The Cairn of Self-Organizing Systems:

As few as three simple rules can create the conditions necessary for the emergence of flocking, hive intelligence, or dramatic social change; all examples of self-organizing systems. The fall of the Berlin Wall is a society self-organizing in a dramatic, unpredictable, and sudden way. This Cairn helped me tease out a few basic rules that can bring an organization “to life”. Beginning with the corners of the triangle, what generative processes are necessary? When these become part of the organizational culture, what does their interaction produce within the system? Finally, what internal structural mechanisms are required to support self-organization? The system revealed sets the conditions for breathing life into mechanistic organizations.

This Cairn works when you:

• Want a high level understanding of a system

• Are noodling around and need some structure to aid your creativity

• Want to expand a few key concepts and understand their interdependence