SYSTEMS THEORY IN PRACTICE

An organization cannot be aware of and absorb everything that happens around it. It must inevitably select. To this end, organizations automatically form observation and evaluation patterns that structure and organize their perception based on organization-specific criteria. As a rule, however, these patterns are only implicitly present, so that the processes of differentiation run unconsciously. It follows from this: “Organizations only see what they see. They do not see what they do not see.”

This involves a dangerous process of self-affirmation.

On the one hand, what worked well in the past is repeated. Successful patterns of explanation and interpretation are maintained and increasingly grow into basic convictions that can hardly be disrupted – regardless of whether the environment now requires other criteria.

On the other hand, deviating observations are usually not perceived as such and are “reinterpreted” until they fit into the usual scheme. Instead of considering them as a signal for change, they are adapted to what is familiar.

In other words, organizations only notice what is already on their radar screen – until, at some point, the so-called “black swan” appears: an event that was considered unrealistic or even impossible until it occurred, thus forcing the organization to become aware of its blind spots.

For you, this means: Remember that you don’t see everything – and most likely you won’t see that there is something you don’t see. You also have blind spots.

Another measure that counteracts blind spots is the so-called second-order observation. Regularly take a meta-perspective and reflect on how you observe and evaluate your organization’s actions and ways of working as well as developments in your environment and how your organization makes distinctions.

How these patterns are designed in each case depends very much on the respective organization, as they are largely determined by the identity and the self-understanding of the goals and purpose of the organization. A hospital, for example, considers completely different information to be relevant than a bank does and therefore works with completely different distinctions and criteria.

One example of how observation and evaluation patterns change over time is ecological issues. Since public sensitivity and consumer behavior have changed and the environmental awareness of a company has an impact on its image and environmental damage can mean financial disadvantages, corresponding criteria are increasingly being taken into account in decision-making.

Therefore, you should regularly review the criteria that usually remain invisible in day-to-day operations and explicitly define the implicit observation and evaluation patterns of your organization as well as your own:

Check which distinctions you use in information gathering.

However, if assumptions have been made about the future it is important to keep a constant eye on current developments and to integrate new observations and gained knowledge into existing processes. The uncertainty on all sides requires agile work with small steps, regular coordination, and reflection. Such a foresighted way of working can save a lot of time, especially in case of a crisis.

The targeted injection of impulses causes irritation, opens up new spaces for thinking, and illuminates blind spots. Generating such variation in a targeted manner ensures that the organization has options for action. It gives the organization the security of having more options than it can utilize – after all, if a chosen path has to be abandoned, new ones are already available.

Organizations tend to hold on to the tried and tested and neglect the new and unknown. Therefore, the process of selection is a very demanding one, which has to be accompanied by managers and organized in a smart way. Both critically reflective observation and evaluation patterns as well as interdisciplinary and cross-hierarchical decision-making bodies help to make the new possible in the selection process.

Once a decision has been made, the realization or implementation can start. Until the end, organizations can defend themselves against the new and try to preserve established routines for better or worse. This is where learning architectures are needed that interlock organizational and personal learning and take into account the non-triviality of organizations.

While the uncertainty about the future, dynamic developments, and the lack of predictability are often lamented, this uncertainty is in fact the basic prerequisite for entrepreneurial action.

Imagine if you knew exactly how markets, social needs, and customer behavior would develop in the coming months and years – sounds tempting? Now imagine that all your competitors have access to the same information. How do you gain another competitive advantage? How do you stand out from the competition?

Only the fact that all this information is not available with certainty, but that decisions are made based on assumptions, makes it possible to recognize trends and developments before anyone else. Success comes to those who discover needs and problems in the market or in society for which there are currently no good solutions, and find smart answers to them.

Consider uncertainty as a source of entrepreneurial activity and as an opportunity to actively shape your environment through innovative and surprising solutions.