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CHAOS BRINGS UNEASINESS,
BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR
CREATIVITY AND GROWTH
COPING WITH CHAOS
he top-down, hierarchical chaos, chaos can be managed and
IN CONTEXT organization of businesses even embraced. US politician Tom
T dates back to the industrial Barrett acknowedged the value
FOCUS
revolution, when management was of working in an unstable world,
Change and uncertainty
all about control. Today’s companies noting that “chaos brings
KEY DATES need a radically different approach. uneasiness, but it also allows for
1992 M. Mitchell Waldrop The first decade of the 21st creativity and growth.”
writes Complexity, which century saw many disruptive events
explains the theory of the across the world. These, combined Managing chaos
science of complex systems. with accelerated technological Scientific chaos theory, which
developments, the rise of developing investigates the patterns in complex
1997 Researcher Shona Brown nations, and a changing world systems such as the weather,
says that the edge of chaos order, make living with uncertainty can be related to organizations.
has a structure that allows a reality for business today. This Effective leadership, clear vision,
companies to be malleable means that companies now need open communication, and strong
enough to change but not a flatter structure, incorporating values are necessary to deal with
fall apart. flexibility instead of direct control. such complexity. Leaders need to
Rather than being overwhelmed by set clear boundaries, then allow
1999 In Surfing the Edge of
individuals and teams enough space
Chaos, Richard Pascale, Mark
to self-organize, self-regulate, and
Millemann, and Linda Gioja say
make their own decisions. Creativity
a too-rigid management system
and growth are enabled because
can have nothing original or
employees have a higher level of
innovative emerge from it.
responsibility and accountability
2000 The dot-com bubble for their work, as well as a bigger
bursts, causing turmoil in investment in the outcome.
financial markets. A company also has to revisit
its strategy continually, with the
September 2001 The 9/11
focus on delivering increased value
terror attacks in the US have to the customer, to ensure that it
far-reaching financial and Chaos theory proposes that complex remains relevant in the changing
systems are highly sensitive to initial
business impacts around external environment. A more
conditions. A butterfly’s flapping wings
the world. in Japan might start a chain of reactions flexible company helps to ensure
that leads to a hurricane in the US. that staff is involved and can adapt
