1. Map the constraints

IN THE FIRST EDITION, CONSTRAINTS APPLIES ALICIA JUARRERO’S THINKING ABOUT CONSTRAINTS

1 Map the constraints

• Start not where you are but where the Person is
  • Begin with a sense of direction rather than abstract goals
    • Visual maps generated by SenseMaker® can communicate a sense of direction
  • Understand the Leader’s Intent
    • If belief that the environment is ordered, really no need for Estuarine mapping
      • Don’t argue but get agreement to collect workshop evidence to confirm
    • Listening to spoken language will indicate prevailing attitudes

• Confirm Ordered by mapping robust constraints
  • Provide a working definition
    • A constraint refers to how we contain, couple, and link things
      • In complexity language, a constraint modulates the formation of emergent properties
  • Starting point for some people will be to think of a constraint in terms of Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints
    • Anything that prevents a system from achieving its goal
  • If participants are familiar with Cynefin
    • Could introduce Fixed and Governing constraints
  • Use Post-its, hexi stickies, and brainstorm by typology
    • Rigid or fixed (Clear domain)
      • Physical - sea wall, dyke, fence, guard rail
      • Mental - legal laws, regulations, compliance rules, best practices
    • Elastic or Flexible (Complicated domain)
      • Human-imposed - policies, standards, guidelines, margin of manoeuvre
    • Tethers
      • Safety - a climbing rope that snaps into place when you need it
      • Restrictive and controlling - wire, cable, chain & boat anchor
      • Connecting - internet, invisible bond between people or things, obligation tied to responsibilities
  • Constraints types are meant to stimulate discussion and recall experiences when something hindered getting work done
    • May help to think of the 3 robust types as triangle corners and a constraint can be anywhere inside the triad
    • Don’t be constrained by the constraint types listed!
      • Just think of anything that contains, couples, and links things
    • No need to list natural physical laws like gravity unless context indicates critical importance

• Introduce concept of enabling constraints and map resilient constraints
  • Think of an enabling constraint as something that allows different behaviours to emerge
  • Think of a resilient constraint as enabling something positive to emerge
  • Use post-its, hexi stickies, and brainstorm by typology
    • Permeable – some things can get through (salt water marsh, Gore-tex, Aerogel)
    • Phase shift – process which can produce a sudden significant change like legislating Roe v Wade , pulling Andon cord, applying a heuristic
    • Dark constraints – a reference to dark matter, we can see an effect but not what is creating said effect, strange attractors

• Summarize
  • This was an in-person workshop using the wisdom of a selected few
  • We identified Ordered constraints (governing, ordered)
  • But also discovered we have complex constraints (enabling)
  • Let’s entangle all types of constraints in our thinking and see our organization as a complex adaptive system
  • Ideally we would have everyone in the organization contributing by using SenseMaker® to largely automate this first stage
    • SM® Collector Estuarine Mapping
  • In addition, Visual maps generated by SenseMaker® communicate a sense of direction

[Iain Phillips]