Here Be Dragons

A systems studio for navigating complex challenges in turbulent times.

Coming again in 2023…

These are strange and dangerous times.

It has become almost clichéd to speak about the four apocalyptic VUCA horsemen – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – that shape the leadership, innovation and decision-making terrain of the 21st century. And yet organizations of every kind seem to flounder in such terrain while leaders in all domains seem woefully un-ripened and unprepared for the growing complexity that characterizes the 21st century.

Established institutions, stories and systems of all kinds are unravelling before our eyes and our efforts to fix them seem to be causing a host of new and unanticipated challenges. At the same time, exciting new patterns and possibilities are emerging before our eyes. Many find themselves at the edge of the map.

The Invitation.

Join us for a social innovation intensive.

Social innovation does not simply offer new solutions to entrenched social challenges. It seeks to transform the complex and largely invisible web of systemic relationships that keep generating such challenges. It draws from multiple disciplines and offers powerful tools, perspectives and models for people trying to make a meaningful difference in their world.

What does that really mean in practice? According to noted Canadian scholar Frances Westley, a social innovation is any initiative – a product, process, program, project, or platform - that challenges and, over time, contributes to changing the defining routines, resource and authority flows or beliefs of the broader social system in which it is introduced. It shifts the dynamics of the system.

Part training course, part action inquiry and part retreat, Here Be Dragons is intended to help you and your team use the tools and insights from this approach to move your work forward in a practical way. It’s one thing to read about systems and complexity. But it’s hard to put into practice. Here Be Dragons is about moving from insight to action.

Here’s How It Works.

You apply as a team already working on a shared challenge.

Overwhelm, recent failure and doubt would all be good ways to arrive. Your curiosity and collective commitment will be more useful than your certainties.

You will be invited to explore your challenge through a range of models and tools to generate new perspectives and possibilities. It will be intense. There may be some perspectival stretching. Some aha moments. Some drinking from fire hydrants. For sure there will be a lot of laughter.

There will also be an invitation to deeper reflection. Systems entrepreneurship has both inner and outer dimensions and a social innovator’s awareness of their innermost selves is a critical variable in their capacity to effectively foster change within complex systems. Self and system are not separate.

Who Can Apply?

We invite applications from any group working to address a complex challenge.

What do we mean by complex challenge? It’s a ‘wicked problem’ of some kind that arises from deeply entangled systemic variables and it’s resistant to simplistic solutions. Whatever it is, you seek to influence it in a way that leads to beneficial outcomes.

A “group” could all be from the same organization or a blend of internal and external stakeholders and partners. It could come from any level of government, non-profit, business, community or philanthropic sectors. It could be a blend of all five. We particularly welcome applications from groups who are:

Aspirational. You are trying to make the world a better place.
Committed. You are serious about making a difference.
Open. You are willing to look at your issue with fresh eyes.
Connected. You have meaningful connections to the issue you seek to influence.
Diverse. You embrace genuine diversity and are open to working respectfully across boundaries of difference.

Outcomes.

You will develop a practical fluency around the language and core concepts of complexity, resilience, social innovation and systems change.
You will experiment with some different tools and processes to visualize the key dynamics and potential leverage points within the systems you seek to impact.
You will learn to design and implement systems intervention strategies.
You will explore some specific capabilities and metaskills required for influence in complex environments along with the practices required to cultivate them.
You will cultivate greater self-awareness around your own tacit assumptions, mindsets, meaning-making structures and conceptual scaffolding and the ways these impact your capacity for skillful action – both individually and as a group.
You will meet some really interesting fellow travellers and may build some valuable new connections.
You will have figured it all out! Maybe not, but we hope that you will leave with a sense of excitement and momentum along with some realistic ways to move your initiative forward.