A workshop for thinking well, together, about building intelligent systems.
Why this workshop matters
We are conditioned to think linearly. Linear thinking is so ubiquitous, many of us don’t recognize it as one type of thinking. We think of it as, simply, thinking.
Linear thinking enables us to design, build and deploy software. But what happens as complexity increases – as we move from software to systems (of software)? Linear approaches can’t deliver systems. For systems, we need to think (and act) nonlinearly.
Nonlinear thinking is also called systems thinking, strategic thinking, pattern thinking, parallel thinking, systemic reasoning and other names. Though we may be brilliant software developers, architects or strategic leaders, when it comes to nonlinear thinking, we are blocked by two obstacles:
One: We are spectacularly terrible at nonlinear thinking.
Two: We don’t know that we are terrible at it. In fact, the worse we are at nonlinear thinking, the more believe we are good at it!
In this workshop, we explore practices for skillfully and consistently cultivating nonlinear thinking and approaches. These are the key to creating conceptual integrity.
Conceptual integrity is the most important consideration in systems design.
Hands-on exercises to think better, together, in the midst of uncertainty