Embrace your Journey #18

"The future can't be predicted, but it can be envisioned and brought lovingly into being. Systems can't be controlled, but they can be designed and redesigned. We can't surge forward with certainty into a world of no surprises, but we can expect surprises and learn from them and even profit from them. We can't impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone. We can't control systems or figure them out. But we can dance with them!" —?Donella H. Meadows*

Welcome to a New Year! So good to have a new beginning! This was the theme of a PechaKucha event I spoke at last week (we will post the recording once its available) and my inspiration for this newsletter.

Yes, the world is complex and the level of uncertainty and unforeseen, unthinkable change is much higher these days. Many are already saying that managing in the unknown has become a characteristic of leadership.

Systems thinkers, such as the late Donella (Dana) Meadows, whom I lovingly quote in this edition, have said all along that "we can't control systems", "but we can dance with them!" What an invitation!

At the dawn of a new cycle, how about being aware of this dance, feeling more comfortable with it, getting better at it, and getting to enjoy it? Here is what Dana says on page 169 of her book "Thinking in Systems":

As I shared live at me talk, I truly believe we have "super powers" that we can develop and apply to our life and work, consciously helping bring forth the world as a better place. Each of us is a unique individual with unique talents that combined can lead to so much good transformation if you so intend to! Again according to Dana:

As the year unfolds, I wish you stay curious to learn and apply your powers of an inherently creative being, as Fritjof Capra**, whom you will have a chance to listen to below, reminds us of. Yes, it sometimes is a matter of remembering, of searching within and allowing it to emerge! If it does not come so easy for you, hang in there and don't give up!

Just sit back and allow yourself to reflect upon the concepts we will share with you today. Let us know your questions, concerns, and insights as we interact here and directly at Briyah.

Cheers & Happy 2022!!!

Adriana Machado

Founder at Briyah Institute

Innovation may inspire new beginnings! It may also be the key to creating a path to prosperity. Did you know that we live a prosperity paradox in the world, where the prosperous gets more prosperous and the gap between the most prosperous and least prosperous has been increasing consistently?

This concept is well explained in the book The Prosperity Paradox: How innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty , by the late Prof. Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo*** and Karen Dillon. They say the answer is to focus on one kind of innovation called market-creating innovation!

You may listen to Efosa Ojomo in a recent interview to TED Business entitled "To end poverty, cultivate innovation" , or watch his 2019 TED Talk here:

After you have watched it, how about reflecting upon other kinds of market-creating innovation (MCI) you know of and how it is driving positive impact? Not sure where to look for more insights? Check the Christensen Institute for more examples of MCI and The Legatum Institute for their Prosperity index and definition of prosperity:

Remember that "innovation is a relational dynamic", according to the late Humberto Maturana****, so keep interacting!

Are you aware of how you make decisions? Are you making them from a place of trust or of fear? Did you know that a trust-based environment is more conducive to creativity and that a fear-based type of thinking may lead to confusion and more of a reactive mode?

Awareness may come from knowing what to look out for and practicing it. So take advantage of these and other great leadership lessons at your fingertips by watching the conversation between Jane Cull, a renowned author and speaker in the sustainability and circular economy space, and Briyah Institute Founder Adriana Machado.

Ready to practice making decisions from a place of trust and unleashing your true powers? Here are a few more resources to inspire you.

Donella Meadows* explains in her book Thinking in Systems that "systems purposes need not be human purposes and are not necessarily those intended by any single actor within a system. In fact, one of the most frustrating aspects of systems is that the purposes of subunits may add up to an overall behavior that no one wants."

She also explains that "a change in purpose changes a system profoundly, even if every element and interconnection remains the same". So how about being more clear about the purpose behind decisions in different dimensions?

Speaking of dimensions, here is a good approach to integrate life's biological, cognitive, social and ecological dimensions called "The Systems View of Life" by Fritjof Capra**. Take a look at how he defines the world as "an interconnected network of relationships" and start appreciating the web of life in a more comprehensive level.

We strongly recommend the Capra Course for those interested in learning more about the evolution of life and mankind more broadly as well of systems thinking in particular.

For those curious to learn from Dana directly, here is a taste from the past. Take a look at what she said about the internet and the mindset behind the advancement of technology back in 1999... (in the Q&A part towards the end). Enjoy and keep reflecting, specially about her closing message to "be an irritant of the mindset" and to "question more"!

Looking for further insights???Join us for the CEO Meet & Master Program and learn to apply systems thinking to business and life.?The next cohort will start on March 14th, 2022 and you are welcome to sign up and secure your spot! ?We look forward to seeing your there!

“A system is a set of things -- people, cells, molecules, or whatever -- interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time."―?Donella H. Meadows*

At?Briyah Institute? we bridge innovation, practice and purpose to inspire leaders to transform organizations co-creating an impact economy -- that which pursues financial returns alongside positive impact for people and planet.

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*Dr. Donella H. Meadows , Ph.D. (March 13, 1941 – February 20, 2001) was an author, environmental scientist, educator,?and an inspiring leader. A Pew Scholar in Conservation and Environment and a MacArthur Fellow, she was one of the most influential environmental thinkers of the twentieth century. After receiving a Ph.D in biophysics from Harvard, she joined a team at MIT applying the relatively new tools of system dynamics to global problems. She became the principal author of The Limits to Growth (1972), which sold more than 9 million copies in 26 languages. She went on to author or co-author eight other books, including Thinking in Systems , from where the quotes in this newsletter were taken.

**Fritjof Capra , Ph.D. is a scientist, educator, activist, and author of many international bestsellers that connect conceptual changes in science with broader changes in worldview and values in society. A Vienna-born physicist and systems theorist, Capra first became popularly known for his book, The Tao of Physics, which explored the ways in which modern physics was changing our worldview from a mechanistic to a holistic and ecological one. His most recent book, The Systems View of Life (Cambridge University Press, 2014), presents a grand new synthesis of his work—integrating the biological, cognitive, social, and ecological dimensions of life into one unified vision. He is a founding director of the Berkeley-based Center for Ecoliteracy, and serves on the faculty of the Amana-Key executive education program in S?o Paulo, Brazil. He is a Fellow of Schumacher College, and serves on the Council of the Earth Charter Initiative.

***Efosa Ojomo is a Nigerian author, researcher and speaker. He leads the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a think tank based in Boston and Silicon Valley and is a senior research fellow at the Harvard Business School.

****Humberto Maturana , Ph.D.?(September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was one of Chile's best known author, biologist and philosopher.?Maturana? created the term "autopoiesis " about the self-generating, self-maintaining structure in?living systems , and concepts such as structural determinism, structure coupling, and natural evolutionary drift.?His work was influential in many fields, mainly the field of systems thinking, cybernetic and the biology of cognition. He co-authored the book?Autopoiesis and Cognition ?with Francisco Varela, and co-founded?Matríztica ?with Ximena Dávila.