Classify a workplace disruption by domain before choosing an adaptive response.
Cynefin is a diagnostic lens for uncertainty. It prevents the common adaptability error of using the same management reflex for every surprise. Obvious work is ordered and repeatable: apply the known rule. Complicated work is ordered but not simple: bring expertise, compare evidence, and decide. Complex work is not yet predictable: run small probes, amplify what works, dampen what does not. Chaotic work is unstable: act first to create enough order that sensing becomes possible. The practical question is not "What do we prefer?" It is "What kind of causality do we have right now?" If the relationship between action…
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