A navigation map for working in complexity
Overview
Organisations operating in complex environments face a recurring problem:
- too much information
- too many perspectives
- too much pressure to simplify
In response, many adopt frameworks that promise clarity—often reducing complex situations to a single page.
This creates an illusion of understanding.
In reality, effective action in complexity requires something different:
a way to make sense of reality, engage people, and act coherently over time
This Source Note introduces a simple structure for doing that:
The Structured Sensemaking System
The Three Layers
The system operates across three interconnected layers:
- Pattern — how we make sense
- Capability — how we perceive and engage
- Practice — how we act
Each layer is necessary. None is sufficient on its own.
1. Pattern — Structured Sensemaking Cycle
At the core is a simple but powerful pattern:
a continuous movement between reality, aspiration, importance, and constraint
It can be expressed as four questions:
- What is happening? (Current Reality)
- What should be happening? (Desired Outcome)
- What matters? (System Importance)
- What must be faced? (Constraints)
This is not a linear process.
It is a cycle:
- actions change reality
- new reality requires re-sensemaking
Understanding emerges through this loop, not from a single pass.
2. Capability — Depth and Scale
Applying the pattern requires human capability.
Two complementary capabilities are needed:
Depth of Attention
Developed through approaches such as Theory U
- suspending judgement
- recognising assumptions
- sensing the system as a whole
This enables people to see more clearly.
Scale of Interaction
Developed through structured stakeholder engagement
- engaging many voices quickly
- exposing multiple perspectives
- identifying patterns and tensions
This enables organisations to see broadly.
Together
Depth without scale → insight that doesn’t spread
Scale without depth → noise without understanding
Adaptive capacity requires both.
3. Practice — Gemba-Anchored Protocol
Capability must translate into action.
This is achieved through a disciplined, repeatable practice:
PASS 1 — Sense the System
- surface reality, aspiration, and importance
- reveal tensions and contradictions
- generate raw insight
PASS 2 — Define Direction
- describe what “better” looks like
- identify structural shifts
- make trade-offs visible
PASS 3 — Return with Consequence
- test outcomes against reality
- expose accountability
- surface ethical implications
This is not a linear process.
It is a learning loop grounded in real work.
The Antipattern — The One-Page Trap
A common failure mode emerges when this system is bypassed.
complex, adaptive challenges are compressed into a single, static representation
This creates:
- apparent clarity
- superficial alignment
- hidden assumptions
- suppressed conflict
The result is a plan that fails under real conditions.
Clarity achieved by removing complexity is not understanding.
How the System Works Together
- The Pattern guides thinking
- The Capability enables perception
- The Practice delivers action
Remove any one:
- Pattern alone becomes abstraction
- Capability alone does not scale
- Practice alone becomes mechanical
Together, they form a coherent system for learning and action.
What This Is (and Is Not)
This is not:
- a single framework
- a one-page solution
- a prescriptive method
It is:
a navigation map for working in complexity
Core Insight
Understanding does not come from simplification.
It emerges through structured sensemaking,
human capability,
and disciplined practice over time.
Where to Next
Each element of this system is explored in more detail:
- Structured Sensemaking Cycle → how thinking is structured
- Stakeholder Engagement & Theory U → how people perceive and interact
- Stakeholder & Consequence Mapping → how work is done in practice