Complex problems require new thinking

When facing a complex problem, it can be more effective to thinking around it by reframing it, rather than attempting to tackle it head-on. Problems that are simple or merely complicated may be resolved directly, but resolving complex problems requires thinking differently.

This is a process of thinking around the paradox rather than confronting it head-on. The solution is not within the core paradox itself (which is stuck in closed definitions), but in the broad area of values and themes in the context surrounding the paradox. The richer this context, the more chance that fruitful avenues can be found to move forward. Thus, the very same properties of problem situations that are so challenging to conventional problem-solving—the open, complex, networked, and dynamic nature of contemporary problems…—actually provide a rich field of opportunities for people with a designerly bent of mind. They need this richness to create a new approach from which solutions are possible.^[1]

#systems-thinking #complexity #nonlinearity

See also:

• Challenges are now open, complex, dynamic, and networked
• Cynefin framework helps interpret systems
• Paradigm shifts create a new framework of thinking
• Problem-solving follows a four step process
• Simple rules tame complexity