Complexity and Management Conference 2nd-4th June 2023

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Complexity, uncertainty, breakdown: coping, recovering and finding hope in dark times.

The Complexity and Management Conference 2023 will address what can feel like a constant state of breakdown, potentially undermining things we may previously have taken for granted, such as plans, rules, loyalties, markets, knowledge, and how we exercise authority in groups. 

If you are interested in the difference it makes to take the complex interplay of relationships seriously, particularly in dark times, then this year’s conference is for you. The conference is a mix of input and small and large group discussion, and conversation is the currency of participation. It will greatly enhance the conference if delegates bring concrete examples of their workplace dilemmas. Delegates are welcome to offer ideas for workshops in the afternoon of the first day, Saturday 3rd June. 

The conference runs from 7.00pm  Friday evening 2nd June, beginning with drinks and the inaugural dinner, and finishes after lunch on Sunday 4th June.

On Friday 2nd there is a one-day introductory workshop offering insights into the perspective described as complex responsive processes of relating, which runs between 9.30am and 4.30pm. Again, workshop participants are encouraged to bring concrete examples from their workplace as a resource to bring the ideas alive.

The conference is organised in collaboration with KIOL Executive Programme at University College Copenhagen and because of this it is likely to be full. Book soon and avoid disappointment.

The payment page is now live and can be found here. The conference fee includes all board and lodging.

Do write to me if you would like to convene a workshop.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Chris

Reminder – Complexity and Management Conference 2nd-4th June 2023

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Complexity, uncertainty, breakdown: coping, recovering and finding hope in dark times.

The naïve discourse about disruption presents it as the preserve of charismatic tech gurus or as an instrument of management that has the potential for bringing about transformation for the good. Our every day experience of disruption is that it emerges as a consequence of longer term socio-economic trends, the interweaving of intentions, of which no one is in control, not governments, and certainly not senior management teams. There may indeed be opportunities which arise from extremely turbulent times, but there are also costs: winners and losers, threats to identity and a sense of permanent dislocation from ourselves and from others.

What does it mean to collaborate when the ground is always shifting? Where are the sources of hope? What are more or less helpful ways of dealing with uncertainty beyond the tired prescriptions of many contemporary management perspectives?

This is a reminder that the Complexity and Management Conference 2023 will address what can feel like a constant state of breakdown, potentially undermining things we may previously have taken for granted, such as plans, rules, loyalties, markets, knowledge, and how we exercise authority in groups.

The conference will be organised around contributors to the recent Complexity and Management series published by Routledge, which include the titles Complexity and Consultancy, Complexity and Leadership and Complexity and the Public Sector. Contributors will talk about their experience of leading, managing and consulting to a wide range of organisations, particularly the public sector. An invitation is also extended to all delegates attending the conference who want to offer a workshop on Saturday afternoon 3rd June.

If you are interested in the difference it makes to take the complex interplay of relationships seriously, particularly in dark times, then book for the conference, 2nd-4th June. The conference is highly discussive and conversation is the currency of participation. It will greatly enhance the conference if delegates bring concrete examples of their workplace dilemmas. Participants are encouraged to offer workshops on something they are currently working on.

The conference is organised in collaboration with KIOL Executive Programme at University College Copenhagen.

The booking site will be opening soon and offers an early-bird discount until the end of April.

Complexity and Management Conference 2-4th June 2023.

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Complexity, uncertainty, breakdown: coping, recovering and finding hope in dark times.

With the world in flux, perhaps it’s time to be less naïve about the idea of disruption. Our recent experience tells us that we have struggled to respond to disruptive socio-economic and political forces, let alone harness them for the good. Instead constant upheaval on the grand scale, the banking crisis, the pandemic, political and economic instability, has permeated society and our psyches, and has shown up inevitably in our practices and relationships in everyday organisational life. The effects of political and social turmoil, economic collapse, have set constraints on what we can achieve together in organisations. And they may have produced acute and enduring work place dilemmas which can provoke anxiety, burn-out and a sense of hopelessness. Constant disruption demands a more creative and subtle approach than may be found in orthodox recipes for leading, managing and consulting, or an idealisation of its benefits. Equally, we are required to find more generative responses than those offered by the lords of misrule who come to prominence in dark times recommending simplistic solutions to complex problems.

It is also worth thinking about the possible benefits of the huge disruption to traditional working practices caused by what the Oxford English dictionary now recognises as a neologism: the permacrisis. No profound set of social and economic changes is an unalloyed disaster. Where are the loci of hope?

The Complexity and Management Conference 2023 will address what can feel like a constant state of breakdown, potentially undermining things we may previously have taken for granted, such as plans, rules, loyalties, markets, knowledge, and how we exercise authority in groups.

The conference will be organised around contributors to the recent Complexity and Management series published by Routledge, which include the titles Complexity and Consultancy, Complexity and Leadership and Complexity and the Public Sector. Contributors will talk about their experience of leading, managing and consulting to a wide range of organisations, particularly the public sector. An invitation is also extended to all delegates attending the conference who want to offer a workshop on Saturday afternoon 3rd June.

If you are interested in the difference it makes to take the complex interplay of relationships seriously, particularly in dark times, then book for the 2023 Complexity and Management Conference, 2nd-4th June. The conference is highly discussive and conversation is the currency of participation. It will greatly enhance the conference if delegates bring concrete examples of their workplace dilemmas.

The conference is organised in collaboration with KIOL Executive Programme at University College Copenhagen.

The booking site will go up in the New Year.

Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture 5/10/22

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The following is the text of the Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture which I gave at Hertfordshire Business School on Weds 5th October 2022. It accompanies the video which you will find in the post below.

