Great article on chaos in business as practiced by Google, thanks to Ben Toth’s notebook blog for spotting that. It’s not so far from the story of how VISA was set up, as I wrote previously in a posting on the social use of complexity. What would be more interesting (for me) would be to read about a really_small_business, which can’t afford to blow a million bucks+ in it’s learning curve, successfully using chaos/edge of chaos/etc. Let’s face it, order takes the pressure off?
Category Archives: Complexity
Micro expressions et al
Recalled social psychologist Mark Frank’s research on ‘micro-movements’ after last night down the pub, strange to say. In v. brief, micro-movements are the involuntary movements in the face in response to thoughts and emotions. There was a good example of my ability in this respect when talking to a guy who was with another company, who when I queried the name of his company gave a brief look of distain. What was unusual in this example is that a few minutes later into the conversation he expressed surprise that I didn’t know about his company. To watch I replied that this was something I had already picked up on having detected micro-movements in his face. That’s the first time I have incorporated my understanding in a normal conversation..
It may also relate at an analagous level to my ability find small flaws in systems, if you agree there is an underlying similarity between how so-called systems like organisations and individual psychology work/don’t work. But hey let’s lighten up, it’s Saturday after all..