UPCOMING
In-person events on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic situation. Virtual presentations and webinars are posted.
DELIVERED
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Cynefin & Safety
Cognitive Edge webinar
2020-10-21 9am EDT
2020-10-22 9am AEST
Join us for a thought-provoking webinar on Cynefin and Safety. Pioneering safety experts, also experts in the Framework.
Safety in organizations is not produced or manufactured. Leading safety experts agree, they see safety as an emergent property of many interacting forces, such as employees, policies, incentive systems and regulatory requirements in a complex adaptive system: an organization. This new view, different from the traditional view held by industry leaders and executives, has been strongly influenced and supported by the Cynefin Framework.
Join us for a thought-provoking webinar on Cynefin and Safety. Pioneering safety experts, also experts in the Framework, will share their insights and experience and present new ways of working in a broad range of safety environments. Michael Cheveldave of Cognitive Edge hosts this panel conversation. You will learn how executives can use the Cynefin Framework to see new possibilities for designing and improving safety in companies.
Webinar videos will be posted as soon as they are available.
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Using Storytelling as a Leadership tool
Safeopedia webinar
2020-10-06
A panel discussion on how to leverage storytelling in our leadership and management practices.
Click here to read additonal comments on LinkedIn.
The HOP Nerd – Ep. 87 with Gary Wong
Podcast
2020 Aug 10
A 1-hour discussion with Sam Goodman, The HOP Nerd, about Complexity, Cognitive Science, Behaviour Economics, stories, rituals, myths, legends, and, of course, HOP principles.
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-hop-nerd/the-hop-nerd-ep-87-with-gary-wong/
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The Paradox of Safety
Safeopedia webinar
2020-07-02
A panel discussion explores an interesting safety conundrum: If absolutes and certainty are necessary conditions for safety, how do we sustain safety or even a sense of it, in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world? How do we explain the paradox inherent in our need of challenge and uncertainty (“unsafety”) to draw on and strengthen resilience?
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Virtual Agile Meetup Regina
Mapping Narratives to measure agile Wellbeing
2020 June 23 4:30 pm CST
The COVID-19 message is clear: Stay safe, stay healthy, stay calm. Sounds like common sense. But is it common practice? Working at home has made it difficult to sense how employees are coping with the added stress & anxiety of the pandemic crisis. Are people feeling threatened or thriving with new opportunities to learn and introduce bold ideas? How desirable is the need for stability and getting “back to normal”? How strong is the agile mindset to explore a “new normalcy”?
Fortunately physical distancing doesn’t mean social disconnecting. An argument can be made that the novel worldwide pandemic has led to humans being more connected than ever before. Gary will share his experiences with a unique and responsive tool that gathers people’s narratives and helps leaders understand how people feel about the wellbeing of the organization. Data collected 24/7 provides a big-picture overview of wellbeing patterns in an organization with context. Decision-makers wishing to navigate towards a fuzzy “new normalcy” are informed by real-time dashboard maps using the authentic voices of an engaged workforce.
Click here to download the webinar slides.
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Why Industrial Safety is what it is today
Webinar
Hugo Ribeiro – Segurança Diferente
2020 June 05
In this video I talked with Gary Wong about a little bit of the history of the evolution of safety visions including new ones, especially Complex Adaptive Systems and (HOP) Human and Organisational Performance, and how it changed the view of human error in safety.
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Hindsight 2020: How to look forward in a time of crisis
Webinar
Southpac International
2020 May 21 12-1pm AEST
The COVID-19 messaging has been strong: be safe, be healthy, be calm.
How can you translate this language to reshape your organisation? f you want to engage with your workforce, how do you do it?
In this webinar, Gary shared a practical method for swift organizational learning with your people to map and monitor emergent properties.
Three key questions that were addressed:
1. Where are you and your people today?
2. What direction are you heading?
3. How will you make it so?
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Untapped Goldmines interview
2020 April 26
Fun chat with Cijaye Depradine exploring three untapped goldmines:
- Homo Narrans: Humans are storytellers.
- Homo Fabers: Humans are tool makers.
- Home Ludens: Humans are game players.