The response to the lecture was give by Patricia Shaw, who co-founded the Doctor of Management programme with Ralph and the late Doug Griffin.

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Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture video

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Here is the video recording the Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture on Weds 5th October, where I talked about Ralph’s legacy and Patricia Shaw responded.

We reflected on Ralph’s unique ability to take his experience seriously and make it available to others.

Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture Weds 5th October 6pm

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In the Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture, just over a year after his death and birthday, I will reflect on Ralph’s rich and varied life, his deep humanity and his intellectual contribution. Patricia Shaw will respond, offering insights into the continuing relevance of the ideas for the enduring dilemmas we find ourselves facing.

Outline programme:

4pm – 5.30pm – Experiential group. Face to face only.

6.00pm            Ralph Stacey Memorial lecture by Chris Mowles, response by Patricia Shaw.

                        Q and A/observations.

7.45                 Informal drinks and conversation.

The event will be live-streamed. Joining instructions will be sent closer to the time.

In order for us to plan for numbers in person/send a link for streaming, RSVP c.mowles@herts.ac.uk

Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture Weds 5th October 2022, 6pm, Hertfordshire Business School, de Havilland Campus.

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Every once in a while, someone emerges with unique insight, who reframes the way we see the world. Ralph Stacey was such a person. He created a new vocabulary, and thus new ways of thinking and acting. Ralph developed a body of work, and founded a psychodynamic doctoral research programme, the Doctor of Management (DMan), with Doug Griffin and Patricia Shaw. At the heart of the perspective informing the intellectual position and DMan is taking experience seriously, and becoming reflexive. It remains a pioneering approach to combining insights from the complexity sciences, pragmatic philosophy, process sociology and group analytic theory, and it continues to evolve and develop.

In the Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture, just over a year after his death and birthday, I will reflect on Ralph’s rich and varied life, his deep humanity and his intellectual contribution. Patricia Shaw will respond, offering insights into the continuing relevance of the ideas for the enduring dilemmas we find ourselves facing.

Outline programme:

4pm – 5.30pm – Experiential group. Face to face only.

6.00pm            Ralph Stacey Memorial lecture by Chris Mowles, response by Patricia Shaw.

                        Q and A/observations.

7.45                 Informal drinks and conversation.

The event will be live-streamed. Joining instructions will be sent out nearer the event.

In order for us to plan for numbers/send a link for streaming, RSVP c.mowles@herts.ac.uk

The Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture on Weds 5th October at the University of Hertfordshire, 6pm.

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This is to give advance notice of The Ralph Stacey Memorial Lecture on Weds 5th October at the University of Hertfordshire, 6pm. The day we have chosen is close both to his birthday and to the date of his death.

I will give a tribute to Ralph and his legacy and Patricia Shaw has agreed to give a response. We hope to turn the lecture into an annual event.

The lecture will be held at the Business School, de Havilland campus, where Ralph was an employee for 32 years. It will be live-streamed so that people can join remotely. For those interested and present in person, we may follow the lecture with an experiential group.

If you’re interested in attending/viewing then please save the date. Further details will follow.

In addition, the dates of next year’s conference are 2nd-4th June 2023. I am assured that there are no further Jubilee celebrations that weekend.

CMC 3-5th June 2022 – The theory of practice and the practice of theory.

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There are still some places remaining for the 2022 Complexity and Management conference. You can book here.

One of the things that delegates always remark upon about the CMC is how refreshing it is to get straight into conversations that matter. You can do this from the moment you arrive: on Friday 3rd June @7pm in the evening you get to meet other delegates for an inaugural dinner from all kinds of practice backgrounds and from all over Europe.

On Saturday morning we have the renowned practice scholar Prof Davide Nicolini @NicoliniDavide who will talk about the importance of a practice orientation in theory.

The afternoon is given over to delegates to talk about dilemmas in the workplace using each other as a resource to think further.

Early Saturday evening there will be a tree-planting ceremony to commemorate the life and work of the late Prof Ralph Stacey, who founded the Doctor of Management programme and the conference, and who loved Roffey Park.

There will be more more lively conversation accompanied by great food on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we will respond to the key note and themes which have arisen during our discussions on Saturday.

Then there is one more round of reflection until lunch and close at 12.30 on Sunday.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Just 5 days left to claim your early-bird discount -Complexity and Management Conference 3-5th June 2022

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When we talk about the theory of practice and the practice of theory, does this mean that the conference is going to be very dry and abstract? The focus of the research community which organises the annual Complexity and Management Conference is on human beings and the complex dynamics they get caught up in when they try and get things done with other people. So we are interested in what we say and do, what we think we mean when we say particular things, how trying to go on together sometimes brings about the opposite of what we intend, and how our identities are changed in the process. We are concerned with reflecting on, and becoming reflexive about everyday organisational dilemmas.

The conference begins with a gala dinner on Friday 3rd June @7pm and welcome drinks.

The mode of the whole conference is conversational. This year we are delighted to have engaged Prof Davide Nicolini of Warwick Business School to give the key note because of his insightful work on the importance of practical knowledge.

There is an opportunity for delegates to present their ideas too, on Saturday afternoon 4th June. This might be a paper or a chapter in a book, or it might be something troubling at work which presenters want to use a group as a resource to think about.

On Sunday we reflect on what we have been talking about on Saturday with the help of faculty members from the Doctor of Management programme. Thereafter we have one more round of reflection in groups and finish off with lunch.

It’s exhausting but invigorating at the same time. Hope to see you there. Book here.