Ep. 79: Dave Snowden, how to make sense of a complex world?

Leaders Talk - Better Leadership. Better Organizations. Better World

Our guest today is the methodologist and the creator of the Cynefin Framework, Dave Snowden. He is renowned for his work addressing complex situations in strategy and organizational decision-making across government and industry, pioneering a science-based approach that draws on anthropology, biology, neuroscience, and complex adaptive systems theory.

In this podcast, Karsten discusses with him the origin of the Cynefin Framework. They also talk about the aspects of entanglement and the metaphor of an estuary which is supposed to help understand it. He explains how sense-making works in organizational settings as well as in peace negotiations in Colombia and discusses the limitations of traditional system thinking. He also explains how actions can be derived from his theories, what "North Atlantic Thinking" is, that Wales is really a matriarchy, and how Caravaggio's paintings have inspired his thinking.

Time schedule of the interview:

- Dave is introducing himself (2:20)

- He explains how he works on his projects (3:10)

- Dave Snowden explains “The Sense Maker” (24:50)

- He talks about how to put his theory into actions (35:45)

- He tells us about the future (56:55)

Further Links:

https://thecynefin.co/team/dave-snowden/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-snowden-2a93b/?originalSubdomain=uk

https://twitter.com/snowded?lang=de

What are your reflections? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. If you have suggestions for inspiring guests at Leaders Talk, feel free to email us at ⁠[e-mail]⁠.

Guest: Dave Snowden

Moderation: Karsten Drath 

Production & Editing: Lara Boewing, Daniela Magnani Hüller & Hannah Jandl

Research & Preparation: Lena Wokurka & Antonia Kaiser