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Complexity, Chaos, and COVID-19
A Raven Conversation webinar
Cognitive Edge
2020 Apr 16
This was a virtual version of Dave Snowden’s Tricopticon method. The process works broadly as follows:
(1) Academics have a conversation about a particular topic, with selected practitioners (Ravens) listening in on their conversation. The topic was Applying Cynefin & Complexity Thinking to navigate the COVID-19 crisis.
(2) The Ravens then come together to reflect on what they heard and how they might apply the thinking, with the academics listening in.
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A Paradigm Shift for Naval Safety
2020 Mar 19
Zoom presentation co-delivered with Brian (Ponch) Rivera to the US Federal Goverment Complexity Community of Learning and Practice (CCOLP). Click here to download the slides.
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Adaptive Safety 1-day Workshop
Auckland, NZ
2019 Nov 11
Objectives:
• Determine an appropriate safety strategy for your business
• Shape your safety culture to create resilience and increase wellbeing
• Understand how to lead and Govern for adaptive safety
Work-as-Imagined does not always match Work-as-Done. When facing an unexpected change, people will adapt their actions accordingly. In most cases, adjustments will enable safety to emerge. However, it’s also possible that we may inadvertently create danger. If a tipping point is reached, then a negative consequence is almost guaranteed.
We will discuss how to use your workers to detect hidden tipping point signals and anticipate accumulating danger.
We will use examples to show how groups of workers can be used to formulate innovative, effective and pragmatic safety solutions.
We will provide information and examples on how to lead and govern to create adaptive safety.
Participants will receive a free copy of the Adaptive Safety workbook. A reference guide to creating and leading an Adaptive Safety system.
This workshop was hosted by Cornwall Strategic.
Click here to download the workshop slides.
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Adaptive Safety 2-day Workshop
Brisbane, AUS
2019 Nov 06 & -07
This 2-day Masterclass presents a different yet pragmatic perspective. A complexity-based approach recognizes Safety is not something created but is an emergent property of a complex adaptive system.
Work-as-Imagined does not always match Work-as-Done due to variances in actual working conditions. When facing an unexpected change, people will adapt their actions accordingly. In most cases,
adjustments will enable Safety to emerge. However, it’s also possible that Danger may inadvertently emerge. If a tipping point is reached, then a negative consequence happens. An anthro-complexity approach uses the power of narrative to detect hidden tipping point signals and anticipate accumulating danger. Underlying patterns in narratives can be analyzed to understand how system constraints impact C-suite to Front-liner behaviours but more importantly, attitudes. Narratives (stories, voice recordings, photos) can be collected as data for a one-time project. A strategic application is a continuous flow or pulse which creates a powerful 24/7/365 human sensor network. Safety culture can be defined as the emergent set of stories acted out everyday. By experimenting with constraint changes, we can influence complex relationships and interactions resulting in “more stories like these, fewer like those.” A real-time digital dashboard monitors the human sensor network and thus the evolution of the safety culture.
This workshop was presented as a Southpac HOP|LAB Masterclass
Click here for the workshop slides in Downloads.
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Stratflow Mining Differently 1-day Workshop
Brisbane, AUS 2019 Nov 08
Hendrik Lourens will share an alternate to traditional ways of working that can increase productivity and profit, as it has in over 90 mine interventions worldwide. Our 29 August Webinar dealt with this topic in detail. It provides Stability that frees up resources and time for management to pursue Agility: Stability+Agility. Gary Wong will explain how Agility can be achieved – the ability to renew, adapt, and change quickly in an uncertain and turbulent environment. This is essential when dealing with the complex subjects of Social License and Safety.
Workshop Outcomes
- Appreciate why the mining industry today operates the way it does
- Understand how the Theory of Constraints can achieve stability in mining operations
- See why dealing with Social Licence to operate and Safety requires Agility thinking and stability
- Learn how to use stories to shape the culture of mining operations
- How to choose a mining strategy appropriate for today
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Stratflow Mining Differently Webinar
2019 Sep 25
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Cynefin™ Practitioner Foundations
Vancouver, Canada
2019 June 24 & 25
Description
- In today’s increasingly volatile and uncertain world, there is a need for more effective ways of making sense of situations and managing in new and rapidly shifting contexts. Our past practices and approaches are failing us and what had worked reliably during more stable times is, unfortunately, proving inadequate for the dynamic present. This course introduces new practices and approaches that effectively integrate agility, resilience, and innovation in organisations for managing under conditions of uncertainty.
