Tim and Ben have previously drawn extensively on Dave Snowden’s material as a means of sense-making in complex environments. And here he is in person (virtually). In particular, Snowden’s Cynefin (pronounced ‘kin-ev-in’) framework has proven consistently to be an incredibly useful and intuitive sense-making tool for leaders in all contexts.
In the period of heightened COVID-19 risk it has been highly instructional to the management teams that Tim and Ben work with.
In this episode, Dave joins us from the UK and speaks to not only Cynefin, but also complexity.
BYO notebook for the knowledge from this one!
Intelligence Summary (INTSUM)
03:20 Dave and Ben’s first meeting at the SAS Regiment back
04:00 Dave provides an overview of his Cynefin framework
04:50 The domains – simple, complicated, complex and chaotic
09:20 Leading in complex environments – parallel probes
11:25 Every intervention into a complex system fundamentally changes it
12:00 ‘Nudges’ towards ‘adjacent possibles’ – stepping stones towards better results. An alternative to trying to predict the future
13:45 The key to operating in complexity – know where you are and the rough direction you want to head
14:20 What can you control in a complex system?
17:00 Negative boundaries – teaching through failure, not success
18:20 Commander’s Intent – ‘metaphorical examples with counter-factuals’ – Dave’s Gettysburg example, taken from his time at DARPA
22:25 Are contemporary Western militaries doing ‘mission command’ well?
23:25 The Black Lives Matter protests through a Cynefin lens
27:00 Using ‘trios’ to validate decision-making in complexity
28:45 Neuroplasticity and its impacts in various stages in life
32:20 Why Dave got thrown out of the Pentagon
34:50 Human-mediated wargames: ‘far more malicious’
36:30 Ben on the benefits of Dave’s visit to the Australian SAS in 2009
39:00 Dave’s work with Peter Drucker
40:00 COVID-19 as a ‘Black Elephant’ – a cross between a Black Swan and the elephant in the room
43:15 The importance of narrative and storytelling
48:10 Using anecdotes to increase resilience
50:20 The importance of experience in training
51:30 COVID-19 – who got it right: the economists or the doctors?
52:30 Dave’s prognosis for contemporary political leadership
External Links
Music
The Externals … Available on Spotify (plus a bit of Ben’s guitar work, recorded in the bathroom of one of Saddam’s palaces in Tikrit, Iraq!)
S1E28 – Jack Moshovis – Building High Performance Aircraft in the Sky!
S1E27- Sam Penny: English Channel Swimmer- 'I didn't come this far to only come this far'
S1E26- General Jim Molan, AO, DSC - No Backward Step
@RV10 – On Susan Saleeba and Chris Collard, Servant Leadership, Psychopaths and Ben’s Leather Vest
S1E25- Chris Collard- No Barriers! From Jail to World Champion in 5 Years.
S1E24- Susan Saleeba- All Give, No Take: Inspiring Hope for Kenyan Children
@RV9- On Phil HSC & Sans Tattoo, Alaskan Real Estate Deals, Junior Leadership and Life without Consequences
S1E23- Marc Wohling- Movement is a Story
S1E22- Conversations with Mandela ... and Subsequent Corporate Combat - Sans Tattoo
S1E21- The Entrepreneur's Entrepreneur: From Little Things... with Phil HSC
@RV8- On Jess Dane, Greg Wallace, Andrew Leigh's Interview of Ben, Art and Playing Music on Operations
Special Episode- On SAS Leadership, Elite Fitness and Why Specialisation is for Insects- Ben Pronk, DSC Interviewed by Andrew Leigh, MP (via The Good Life Podcast)
S1E20- More Than Just a Surfboard! Greg Wallace- Building Surfboards but Rebuilding People
S1E19- Motorsports IS for Girls! Jessica Dane- Red Bull Holden Racing Team & Triple Eight Race Engineering
@RV7- On Matt Hall, the 2nd Battlefield, Supposedly Irrelevant Factors and Recent Travel
S1E18- (Extremely!) Top Gun- Matt Hall- Australia's (Only) Elite Red Bull Air Race Pilot
S1E17- The 2nd Battlefield! Applying the Principles of War to the Battlefield of Business
@RV6- On Two Andrews and SAS Band The Externals. Questions from Listeners
S1E16- Who Sings Wins! The Stories and Music of the SAS Rock Band- The Externals
S1E15b- A Tale of Two Andrews – Two Federal Politicians / But No Politics! Andrew Hastie (MP) and Andrew Leigh (MP)
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