The Cynefin Company

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The Cynefin Company

Small, global company with novel approaches to strategy, culture, innovation and change

• The Cynefin Company Network continues to grow and currently has in excess of 1,100 Practitioners who extend across 41 countries.

• The Cynefin Company education courses are held online as well as in major cities across the world, including London, New York, Washington D.C., Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Singapore and Sydney.

• The Cynefin Company is overseeing a development framework including a network of developers using a "shared source" model of software development.

• The Cynefin Company tools & techniques are a valuable resource for organizations looking for novel, useful solutions to complex strategic and/or management challenges.

• In October 2010, The Cynefin Company (formally Cognitive Edge) and The Narrative Lab announced their research partnership with the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

• As of October 2014, The Cynefin Company has registered offices in Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

03/10/2026

What began 27 years ago has never stood still. 𝐂𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 through use, challenge, learning and practice across very different contexts. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, that journey takes another form. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 is coming.

👉 Join the launch list for 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: https://thecynefin.co/the-cynefin-field-guide/

𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, carry, and work with ideas developed over nearly three decades.

17/09/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. Organisations have more dashboards, metrics, feedback and AI-driven analysis than ever. Yet leaders still face questions such as:

👉 Why are people resisting change?

👉 Why do teams experience the same organisation differently?

👉 Why do intentions and frontline reality diverge?

👉 Where are weak signals emerging before they become obvious?

The challenge is often not a lack of data. It is understanding what that data means in the context of people’s lived experiences.

SenseMaker Platform 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡.

👉 People share real experiences in their own words and then interpret those experiences themselves using signification frameworks. Across many contributions, 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 while remaining connected to the stories behind them.

👉 This allows organisations to combine lived experience with quantitative pattern analysis, 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 without reducing it to averages alone. can support work across , culture, employee and customer experience, , innovation, risk, .

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

👉 Explore the SenseMaker® Platform: https://thecynefin.co/sensemaker-platform/

16/09/2026

22 years of SenseMaker Platform: beyond the numbers to the experiences behind them. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://thecynefin.co/sensemaker-platform/

SenseMaker® is a digital ethnography & narrative platform for collecting stories at scale, revealing patterns & weak signals in complex human systems to support better decisions.

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 and then interpret those experiences themselves. Across hundreds or thousands of contributions, those interpretations create quantitative data that can be explored alongside the original narratives.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬:

👉 What are people actually experiencing?

👉 Where are different groups experiencing or interpreting the same situation differently?

👉 What patterns are beginning to emerge across those experiences?

👉 What might be changing before it becomes obvious in conventional data?

👉 Where could small interventions make a meaningful difference?

👉 What weak signals are emerging that we might otherwise miss?

👉 How can we create more stories like these and fewer like those?

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, where the answers cannot always be known in advance. Over the years, SenseMaker® has been applied across organisational change, leadership, healthcare, communities, research, monitoring and evaluation, strategy and other complex environments.

🌟 Here’s to 22 years of SenseMaker®, and to continuing to explore better ways of understanding human systems.

If you have used over the years, we’d love to hear:

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝?

06/09/2026

𝐂𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧® 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. The framework is built around three fundamental ontological zones: Order, Complex, and Chaos. Within Order, there are distinctions (clear and complicated), and the chaotic domain carries its own internal dynamics, but the threefold structure is the spine. And at the centre, neither Order nor Complex nor Chaos but produced by all three in permanent relation, is the aporetic: the zone of irreducible uncertainty that resists assignment to any of the three without doing violence to what it actually is.

🌟 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫-𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭. That is a triquetra. Three arcs, each complete in itself, each extending into its own territory, each shaping what the others can be. And the central space, the aporetic, is not a synthesis of the three: it is the emergent property of their relation, present only when all three are active, irreducible to any one of them. You don’t look, hear, and feel in sequence; you do them all at the same time. The triquetra works the same way.

🌟 The discovery that the Cynefin® Framework 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. It creates a new representation that opens new opportunities in software development as well as general sense-making. The arcs can rotate to create liminal spaces, but the aproetic domain is itself now more central and provides more functionality, including extension of liminality. The triquetra is the ontological form appropriate to the framework as a whole. Both were always there. The naming question made the second visible.

29/07/2026

Learning Time with Dave Snowden: Estuarine Mapping for Strategy and Change in Complex Systems.

13/07/2026

Dave Snowden and The Cynefin Co team are coming to 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭.

3-day Masterclass will explore , Estuarine Mapping, SenseMaker®, narrative methods, and current developments in our practice.

For those newer to our methods, the full 3-day programme offers a comprehensive overview with a range of immediately applicable techniques. For existing partners and practitioners, each day is also designed to be self-contained, allowing you to join the sessions that best align with your current learning needs or client work.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 1: 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 | 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 4 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭

• The latest WRASSE framework and its relevance to the Cynefin Co method selection

• methods, including SwarmCompass and human sensor networks

• Dave’s latest thinking around trialectics, wayshaping, and other emerging themes

𝐃𝐚𝐲 2: 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 5 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭

👉 The morning will focus on 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 for practitioners: what it is, when to use it, and how to facilitate it.

👉 In the afternoon, we will host a 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 on the theme of AI and human , offering participants a 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

The day will close 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 1-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 for the learning group.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 3: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 | 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 6 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭

A follow-up day focused on the specific needs of consultants and practitioners, including:

👉 Integrating Cynefin, Estuarine Mapping, SenseMaker®, and related methods

👉 Consultant clinic on your own cases, with advisory and feedback from the Cynefin team

👉 QuickSense, SwarmCompass, and SenseMaker® demos

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://thecynefin.co/product/australia-cynefin-masterclass-intensive-modular-3-day/

08/07/2026

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬? It is about learning to notice the moments when a situation may be shifting from one context to another. This is where 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚, 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐚, 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐚 become useful. In 𝐂𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧® 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩, domain shifting is not about memorising arrows on a framework.