This 2-day course is a compliment and accompaniment to our Online Cynefin™ Foundations training – providing a blended learning experience. This Cynefin™ Practitioner Foundations training session will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about the application of the Cynefin™ framework, and how to put foundational Cognitive Edge facilitation methods to practice in organizations. You will experience workshop methods facilitated by practitioner instructors experienced in harnessing the ideas and activities covered in the online Cynefin™ Foundations course. Access to the online Cynefin™ Foundations course is included with your fee to this course adding to your learning opportunity.
Through this in-person session, you will develop hands-on experience in thinking through Cynefin applications –
(1) for organisational change and transformation,
(2) to improve decision-making, and
(3) to create conditions for innovation, organisational resilience, and leadership effectiveness.
In-person practitioner training courses offer an enhanced interactive and embodied learning environment, where a cohort of attendees with diverse backgrounds, embark on a learning journey about how to apply Cynefin™ and related methods across a range of applications.
What we will cover
This has been designed as a 2-day session – a combination of deep immersion into the fundamentals of working in complexity, and with the Cynefin framework. This will be substantiated by lots of hands-on methods-based activities, and group-based discussions.
The session will begin with an introduction to complexity, and the natural and human science that sits behind the naturalising tradition in sense-making. Discover and manage the evolutionary potential of the present by increasing situational awareness of the types of systems that we sit within, and how to modulate within complex systems.
The Cynefin framework has subtleties and nuances which are not easily accessible to the casual reader. Building on the basics outlined in the Harvard Business Review article, this 2-day session will help you dig deeper into the uses of the framework, accompanied by facilitated workshop activities and tools that have been used in organisations as diverse as the European Commission, multinational telecoms companies and R&D departments of FMCG companies to bring diverse teams together in pursuit of corporate objectives.
Safety Differently: Evolution of Safety Thinking
Langley BC
2019 May 08
Sponsored by: CSSE (Canadian Society of Safety Engineering), Fraser Valley chapter
Navigating Complexity
Cork, Ireland
2019 March 14
Location
Cork International Airport Hotel
Lehenagh More
Cork Airport Business Park
T12 H516 Cork
Ireland
Description
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
A complex adaptive system (CAS) recognizes real-world phenomena that linear systems ignore such as emergence, diversity, tipping points, feedback loops, self-organisation, and irreversibility. Furthermore, the holistic view addresses the surprise emergence of failure as well as serendipity.
All industries, governments, cities, and countries are complex adaptive systems. Resolving complex issues means going beyond reductionism and evolving to paradigms based on complexity and cognitive sciences. In a CAS, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
One pragmatic way to make sense of CAS behaviour is the Cynefin Framework. When dealing with turbulence, confusion, dilemmas, and ambiguity, resilient methods and tools are preferred over command and control techniques such as policies, regulations, standards, and hard-fast rules.
The key take-away is understanding why you cannot manage, reduce, simplify, nor control complexity; you must navigate through it.
OBJECTIVES
After this thought provoking but pragmatic workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the difference between idealistic and naturalistic planning.
- Explain why in a non-linear world major catastrophes called Black Swans will happen more frequently.
- Know when predicting the future is worthwhile and when it can be a waste of time.
- Decide when to deploy and not to deploy best practices, a business case, or metrics.
- Describe why gathering data using stories is better than traditional surveys and interviews.
- Deal with unknowables and unimaginables that emerge on projects.
