Rapidinnovation -- A Room with a View

Observing Real Life Systems

To me, observing real life systems is something like this:

“A real life System comprises of a meaningful set of objects, diverse in form, state and function but inter-related through multiple network of interdependencies through mutual feedbacks enclosed by variable space, operating far from its equilibrium conditions not only exchanging energy and matter with its environment but also generating internal entropy to undergo discrete transformation triggered by the Arrow of Time forcing it to behave in a dissipative but self organizing manner to either self destruct itself in a wide variety of ways or create new possibilities in performance and/or behaviour owing to presence of ‘attractors’ and ‘bi-furcations’; thereby making it impossible to predict the future behaviour of the system in the long term or trace the previous states of the system with any high degree of accuracy other than express it in terms of probabilities since only the present state of the system might be observable to a certain extent and only a probabilistic understanding may be formulated as to how it has arrived at its present state and what would keep it going, thus triggering creative human responses to manage, maintain and enhance the system conditions, function and purpose and create superior systems of the future for the benefit of the society at large.”

Such a represenation of an observation looks quite involved. Perhaps it might be stated in a much simpler way. Most real life systems behave in a complex manner creating multitude of problems of performance and failures. But how do we get rid of complexity and uncertainty as exhibited by systems? We may do so by deeply observing the complex behaviour of the system to improve our perception to gain insights about the essence of the system; find out the underlying ‘imperfection’ that causes the apparent complexity and uncertainty and then find ways to improve the existing system or create new system and maintain them in the simplest possible manner. We do this by applying the principles of chaos, reliability and design. Surprisingly, the same process might be used to troubleshoot and solve problems we face on a daily basis. If done, we are no longer dominated or dictated by the ‘special whims’ of the system. 

The crux of the matter is how we observe reality and understand it so as to make meaningful choices as responses to life and living. 

Rapidinnovation - See & Touch Invisible - DesignKata #2

The previous post dealt with the first Design Kata of keeping a journal in which a problem solver, innovator or design thinker keeps a record of the decisions taken and how one arrived at those decisions.

However, as we know the most important task for a problem solver or design thinker is to find a ‘why’ for an event, phenomenon or failure that takes place.

Keeping that in view Design Kata #2 deals with the practice of seeing and touching the invisible.

Why is that?

This is because answers to the ‘why’ of an event, phenomenon or failure lies in the understanding of the nature and quality of the interactions and interdependence of the elements that happen in a given space.

It is also clear that a) interdependence between things, b) the edges of interactions of such interdependent things and c) the transitions of states and relationships that take place of over time are physically invisible to the human eye.

Hence effective problem solving and design thinking is all about seeing and touching the invisible, without which cognition of a problem can’t even start. Admittedly, this is a difficult thing to practice.

And why is that?

It might be best understood by the visual representation, presented below

Diagram 1

Most of the traditional problem solving methods, techniques and processes start with viewing the top events or failures that emerge and then somehow try to drill below this level to understand the patterns that cause them, which are then attacked to solve the problem. Some methods also try to drill down one step further to understand the systemic relationships at work and try to change the relationships in an effort to solve problems.

Rapidinnovation, so to say, is an inversion of the traditional processes of finding the ‘why’ to problems.

After understand

ing the 'form' of the emergence (events and failures) it straight away views the elements and the ‘empty’ spaces in between the elements that contain the ‘undesirable’ dynamics causing ‘system imperfections’. Such ‘system imperfections’ constantly give rise to a gamut of patterns causing various possible emergences to happen over a period of time.

So the journey starts at the bottom of the diagram by viewing the elements (form), assessing their interdependence (feelings), perceiving the interactions or dynamics (perception) that helps us to form context specific concepts of the existing and other inherent ‘imperfections’ in the system that create enabling ‘patterns’ for myriad events and transition states to emerge (context specific mental constructs). Such ‘mental constructs’ then help us ‘understand’ the observed emergences and transition states. This then enables us to act and design suitable ‘balancing relationships’ that help us to eliminate a range of undesirable emergences of events and transition states. In a future post we would discuss the monitoring of transition states, which in itself would be another DesignKata.

