision-making where change is possible. Rather than ask questions about what mindset do we need, which is a level of abstraction too far and focuses on the individual, we instead look at the situation through three lenses (agency, assemblage, and affordance) and start to identify where we can make changes, and of that set of actions where we can monitor the outcome so we can encourage attitude shifts that are heading in the right direction.
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| 3A's |
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| https://cynefin.io/wiki/3As |
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AIMS
The AIMS is a framework which allows changes to take place with actants and interactions, with monitors in place to detect early signs of emergence for amplification or dampening.
- Actants: Actants indicate anyone and anything that acts in a system. It goes beyond "actor" by including non-humans. An actant can mean a person and anything else that plays an active role, partially drawing from literary theory. Non-human actants can include, among others, material objects, technology, institutions, designs, beliefs, and practices. Human actants are actors. So all actors are actants, but not all actants are actors.
- Interactions: Changing interactions to see what emerges is a key aspect of achieving change in a complex system. Methods are designed to change interactions, not to change people. In general, our approaches produce outcomes based on social construction within physical or virtual workshops, where a pattern of meaning emerges from multiple interactions over time.
- Monitors: In complexity once we have initiated any change, we need to monitor the impact of that change, and how we can amplify or dampen it, monitoring for early signs of emergence and for other weak signals, including shifts in attitudes or behaviours. Human sensor networks are recommended in the EU Field guide as a general capability in advance, but there are multiple other options.
- Scaffolding: Understanding, identifying, designing and managing scaffolding is one of the skills required to effectively manage complexity. In some ways, scaffolding can be a constraint or a constructor and we use it here more in a biological sense than a mechanical sense. It represents an underlying structure around which any self-organisation takes place... a hierarchy in an organisation is one type of scaffolding as are road traffic rules.
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