The Politics of Productivity: Balancing Motion and Momentum
Every false step in the name of progress steals real time.
We live in a rigged productivity economy—targets up, morale down—where motion is mistaken for momentum. You’re not calling for revolution; you’re learning how to win back agency inside the machine.
Normalization of Deviance: When risk becomes routine
When small rule-bending becomes routine, organizations gradually accept higher risks as normal, eroding safeguards until failure becomes inevitable.
High Reliability Organisation (HRO) theory: Mindfulness in the Face of Risk
HRO theory explains how organisations in high-risk domains sustain safety by cultivating continuous mindfulness, error sensitivity, and resilience against drift.
Probabilistic Models — Mapping Uncertainty into Insight
Probabilistic Models apply probability theory to quantify uncertainty, turning incomplete data into forecasts that guide risk management, decision-making, and future planning.
Climate-Focused Adaptations: Designing for Resilient Futures
Climate-focused adaptations are frameworks for reshaping systems to withstand climate risks — embedding resilience into infrastructure, policy, and everyday practice.
Scenario Planning: Anticipating Futures Through Narrative
Scenario Planning uses structured narratives to explore multiple plausible futures, helping organisations test strategies and stay resilient under uncertainty.
Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety
Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety states that a system must match the complexity of its environment in order to remain stable and effective. When rules or controls fail to keep pace with external variety, systems become brittle and collapse.
Resilience Engineering: Anticipating & Adapting in Complex Systems
Resilience Engineering reframes safety and performance as the ability of systems to anticipate change, absorb shocks, and adapt under pressure — a shift from preventing failure to sustaining success in complex environments.
Cynefin Framework: Navigating Complexity and Sensemaking
The Cynefin Framework, developed by Dave Snowden, is a strategic sensemaking tool that distinguishes between ordered, complex, and chaotic contexts. It guides leaders in choosing responses that match the nature of their environment, helping organisations adapt, build resilience, and frame meaning in uncertainty.