Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making Into the Fabric of Our World ED02

The yin/yang symbol is popularly used to symbolize the importance of harmony and coherence of seemingly opposing influences. It serves as a reminder to consider how every action we take has ripple effects and affects other things in non-linear ways. The Dao suggests that the world is inherently entangled, and this interconnectivity means that every

Snowden, D.J, and M.E Boone. “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making” Harvard Business Review. 85.11 (2007) pp.69-76

How do we make sense of the world so that we can act in it? With that definition comes the concept of sufficiency, how do we know that we know enough to determine the type of action we can take?

Cynefin is fractal. It is self-similar at multiple levels but can be understood simply or on further investigation in more complex ways, revealing more and more.

How do we move forward with an acute awareness that the ground is shifting as we go?

Introducing a state of Aporia, or deliberate puzzlement, allows us to present seemingly contradictory and competing understandings as valid and useful pieces of the bigger picture.” – Dave Snowden

The primary definition of Cynefin, is at its heart, about a flow of engagement over time with things known, unknown and unknowable, loved and unloved, all of which entangle our lives and create meaning.

“Designing rules assumes an ordered universe in which we can predict the outcome of a defined action and in which we can know the range of possible circumstances. Heuristics, on the other hand, provide more general guidance; they have a level of ambiguity which makes them more adaptable.

Cynefin is at its heart a decision support framework, not a method or model.