PRESENTERS
Gary Wong is a Canadian professional engineer with a Masters of Business Adminstration degree. He has over 45 years of experience which began in the electric utility industry working in engineering, line operations, corporate consulting and training roles. He later joined Ernst & Young Consulting (now Capgemini Consulting) as a Senior Manager in Strategy & Transformation. Gary has operated his own independent consulting practice over the past decade focusing on complexity thinking and safety. He is a Cynefin Associate with Cognitive-Edge Inc. and has co-authored and delivers complexity courses and workshops. Other notable certifications include a FranklinCovey 7 Habits trainer and an Edward de Bono Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking instructor.
Marion Kiely is a Health & Safety consultant specialising in the area of anthro-complexity. She worked at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for over 15 years, where she led a very successful safety program. In 2012 she attended a masterclass in Human Factors and Safety with Prof Sidney Dekker who introduced her to Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framework and complexity theory, and ever since she has been pursuing more knowledge in this area and applying it to the safety field. She founded Upstream in 2016, to help clients navigate complex challenges in relation to safety, and is a member of the Cognitive Edge Practitioner network. She also lectures in University College Cork.
Navigating Complexity Webinar
2018 November 22
Sponsored by: EGBC (Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
Complexity is all around us and growing. Are you faced with problems that keep you awake at night? Are you surprised by unintended negative consequences that suddenly emerge? Are you frustrated because new situations arise that were not considered in your initial design? These are examples of what complexity feels like.
Seminar Description
No longer can engineers and geoscientists simply rely on a reductionist approach to resolve problems. Planning, strategy development, and project management demand a different perspective that requires a basic understanding of complexity science. You cannot manage, simplify, nor control complexity; you must absorb and navigate through it.
This webinar is a high level overview of the currently offered series of in-person complexity science sessions.
Because all industries are complex adaptive systems (CAS), a more complete view of the non-linear real world is necessary. Complex problem-solving addresses phenomena such as tipping points, Butterfly effects, Black Swans and leveraging less heard terms such as abductive reasoning, exaptation, heuristics.
The conventional strategy when implementing change is to invest heavily in an idealistic future state and faithfully work hard to realize. However, if the Future is uncertain with unknown unknowns, the preferred action is to make sense of and influence the evolutionary potential of the Present.
In a complexity paradigm Safety is perceived as something not created but as an emergent property of a complex adaptive system. Your focus can then expand from rules-based compliance to raising awareness of hidden tipping point signals and how alert humans sense pending danger.
Registrants will have the opportunity to help shape the content of future workshops.
Safety Differently: The Future of Safety
Vancouver BC
2018 April 25
Sponsored by: BCCGA (BC Common Ground Alliance)
Click here for blog posting and here to download slide presentation.
Navigating Complexity:
Implementing Change during Unpredictable Times
Vancouver BC
2018 April 04
Sponsored by: EGBC (Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
Change transformations are characterized as being top-driven, aggressive, and hugely disruptive. Numerous surveys cite around 70% is the likely rate of failure for these kinds of programs. While it’s easy to blame people resisting change, we put the fault on the approach taken. This session will present an evolutionary rather than a transformational approach to implementing change. This alternative recognizes real world complexity, unexpected variations in working conditions, and deploys a model that focuses on building resilience and sustainability.
Learning Objectives
After the webinar overview, participants will be able to answer:
- Why are we evolving into the Age of Cognitive Complexity?
- What are the approaches one can take when dealing with Complexity?
- What properties of a Complex Adaptive System does linear reductionist thinking not address?
- Why in the non-linear world will major catastrophes happen more frequently?
- What is the Cynefin Framework?
- When operating in an unpredictable work environment, what change strategy should be used?
- How are Storytelling, Data Visualization, and Nudging used to make sense of complexity and act on it?
- How might a complexity-based approach to Safety improve how we carry out our EGBC Code of Ethics obligations?
Seminar Description
There are many models available to those looking to implement change within their organization. Several view organizations as a machine and its people as components. These models outline a linear staged-process: evaluate readiness, design a strategy, develop a plan, execute the plan, close the project. The common beliefs are that idealistic future goals and objectives can be defined, gaps will be closed by changing processes, introducing technology, adjusting worker behaviour, and driving performance using metrics. They assume that the future can be reasonably and rationally predicted.