Clearly then, seeing and touching the ‘invisible’ is an inverted way of viewing emergent phenomenon, events, failures and transition states. We don’t try to find the ‘why’ by directly drilling down. We do so by ‘inverting’ our view point, which I call as having, the ‘right view’ of things.

So, to practice this DesignKata of seeing and touching the ‘invisible’ the practitioner is advised to apply the inverted right view of things to whatever one encounters in daily life that might be a matter of interest to the practitioner.

However, it depends on the ‘signals’ one is capable of perceiving. And surely there are many interesting emergences one comes across in daily life. It is the intention of the observer that would keep him/her alive in this practice.   

 That for me is the practice of 'enlightenment' in the 'here and now' 

 

Rapidinnovation -- The Journal - DesignKata #1

I believe that all problem solvers, innovators, design thinkers need to develop a suite of practices that enable them to perform better as time progress. "Design Kata" offers such a suite of practices that would help any problem solver to move towards better contextual understanding of any situation he/she faces if not attain greater wisdom and keener insights. 

As problem solvers and design thinkers we always take decisions. Our quality of decision making determines the quality of our performance in our field of work.

So, the first "design kata" that I recommend is to have a 'decision making journal'. Whenever, we take an important decision on some problem, it helps if we take care to write down in a journal what decision we took, how we arrived at those decisions and what is expected once the decisions are implemented.

We can also make note of how we felt physically and mentally while taking the decision.

Over time, a well kept journal, written in our own handwriting, would reveal patterns in our decision making style and process, which we can then modify and develop as desired for enhanced performance. And if need be we can then develop more patterns of thinking and practice them to see the outcomes they produce. In this manner both our repertoire of techniques and our confidence in our problem solving skill increase over time.

Such journals also help us keep a tab on the decisions we took for a specific problem. It would not only remind us to take a feedback of the effectiveness of implementing our proposed solutions but also record the benefits those solutions provided over a longer period of time. It helps us enhance our understanding of problems, improve our problem solving skills and increase the depth of our thinking.

Over the last 31 years my shelves are filled with more than 100 such journals that have kept track of my thinking process, styles, approaches I took to tackle thousands of problems in my field of application including my moods on specific days and how I felt during the process.

Looking back, I can clearly see at what point of time, my own signature style of solving problems emerged, which must be the goal of any problem solver or decision maker, i.e. to develop his/her own signature tune and learning over a period of time.

To my mind this is the number 1 Design kata a problem solver must initiate and practice.

How much do you agree on this?

 

Rapidinnovation - Understanding Complexity

As Problem Solvers we sometimes misunderstand complexity and the play of complex adaptive systems. We can become so obsessed with the solutions we come up with that we forget to take notice of the interactions and interdependence between things and how our proposed solutions might affect the existing web of interactions and interdependence, creating more difficult problems for us to tackle in the future.

For instance, in the late 1800s rangers at Yellowstone National Park saw that the population of elks was dwindling. They reasoned that the elks were not getting enough food to sustain and grow. Hence they came up with the bright solution that the elks must be 'forced feed' by human beings so that their population would substantially increase avoiding a possible 'risk' of extinction.

The solution seemed viable and nothing seemed to be missing. So the rangers of Yellowstone park brought in the U.S. cavalry to implement their solution to hand-feed the elks. And as expected the solution worked wonders. The elk population swelled. 

But that is not the end of the story. As the elk population swelled the elk started eating aspen trees. But aspen trees were what the beavers were using to build their dams that caught the runoff in the spring, which allowed trout to spawn.

Now with less and less aspen trees there were less and less dams and with less and less dams there were less and less trout to spawn. So more elks equaled less trout.

Why did this happen? It happened since we did not recognize that we were dealing with an 'adaptive system' which by nature, exhibit complex and often unexplained emergent behavior.

The seemingly 'good' solution of 'force feeding' elks led to a series of cascading events that were completely unanticipated.

We most often seek to improve complex adaptive systems, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

It doesn’t take a lot of stretching of our mental awareness to make comparative understanding of complex adaptive systems of the elk ecology to the ecology of organizations and economy. Even with our best intentions in place, there seems to be really no way we can anticipate the ultimate results with 'tinkering' with complex adaptive systems. .

