Chaos and complexity are part of our lives. They are coming more and more prominent as the surrounding environment is becoming more complex. In a nutshell, a complex system is defined as a system created with many elements it takes time to understand, and due to autonomy and diversity of those elements, it’s also unpredictable system.
Businesses are operating in an ever-increasing complex business environment. Instead of trying to stay away from chaos and complexity, businesses need to understand them better, know what to expect, and take advantage of what they can offer. After all, there are other systems around us (except businesses) that are operating extremely well in chaotic and complex environments. Why not learn from them?
In some strange way, there are two different (but interlinked) sciences that are dealing with chaos and complexity. The first one is Chaos Theory (or Chaos Mathematics). This science focuses on trying to understand what causes perfectly ordered systems to become chaotic and vice versa. The second one is “Complex System” or Complex Adaptive System (CAS). CAS focuses on how complex systems are operating. What are the characteristics of complex systems that enable them to survive and thrive in even more complex and chaotic environments?
Chaos will teach you a lot on the conditions and behaviors/phenomena that will turn order into chaos. It helps to understand what causes chaos. It’s good to spot it at competitors an environment since it will give you a competitive advantage. A complex system will teach you what you can do to make your business more successful in a complex environment. Not an easy implementation, but at least you will learn what makes a complex system successful.
You can find a lot of reading materials on those two (books, articles, and courses). One of our services is to teach business those concepts and how they can leverage them for their success. If there is a demand, we will share more content. Remember, using those concepts will be a competitive advantage as long as you are one of the few ones that use it.