But what if the change outcome you desire faces complexity in terms of future uncertainty, turbulence, hidden conflicts, deep mistrust? Deploying an inappropriate change method can lead to the emergence of unintended negative consequences and increase the likelihood of change initiative failure. We must appreciate why we cannot ignore, manage, simplify, nor control complexity; rather, our plans need to absorb and navigate through it.
A traditional change initiative typically begins with a big launch and expires when the funding runs out. The evolutionary approach consciously starts small and scales by shaping the organization’s culture.
The prime message in this session on implementing change is to make sense and influence the evolutionary potential of the present rather than invest heavily in a future that one faithfully hopes will materialize.
Learning Objectives
After the session, participants will be able to:
- Understand why different thinking is required in the 21st century.
- Determine what appropriate change strategy to develop, and
- Learn how to use three tools to implement change: narrative inquiry, data visualization and safe-to-fail experiments.
Navigating Complexity: Safety Differently
Vancouver BC
2018 January 25
Sponsored by: EGBC (Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
Industry standards and practices typically evolve based on learnings from failures. “Safety Differently” gives credit to workers for getting things right, which they do most of the time. Safety Differently sees people as the solution and safety as an ethical responsibility. It recognizes safety is not something created, but is an emergent property of a complex adaptive system.
As engineers and geoscientists, we take great pride in following standards and conducting practices that are science-based. Many of us are either directly or indirectly involved with organization safety programs. Industry standards and practices typically evolve based on learnings from failures. Sadly, evolution in the safety industry has been extremely slow and continues to be dominated by century-old paradigms: safety is the absence of negative incidents. Humans are error prone and must be controlled with compliance rules and procedures. If an accident occurs, find the humans to blame and punish through discipline or termination. Now throw in today’s pundits promoting idealistic goals to achieve a zero-harm vision by tying in performance incentives. It is not surprising workers, leads, and supervisors are dazed and confused each time a safety dilemma or paradox arises.
This introductory course presents an innovative yet pragmatic perspective called “Safety Differently”. The view gives credit to workers for getting things right, which they do most of the time. Safety Differently sees people as the solution and safety as an ethical responsibility. It recognizes safety is not something created but is an emergent property of a complex adaptive system. “Work-as-imagined” does not always match “work-as-done” due to variances in actual working conditions. When facing an unexpected change, people will adjust their actions accordingly. In most cases, the adjustment enables safety to emerge. However, it is also possible that danger may inadvertently emerge. If a tipping point is reached, then a negative consequence happens. Safety Differently focuses on hidden non-linear tipping point signals and how alert humans sense pending danger. This offering is part of the complexity science series. A complexity-based approach is applied to safety and to shape an organization’s safety culture.
Learning Objectives
After the session, participants will be able to:
- Appreciate why the safety industry is what it is today.
- Explain why in a non-linear world, major catastrophes will happen more frequently.
- Determine what is an appropriate safety strategy to deploy.
- Understand how to shape an organization’s safety culture
Navigating Complexity:
Implementing Change in Unpredictable Times
Vancouver BC
2017 January 24
Sponsored by: APEGBC (Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
This session will emphasize implementing change is to make sense and influence the evolutionary potential of the Present rather than invest in a Future that one faithfully hopes will materialize. A typical change management project has a starting and an ending point. The evolutionary approach is ongoing and focuses on building sustainability and resilience.
Seminar Description
There are many change models available in the marketplace. The spectrum stretches from the academically researched to experiential “best practices” brands. Some share a common scientific management view of an organization as a machine and its people as components. Many adhere to a linear staged-process: evaluate readiness, design strategy, develop plan, execute plan, close. The common beliefs are that idealistic future goals and objectives can be defined, gaps closed by introducing technology and adjusting worker behaviour, and metrics can drive performance. The future can be reasonably and rationally predicted.
But what if the change outcome you desire faces complexity in terms of confusion, ambiguity, volatility, uncertainty? Deploying an inappropriate change method can lead to the emergence of unintended negative consequences and increase the likelihood of change initiative failure.
This offering is the second in an APEGBC complexity science series. The key take-way in the first session is appreciating why you cannot manage, simplify, nor control complexity; you must absorb and navigate through it.
