Illustratenonlinearity

Human society gets more and more complex, the techniques of applying linear logic to the world very quickly come up against insurmountable difficulties facing humanity.

Nowadays the business ecosystem is complex and uncertain, there are unknown interactions and very high inner dynamics in complexity. It becomes complex if things do interact, particularly in the case of "nonlinear" interaction, you can't separate things properly or you cannot predict the actual effect of interactions straightforwardly. 

Thus, understanding nonlinearity as the very characteristic of the business ecosystem could be at the tipping point for the digital paradigm shift. It is transformational to step outside of the business system for having different perspectives to gain an in-depth understanding of business dynamics, take a comprehensive, anticipatory approach to manage highly innovative organizations and ensure the health of the business ecosystem.

It’s important to apply nonlinear thinking as a type of “out of the box” thinking to generate fresh ideas and solve problems creatively: As the business world become more complex and fluid; it often requires people to get rid of linear logic, applying nonlinear thinking lenses to look beyond what might be the known facts to consider what’s not known, what trends or risks could keep emerging. Organizational leaders and professionals should continue expanding thinking boxes and knowledge boundaries, develop creative perceptions, and reimagine what is possible.

From linear to nonlinear thinking could be evolutionary for bridging the gaps between silo based industrial age and hyper connected digital business reality. To dig deeper, non-linear thinking is an emerging type of systems thinking to understand the interconnectivity of things; integrate their interdependencies, and significantly help to improve problem-solving effectiveness in the complex digital world today.

It is important to understand that being effective for achieving the desired impact can sometimes be as the result of a very small initiative or decision, this is the magic of nonlinearity: Small issues sometimes cause bigger problems. Achieving the desired impact can sometimes be the result of a very small initiative. The business nonlinearity comes through different characteristics such as increased flux, mixed structures, diversity, volatility, ambiguity, unpredictability. If you pick the right thing to alter, you can sometimes achieve enormous outcomes at little expenditure of effort on your part. But such an approach requires great insights and knowledge to discover the leverage point. The business management needs to ponder: Does the business initiative situates the organization within a growing and highly profitable product market niche? Do the business initiatives build processes/capabilities that differentiate the organization from its major competitors? Do we set the right priority to solve the most critical problems for the business’s long term thriving. Can we do nonlinear cause effect or sequence-consequence analysis effectively?

Sometimes, the management thinks they can lay out a high-level "big picture" blueprint without addressing the small things. Keep in mind, a small error, inconsistency in a system can sometimes decrease business performance significantly. The emergence of potential opportunities and risks facing organizations is likely to follow a nonlinear pattern. There are quite a few root causes of snowball effect in change management. Greater awareness of those critical issues can provide insights from a hidden part of the organization that might actually help to fine-tune change objectives with bigger impact.

It’s important to create a nonlinear business environment for inspiring creativity, flexibility, and risk intelligence: Now, due to VUCA factors (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), both the organization and the environment change over time. The enterprise is structurally coupled to that larger environment, such that the enterprise and its environment influence each other with nonlinear interconnectivity. From an ecological perspective, in order for an organization to be sustainable, the basic business functionality for the business’s survival is no longer sufficient for building a sustainable digital organization. They have to proactively build a set of differentiated capabilities and build core business competency.

Nowadays we don't live in a "closed system" but the dynamic digital ecosystem which is complex, interrelated, and interconnected, full of opportunities and risks. The technologies and methodologies are multiple, and they all seem to work, but it's more of an understanding of your business, your industry, your strategic plan and objectives, and then, using the advanced technology or methodology to build differentiated capabilities and generate a creative working environment for spurring innovation and getting desired nonlinear effect.

Human society gets more and more complex, the techniques of applying linear logic to the world very quickly come up against insurmountable difficulties facing humanity. You have to go beyond thinking that confines itself to linear relationships, leverage nonlinear logic to deepen cross-disciplinary understanding of organizational interdependence, investigate different paths to diagnose and solve problems, and find the leverage to accelerate performance significantly.

Posted in: Digital Maturity,Innovation,Keywords in 21st Century,Lessons from Failures