Tony Quinlan - Complexity, Talking the Talk

We are excited to welcome Tony Quinlan to The Complexity Lounge. Tony has spent his career helping people and organizations navigate complex environments, and we're lucky he's here.

While the ideas and concepts of complex adaptive systems are helpful and fascinating, they can be difficult for those who don't share our enthusiasm and willingness to engage with core concepts. Many of us have had colleagues and clients who find "the whole thing" confusing. Sometimes, people respond to complexity and its inherent unpredictability by throwing their hands up in despair or giving up. Others prefer to stick to their "tried and trusted" methods without realizing how damaging those can be.

Since starting to use Cynefin in 2005, Tony has always been focused on making complexity-focused ideas applicable and accessible around every type of client problem. While there's a place for the specific language of complexity, he's come to work with clients by starting with how they describe or define their problems and only then introducing the ideas of complexity by applying specific, relevant techniques.

For complexity-denying and complexity-curious clients, he's developed seven core principles for working with complex problems. He is currently writing a book to share these ideas with a broader public that needs practical ways to address issues that feel impossible.

This session will explore and discuss those ideas and some of the metaphors Tony plans to use in the book.

Bio

Tony Quinlan has spent over twenty years helping clients deal with complex, uncertain environments and intractable problems, such as changing organizational culture, preventing radical extremism, and improving people-focused services. He has introduced complexity-based approaches to prepare leaders, teams, and organizations for these emerging challenges. As a keynote speaker, author, consultant, and coach to teams and execs, Tony equips clients with ways to differentiate between 'complex' and 'complicated' problems and act accordingly. His work involves leading innovative projects globally with various entities, from UN agencies to multinational corporations and startups. Known for his clear communication style and thought-provoking insights, Tony emphasizes the importance of changing systems rather than just solving problems.

After a successful career as a communications consultant with organizations such as IBM, PA Consulting, UNICEF, and Hewlett-Packard, he founded Narrate in 2000 to explore the opportunities that narrative presented in dynamic organizational contexts. Since then, he's expanded his work to embrace complexity and research-based approaches to resolving complex problems.

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