The important question that we must ask ourselves is, "What conditions have to be in place to actually solve these kinds of challenging problems? It does not matter whether we are attempting to solve organizational problems, or machinery problems, ecological problems, economic problems or grappling with design problems.

For some strange reason they are all complex adaptive systems exhibiting their strange behavior through 'emergence'.

Rapidinnovation: Managers -- Change or Get Kicked Around!

Right from the start of my career I never wanted to report to a manager who would only be there to keep record of what I was doing and inform me when I slipped on a self imposed deadline or schedule.

I thought that this was really funny. Why should a highly paid person (obviously higher than what I earned) kept, only monitoring me as if I were a circus animal?

I wanted something better. I wanted a boss or a manager who can guide me out of my difficulties (even personal ones), teach me the tricks of the trade and cushion the shocks of my failed experiments in my efforts to change performance and innovate.

Was it something very peculiar to my psyche? To make sure, I asked some of my peer buddies. And surprisingly they all came up with the same need that I was looking for.

If this were so, why companies would waste their valuable money keep supervisors who were just modern day versions of ancient slave drivers? As soon as I thought that I was magically transported to the vivid scenes of Cecil b deMille’s “Ten Commandments” where the Egyptian slave drivers were merrily lashing their whips around controlling thousands of slaves building pyramids and other infrastructure of Egypt.

Things haven’t changed much from those ancient days. Perhaps the form changed. The physical whip has long been replaced through industrial revolution by the ‘verbal whip’ and pens that possibly stings more emotionally than physically, leaving people more unproductive, raw and vulnerable than before – smarting and humiliated.

This triggers another vital question – Who needs whom? Do the employees need the organization? Or does the organization need employees who can think for themselves? The answer is not easy. When viewed from the principle of interdependence (one of the guiding principle of Rapidinnovation) the answer is ‘both’. Employees do need organizations as platforms to use their talents and perform as much as Organizations need employees who are willing to put up a fine performance.

How can this be achieved?

This might only be achieved if we take a ‘Human Centered View’ based on reasoned thinking on emerging situations, spontaneous creativity aided and guided by the focused will of management and managers who would be more willing to act as coaches and mentors for employees rather than take up the sick role of glorified version of slave drivers and ‘kill-joys’.

Without wasting much time I started my humble experiments in this direction (1980) since even as a Graduate Engineer Trainee I was already the boss of the Maintenance department.

So, rather than enjoying the ‘strange’ powers and ethereal joys bestowed upon me by the Top Management to grant leaves, permissions of all sorts and motivating my subordinates through regular enticements of ‘overtime pay’, ‘special increments’, ‘office parties’ I started mentoring them in my own way. It was good in a way since there were no well laid out precedents to follow so as to be trapped by rigid standards of earlier performance.

The focus of all that mentoring was simple indeed. How do we make sense of what is happening in the ‘now’? No big theories to contend with. No vague and remote scientific truths to digest. There was nothing irrelevant to what is happening in the ‘now’. We were jointly trying to make sense with me in the ‘mentor’s’ seat.  

Though I was greeted by derisions from my well healed but old fashioned managers the ridicule and jibes soon turned into amazement, recognition and awe. The result was more than I ever expected. We could complete projects before time (not on time). We cut operating costs by half (not 10% as slated in the annual budget). We increased machinery productive uptime to more than 98% (from a measly figure of 50%)… and more.

Surely, I was then bitten by the bug of coaching and mentoring which I kept repeating with great success and joy in all my subsequent jobs and professional engagements.

Today, after so many years, it is amply clear to me that mentoring and coaching are things that employees respect and live for.

That of course is all bad news to mangers who try to manage their mundane affairs in old fashioned ways of stick, carrot, numbers and prediction models. It seems to me that their time is up and they now stand ‘naked’ and vulnerable in front of their subordinates who certainly expect more mastery from them in the true sense of the word. It is already late. People are now ready to disrespect the last vestiges of the quintessential ‘slave driver’ mentality in traditional managers. How do we know? We know when performance goes much below what is expected.  