The prime message in this session on implementing change is to make sense and influence the evolutionary potential of the present rather than invest in a future that one faithfully hopes will materialize. A typical change management project has a starting and an ending point. The evolutionary approach is ongoing and focuses on building sustainability and resilience.
Learning Objectives
After the session, participants will be able to:
Understand why different thinking is required in a complex adaptive system.
Determine what appropriate change strategy to develop.
Learn how to use 3 tools: Narrative Inquiry, Data Visualization and Safe-to-Fail Experiments.
Course Outline:
Why:
The 21st century is different
Age of cognitive complexity, complex adaptive systems.
What:
Evlolving the change practice.
Change management vs. change leadership.
Diagnostic categorization vs. dialogic sense-making.
Waterfall vs. agile planning.
Inductive business case vs. abductive value proposition.
Organizational hierarchy vs. CAS networks.
Disruptive transformation vs. coherent evolution.
How:
Managing the change process.
Cynefin Framework.
Narrative (stories) cf. traditional surveys, interviews.
Visualizing patterns in stories.
Safe-to-fail experimentation.
Heuristics as simple rules to deal with complex situations.
Target Audience
Engineering professionals and associates involved in implementing change or being impacted by a change initiative. No prerequisite required as a basic introduction to complexity science and the Cynefin framework is included.
Recommended: The “Navigating Complexity: Going Beyond Systems Thinking” course provides in-depth discussions on systems thinking vs. complexity thinking, reductionism vs. holism, robustness vs. resilience, knowledge vs. ignorance.
Navigating Complexity:
Going Beyond Systems Thinking
Vancouver BC
2016 September 20
Sponsored by: APEGBC (Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
Navigating Complexity:
Going Beyond Systems Thinking
Vancouver BC
2016 February 16
Sponsored by: APEGBC (Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
EIT Complexity Thinking Workshop
2015 December 1 & 2
What will be your personal legacy?
1. Jump onboard now and start navigating complexity?
2. Procrastinate now and try to catch up later?
3. Crash and burn by carrying on with the status quo?
Post-workshop photos
Storytelling
Sense-making
Cynefin Framework Mapping
Complexity decision-making (535 exercise)
If you would like to arrange a private workshop, contact Gary at GaryWong@gswong.com (604-219-9690).
Navigating Complexity:
Going Beyond Systems Thinking
Vancouver BC
2015 January 15
Sponsored by: APEGBC (Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC)
Time: 8:30 AM-9:00 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM-4:30 PM: Navigating Complexity: Going Beyond Systems Thinking
Location: Vancouver, BC
Presenter: Gary Wong, P.Eng., MBA
If you would like to arrange a private workshop, contact Gary at GaryWong@gswong.com (604-219-9690).
CLRSC Auckland NZ
2014 June 26-17, June 30-July 01
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Post-workshop photos
Complexity Seminar Westport, NZ
2014 June 24
EIT Complexity Thinking Workshop
2014 June 3 & 4
We’ve all seen how a newspaper headline, Twitter comment, YouTube video can go viral within minutes of being published. We’ve also experienced how more and more citizen pressure can quickly lead to a riot and if a new leader emerges, even overturn a government. A tipping point is reached and the existing system goes into temporary chaos. Things eventually settle down as people adapt and a new stable state replaces the old one. This is a phenomenon of Complexity.
Electric utilities like aviation, communication, transportation, healthcare are complex adaptive systems (CAS). We’ve passed the tipping point when BC Hydro could design, build, and operate G, T, & D with little interference. As the next generation of engineers, we need to understand why strategy and execution is different in a CAS and how to deal with unknowables and unimaginables. As an example, no one anticipated a smart meter opt-out program yet we have one.
The course instructor is Gary Wong. In his 27 years at BC Hydro, he helped Hydro employees break away from old paradigms that once worked well but were no longer sufficient. This training will open both our eyes and minds as young engineers in raising situational awareness.
Post-workshop photos
CEATI DALCM Conference
2014 March 26
Post-conference handouts
Presentation summary
Extract – electric utility safety
CLRSC Calgary
2013 December 09-10
Post-workshop photos
