A problem shared is a problem halved...

I studied complexity almost a decade ago in a program that explored events like what we are experiencing now with COVID19.  Since then I have built my business through consulting to organisations to help them navigate their way through their complex problems, skilling them up to deal with complexity and delivering workshops and programs to teach methods on how to deal with complexity.  However, to be perfectly honest, COVID19 has me feeling both intrigued and rather uncomfortable as its' impacts are unprecedented on a global scale.

Some colleagues and past students recently contacted me to ask my thoughts on the situation and also advice on how to approach it.  Here are my 3 tips that I shared with them.  I hope that they benefit you in some way as we all navigate the uncertain times ahead:

1.     Be adaptable to the situation.  Charles Darwin said, “…It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” The things that we have always done will no longer suffice as we need to embrace new and novel ways of doing things.

2.     Our decisions will affect many others.  Be mindful that as we are connected at a global systems level, the decisions that we make for ourselves will affect everyone else, even if indirectly or remotely. I feel that the theory of 6 degrees-of-separation needs to be challenged as its more like 5 or even 4 degrees-of-separation nowadays.

3.     The small things we do can produce big results.   My students will often hear me say, “…small changes – big impacts”.  But the genius is in identifying those small changes – and they don’t necessarily always come from the expert.

I hope that my advice has done justice to those professors, coaches, mentors and colleagues who have helped me in my endeavours, and remember that a problem shared is a problem halved…