Making a successful transition from Managers to “Mentors and Coaches” appears to be the respectable choice offered to present day managers.

Managers – change or get kicked around!

Rapidinnovation - The Non-Process

If perhaps the first two posts in this series did not make it obvious, the focus and intended results of Rapidinnovation is to increase individual awareness and understanding of the conditions, circumstances and phenomenon that surround them. 

The foundation of such awareness and understanding is built upon  a few Principles, rather than relying on specific tools and techniques.

Developing an individual's awareness and understanding helps effectively bring about significant changes in prevailing situations, which is the objective of any innovation. .

However, increasing an individual’s or a group’s understanding of an existing situation or phenomenon is a tricky issue that refuses to follow well defined paths.

So, in order to have a standardized approach to understanding the traditional route is to first have a theory in place, which we then try to fit onto existing situations to identify parts that cause trouble or problems. Parts of the situation that don't match the constructs of the pre-existing theory are then considered to be problems that need to be rectified to bring about desired changes. Additionally, it also calls for labeling or classifying a given situation into some sort of problem type like 'quality', 'productivity', 'industrial', 'machinery', 'financial' reflecting the present tendency to classify or categorize problems into definitive silos..

For example, if a problem is determined as a 'quality' issue the problem is observed through some of the known quality tools and methods to arrive at an understanding about the problem. Once the abnormality or deviation from the norm is identified efforts are stepped up to correct the specific finding generally ignoring other relevant connections and interdependencies that might modulate or influence a problem. 

This general approach to problem solving has pervaded all known problem solving approaches and methods. Such approaches have its own share of problems since they see an issue either in parts or whole but not together and never see or examine the quality or nature of interdependencies of the connections that connect the parts forming the whole.

The approach in Rapidinnovation is just the reverse. Instead of looking at an issue through an existing lens provided by a theory or a pre-formed mental construct we look at an issue to examine various parts, their connections and nature of interdependencies to identify inherent 'imperfections' in such connection to construct a contextual theory so as to gain understanding of a problem in totality and then improve upon the understanding through subsequent application of the balancing solutions aimed at modifying or changing the nature or quality of the ‘imperfect’ interdependencies of connections . The focus is to see the invisible interdependent links between parts that make the whole

This method of understanding a problem through the Rapidinnovation approach may be explored as follows. However, be forewarned that it is not a step by step process to be followed in a strict sequence. It only provides a general guideline for the mind to flow into ‘understanding’.  

The understanding starts with “Form” and ends with “Maintaining Balance” for a given reality.

1. Form -- All issues have a form in space and time. So observations start with the form. It starts from a part and then gradually expands till patterns can be seen. This needs a lot of curiosity and visual skills on the part of the observer.

2. Feelings -- 'See' the invisible interconnections and nature of interdependence of the links that connect between different parts that form patterns within the issue being observed. This part needs a lot of empathy and mind stilling skills to discover such hidden connections and interdependence between the diverse parts that make up the whole issue.

3. Perceptions -- Examine and use signals to establish the interdependences as closely as possible. This I call as 'Sense making' of the patterns. This requires a lot of 'questioning' skills to make sense of the patterns being observed.

4. Mental Constructs of Reality -- Based on the 'Feelings' and the 'Perceptions' contextual theories are formed that explain how existing patterns evolve or emerge within the issue being observed. This needs the application of both synthesis and analytical skills.

5. Understanding -- Check whether the 'Mental Constructs' explain the observed patterns and the phenomenon. This calls for developing deep insights through application of principles of Rapidinnovation as outlined in the previous post.  

6. Action -- Test out the understanding physically through real life application -- pilot, prototype or  'the real deal'.  Obviously, we would need practical implementation skills and skills in human relationships.

7. Maintaining Balance -- Once more finer, firmer and in-depth Understanding of the reality formed through 'Action' strive to maintain balance till new realities emerge to change existing patterns or phenomena. This demands more of wisdom, awareness and monitoring skills than anything else.