They are not just labels. They are points where we need to slow down and ask better questions.

𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚: A pattern may be emerging from . But before we move it towards the ordered domains, we need to ask:

👉 Is this genuinely stable enough?
👉 Are we seeing repeatability?
👉 Can we understand enough cause and effect?
👉 Or is this still too dependent on local context?

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐚: The pattern may look more stable, but we may still not be ready to codify it. This is where we ask:

👉 Do we know enough to move forward?
👉 Are the probes producing reliable results?
👉 Are people gaming the system?
👉 Is there still more to learn?

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚: Sometimes the better move is not to move forward. It may be necessary to return to exploration, open up more possibilities, and deliberately re-enter . This is where we may need to relax constraints, decompose and recompose, and 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐚: Before something moves into Clear, we need one last check.

👉 Are we ready to standardise this?
👉 Are we about to build it into systems, processes, assumptions, or routines?
👉 If we lock it down now, how difficult will it be to reverse?

This matters because organisations often want to move quickly from 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

👉 An idea works once, so we turn it into a process.
👉 A pilot looks promising, so we scale it.
👉 A pattern appears, so we assume it is predictable.

But in complex human systems, moving too soon can create brittleness.

🤜 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲:

Which domain are we in?

🤜 It is also:

What decision point are we approaching, and 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?

BaseCamp helps participants work with these transitions more carefully, 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, and when to avoid locking things down too soon.

🌟 F𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 👉 https://thecynefin.co/product/virtual-cynefin-basecamp-sept-2026/

08/07/2026

𝐈𝐧 𝐂𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩, domain shifting is about understanding that situations 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧. Context can shift among Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, and Confused/Aporia, 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, knowledge, pressure, failure, learning, and intervention.

A situation may begin in complexity, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠.

It may move towards complicated, where expertise and analysis become more useful. It may eventually become clear enough to standardise.

But that movement 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜. And it is not always safe. There are threshold spaces where we need to slow down and pay attention.

👉 Is this pattern really stable enough?

👉 Is cause and effect becoming clearer?

👉 Are we ready to codify this into a process?

👉 Or are we pushing too early because the organisation wants certainty?

This matters because 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 from exploration to standardisation.

👉 An idea works once, so we turn it into a process.

👉 A pilot shows promise, so we scale it.

👉 A pattern appears, so we assume it is now predictable.

But in 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, premature convergence can create problems.

👉 What looked stable may still be shifting.

👉 What looked scalable may still depend on context.

👉 What looked like best practice may only have worked because of local conditions.

𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

👉 Sometimes the right move is to stabilise and scale.

👉 Sometimes the better move is to keep exploring.

👉 Sometimes we need to increase feedback, listen for weak signals, and avoid locking things down too soon.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 Cynefin® 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

It is a way of learning how to think with complexity, recognise changing conditions, and choose responses that fit the context.

Because the question is not only:

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐢𝐧?

It is also:

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫?

🌟 Explore Cynefin® Basecamp if you are interested (𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫) 👉 https://thecynefin.co/product/virtual-cynefin-basecamp-sept-2026/

07/07/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡: Best practice is useful when the situation is clear, familiar, and repeatable. 𝐈𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, best practice can become a trap. Not because best practice is wrong, but because it may be the wrong response for the context. The starting point is to notice when a situation is no longer behaving like a simple or technical problem. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞:

• The same intervention works in one team but fails in another.

• People disagree about what the real problem is.

• Small actions create unexpected consequences.

• The issue keeps returning even after repeated attempts to fix it.

• The data shows what is happening, but not why it is happening.

• What worked before no longer seems to fit the current context.

In these situations, the question should not be:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲?

A better starting point is:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧?

That shift matters. helps people distinguish between different types of context before choosing how to respond. So the solution is not to reject best practice. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 when best practice is appropriate, and when a different approach is needed.

This is where Cynefin® BaseCamp becomes 𝐚 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭. If your work regularly involves shifting contexts, competing perspectives, unclear cause and effect, or decisions that cannot be reduced to simple answers, 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 a grounded way to begin building that capability.

It helps participants move from asking:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫?

to asking:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭?

Explore Cynefin® Basecamp if you are interested (𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫) 👉 https://thecynefin.co/product/virtual-cynefin-basecamp-sept-2026/

26/06/2026

Estuarine Mapping - 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 Dave Snowden as part of the ecosystem. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰:

1. 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲: Not the desired future, not the solution, but the situation you need to understand.

2. 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: Bring together different people and list what is shaping the situation: constraints, dependencies, habits, processes, relationships, delays, risks, assumptions, past failures.

3. 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞: Separate the landscape into things that constrain, things that produce outcomes, and actors who have agency or influence. Break vague items into smaller, more specific elements.

4. 𝐌𝐚𝐩 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, Ask: how much effort would this take to change, and how long would meaningful change realistically take?

5. 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: Identify what cannot be changed, what is outside your current authority, what is workable now, and what is shifting by itself.

6. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬: Focus on what most affects the situation, even if some of those things are not immediately changeable.

7. 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞: Do not treat everything as a task. Some things need action, some need escalation, some need monitoring, and some need designing around.

8. 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Actions should become small, specific moves: a conversation, an experiment, a monitoring signal, a change to a process, or an escalation with evidence.

9. 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐩: The system changes. Items move. New constraints appear. EM works best when the map is treated as a living strategy tool.

🌟 𝑻𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔.

👉 https://thecynefin.co/product/estuarine-mapping-virtual-q3-sep-2026/

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