Complex or complicated?

A complex problem cannot be simplified. If you can simplify it, then it isn’t a complex problem. You may choose to focus energy on a key leverage point, or establish one or more enabling constraints. To make progress, you may choose to selectively ignore things, blur your vision, or think in broad strokes. These approaches will reduce cognitive loa... See more

Problems, by definition, have solutions. You might not like the cost of the solution, the trade-offs it leads to, or the time and effort it takes, but problems have solutions.

On the other hand, situations don’t. Situations are simply things we need to live with.

Once we realize that a problem we have isn’t a problem at all, but actually a situation,... See more

To keep you focused on the big picture, Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer describe problems as embodying three types of complexity:

• Dynamic Complexity. Where cause and effect are distant in time and space. When it is high, you need to take a systems approach that deals with all the interdependencies. When it is low, you can do a piece by piece approach

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