I have consistently used this guideline to solve problems or innovate to change existing situations. The interesting thing is that it requires the development of human skills of curiosity, visual observation, empathy, synthesis, analysis, etc more than mastery of methods, tools and techniques though there is nothing that prevents the use of any tool or technique in Rapidinnovation be it from any discipline of human knowledge.

Hopefully the significance of the internal development of an individual has been made obvious since Rapidinnovation is founded on the principle that one individual has the power to change a situation both in his/her personal or professional life if not to enable them to change the world.

However, the way through which such development would take place must not be standarized. It has to be customized to individual needs and natural apptitudes. Hence the path is a Non-Process. And that squarely is a challenge to be met.

Rapidinnovation - The Principles

The fundamental or guiding principle behind Rapidinnovation is rather simple. It is the practice of 'Non-perfection'.

Given that the objective of any problem solving is to harmoniously adapt to a given set of emerging realities the way to do it elegantly is to innovate or change by modifying existing relationships.

The intent of Rapidinnovation is to help us solve problems, improve or change existing situations, help people improve their lives, deepen our understanding of the world around us and to create in us the ability to change relationships for the better in a holistic manner thereby making life meaningful and worthwhile.

How is this done?

This is done by balancing the inherent 'imperfection' in a given set of mutually interdependent relationships in the present. (Refer post on Rapidinnovation)

Hence the simplest way the fundamental principle of Rapidinnovation can be expressed is as follows:

"Balance imperfect relationships in the now to innovate and harmoniously adapt to new emerging realities"

It is not a theory. It is a practice. Expressed in a word it is the practice of 'NON-PERFECTION'; highlighting the fundamental principle of Rapidinnovation.

The rationale of this practice is logical linked and based on certain principles, which are as follows:

1. While everything seems to have an unique identity, nothing ever exists by itself. Indeed its identity is only relevant in its relationship to other things illustrating the principle of non-self. Hence, everything is in a state of connected web of multiple interdependent relationships with many other things. Such interdependences create relationships that "move" in time and space paradoxically helped by sets of opposing relationships. 

2. Every relationship has a quality to it that changes with space, time and changes in specific quantities in the elements that make up a given set of relationships.

3. All interdependent relationships are becoming, i.e. changing their states over time and space. There is no fixity about any relationship. Hence all relationships are 'interbecoming'. That is when something is 'becoming' other relationships associated with it also start 'becoming'. Change one relationship; other relationships also start to change. Such changes are triggered by constantly changing reality. This illustrates the principles of 'non-being' and 'interbecoming'.  Therefore, what was once a perfect relationship in the past can become "imperfect in the now" ('imperfections') under changing reality.

4. Such 'imperfections' pose as problems in adaptation for some, many or all. Such problems impede continuity of purpose or flow of relationships. Hence 'imperfections' in the relationship are precisely the problems to be addressed in a given context.

5. Therefore, design innovation would entail balancing out such imperfections. That would create a new set of relationships based on the paradox of opposites, thereby enabling a set of relationships to adapt to new realities.

6. Balancing out imperfections involve conscious creation of deeper level of human understanding that is contextual in nature. This might only happen in a state of "non-fear" of the mind since it is fear of many types that forces a human being to cling to previous levels of understanding and experience, which on most occasions prove fatal. The basis of new understanding is 'praxis'.

7. The product of such 'balancing' might be an artifact, system, rules, practice, method or simple change in paradigm, or change of understanding.

8. The method of creation of such balancing 'products' is called Design Innovation. It has two parts -- 'exploration' (i.e. creation) and method of 'exploitation' (i.e. how it is to be used). A proper balance of exploration and exploitation brings about the desired 'harmony' of adaptation which has three specific purposes, namely, Reliability, Availability and Performance (as discussed in the blog post Rapidinnovation).

9. The efforts needed to innovate would last or continue till new realities take shape initiating new 'imperfections' to take shape. One has to be mindful of emergence of new imperfections. The method to achieve that is viewing the web of interdependent relationships in a 'non-mind' state - a state of mind that is free of all assumptions, suppositions, presumptions, unnecessary beliefs, notions, prejudices, concepts, anxieties and fear.

 

Next Blog:--> Rapidinnovation - The Non-Process