As part of our new organizational structure and patterns of working together, Plexus encourages network members to be Catalysts for new project ideas and to bring Plexus services and products into client systems. Plexus Catalyst and Plexus Institute Board Member, Marc Narkus-Kramer is launching a collaborative book project that shares case examples and stories to expand the body of knowledge of integrated outcome management and complexity theory practices. Do you have examples or projects that could be used to demonstrate how complexity and traditional approaches successfully addressed “localized” problems? Are you interested in ways to apply and adapt these approaches to
Find out more »Awareness of the principles of complexity continues to be both a boon and a problem for many scientific disciplines, resulting in intense discussions about how best to integrate this method of scientific discovery with established practices. The major divisions in the development and application of “complexity informed” models and tools have been between the legitimacy of mathematics versus conceptual models both for discovery and proof. This divergence of approaches in clearly evident in the field of healthcare; mathematics is firmly holding sway on the side of disease and infirmity with a predominantly conceptual approach on the organizational side of health
Find out more »Do you believe that you will be an employee from graduation until retirement? Do you know what it means to be employed? The changes in the conditions and patterns of employment are shifting so rapidly that it is virtually impossible to plan for your entire work-life. The speed of automation and robotization indicates that many jobs (blue-collar and white-collar) will disappear. In fact, that is happening now with many jobs reaching their expiration date! Many experts contend that the lifespan of companies is also shifting, leaving employees and clients the need to learn how to continually adapt. It is time
Find out more »The curious art of visual communication + facilitation, a 2 day training February 24 + 25, 2018 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Explore your current challenges and opportunities in a powerfully different way with visual communication + facilitation. This workshop guides participants in building techniques for both seeing the big picture and each individual frame at the same time. Workshop guide, Amanda Lyons has created an immersive experience that builds new skills for integrating visual facilitation into your work environment for enhanced engagement and effectiveness.
Find out more »In FEBRUARY join Yes and… Philly and Elsevier for an evening of hands-on practice with creative facilitation techniques and Liberating Structures. We’ll try out 3-4 game-like activities that introduce essential principles of creativity, collaboration and complexity. You’ll leave with skills you can use at your next meeting or project kickoff to help facilitate communication, ideation and decision making. WHEN: Thursday, February 27, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm WHERE: Elsevier, 1600 John F Kennedy Blvd, Suite 1800, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Mandatory RSVP: via eventbrite to let us know you’ll be coming! https://yes-and-philly-february2018-center-city-edition.eventbrite.com
Find out more »How does AI bring a new strategic advantage when addressing complex social and organizational problems? This question is increasingly front and center when considering the what, why, and how for using AI in organizational strategy, planning, engagement, and change initiatives. During this conversation, Steve will share lessons learned, use cases, and more for how to better understand and use AI within projects and organizations. Steve Ardire advises numerous AI startups by interrogating reality to shape serendipity to connect and illuminate the dots that matter (aka The Merchant of Light). He's an active speaker at AI events and for more insights,
Find out more »Complexity thinking shifts both the understanding and the practice of Outcome Management. Plexus Catalyst Marc Narkus-Kramer has been developing a project to expand the body of knowledge of integrated outcome management and complexity theory practices. This Pop-Up Conversation continues the discussion on how to apply and adapt an interdisciplinary approach to larger scale complex problems. By sharing stories and examples of projects that demonstrate how complexity and traditional approaches successfully addressed “localized” problems, a new integrated model can be explored. Monday, March 19, 2018 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET Join the conversation on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/168584337
Find out more »Seeing systems, diagramming systems, and drawing systems: What would that look like? Plexus Catalysts Amanda Lyons and Barb Siegel have been grappling with the idea that diagramming and drawing systems have two different purposes. A diagram is an attempt to see the system as a whole and identify relationships. But drawing a system perhaps has a different purpose. When working as graphic facilitators both Catalysts find that revealing emotions can be more valuable than diagramming or capturing basic facts. A diagram often fails to capture the complexity of human connections. Barb and Amanda will explore elements of systems and complexity
Find out more »How can a mother feel a drug is more important than her baby? That question has perplexed policy makers, anguished families, and tormented women facing the complex challenges of addiction, recovery and childcare. Nancy E. Suchman, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine is working on answering that question and helping mothers coping with addiction and caring for their children. She is pioneering a program called "Mothering from the Inside Out," (MIO), now underway at Yale as part of NIH-funded research.Mothers in recovery learn to use mentalization in managing their own emotions and tending the emotional and
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