It’s the People, Stupid 🌱
Organisations & Complexity #1
Foreword
The following is the first in a series of articles inspired by Samir Rihani's book 'Complex Systems Theory and Development Practice: Understanding Non-linear Realities' (2002). I was lucky to study under Sami at The University of Liverpool from 2003-05, and he was by far the best educator I have ever encountered.
I remember chatting with him in the corridors after class—he always made time for his students—and he told me that "complexity" would become a social metaphor. He was right. It's borderline buzzword, but sadly this airtime is not accompanied by a widespread understanding of what this actually means for our organisations and ways of working.
When Sami published his book, he was in the twilight of his career. TED Talks, podcasts, and YouTube weren’t yet on the scene. If they had been, I have a hunch that many more would know of Sami and his work. He had a remarkable ability to make complexity accessible, much like Professor Brian Cox does with physics and the universe.
Perhaps the world wasn't ready for Sami. I fondly remember his humorous tale of being booed off stage by the World Bank for breaking the news that economics is not a science!
This project aims to apply the wisdom from his book, which focused on international development, to organisational development. I hope I do it justice. All credit goes to the wonderful Samir Rihani for everything you are about to read.
It’s the People, Stupid 🌱
At the heart of organisational development lies a simple truth: sustainable progress is only possible when we focus on the people within the organisation. People development and healthy human interactions are the foundation upon which all other growth depends. When individuals are shackled by a bureaucratic straitjacket—bound by endless rules and regulations—they are in no position to drive economic progress or enjoy their jobs. Organisations must prioritise creating an environment where employees are free to innovate, collaborate, and grow. Without this focus, any attempts at organisational development will likely be hollow and unsustainable.
Why is this? Well, contrary to our top-down tendencies, real change often happens at the local level, where it matters most. It takes shape between ordinary people striving to improve their circumstances in ways that work for them. This is where effective action unfolds, as opposed to a sweeping transformation conjured by top brass. Progress comes from enabling individuals to make meaningful changes for themselves, and not from controlling them with force.
Why Traditional Management Thinking Fails 🤖
Many organisational development and change programmes fail because they mistakenly assume the process is linear, meaning something entirely predictable that can be controlled precisely—like a SpaceX rocket. These programmes treat organisations like machines, following fixed rules that supposedly lead to guaranteed outcomes. If only eh? In reality, organisations are complex adaptive systems, meaning they are unpredictable, and shaped by countless interactions and variables that cannot be controlled top-down fashion. Newtonian linear thinking simply does not apply to these systems, and forcing organisations into that mould has often led to disaster (or at the very least disengagement).
What we need is a way to objectively assess the ways of working that are likely to succeed in each specific context. Spoiler: one-size-fits-all solutions do not exist, and the answer lies in experimenting with your ways of working, doing more of what works, and less of what doesn't. This would be a significant step forward for a field that has drifted aimlessly, tangled in a confusing mix of one-size-fits-all theories and trends. By focusing on the unique needs of our working environment, rather than abstract models and the fads of the moment, we stand a better chance of making meaningful progress in organisational development.
Moving Towards Complexity & Human Development 🧬
To truly move forward, we need to shift our thinking from the linear to the complex. It’s time to stop applying frameworks and methods that treat work as a set of predictable steps designed for linear, predictable systems and instead embrace the complex nature of our organisations. They are dynamic systems, where interactions between people can give rise to self-organisation, much like an ecosystem, and absolutely nothing like an industrial assembly line.
So how do we cultivate this in our own workplaces? Organisations can become more flexible, resilient, and adaptive by focusing on human development—capability, autonomy, and collaboration—rather than just economic outcomes. At their core, organisations are living systems. Their development is not a straight path to success but an ongoing journey through unpredictable terrain. If we are serious about making work better, we must embrace that reality. Only then, through experimentation and healthy human interactions, can we create organisations that are not only more effective but more sustainable in the long term.
This series explores how organisations behave as complex adaptive systems, made up of countless interacting parts, and how we must avoid making the same mistake as traditional management consultants. The way complex systems behave can either be harnessed to achieve better, more sustainable outcomes in human development, or mismanaged to the point of accomplishing little more than a miserable workforce.
Not the Missionary Position or The Big Four ❌
In the past, Western powers sent missionaries to convert so-called misguided foreigners to Christianity. Today, missions from the World Bank and IMF pour out of Washington, offering neatly packaged linear ideas of development to nations. The Big Four consulting firms, along with thousands of imitators, do much the same to companies, often pushing one-size-fits-all frameworks and universal formulas regardless of context.
Take “Lean” transformations, widely adopted in manufacturing and beyond. Yet what worked in Toyota’s Japanese factories isn’t guaranteed to succeed in a Silicon Valley startup or an African textile mill. Local context matters a lot. And, beyond any doubt, true development isn’t something done to you; it’s what you do for yourself. So Bayer, be warned - ‘self-management’ is not a capsule your 100,000-strong workforce can swallow.
So, current management wisdom is failing millions of people. The reality is that organisational development is a local affair and largely an inside job—more like an endless marathon full of unexpected twists than a sprint to the finish line. Sustainable economic progress must follow steady advances in human development, not the other way around. People come first, mass-produced management theories are moonshine, and healthy human interactions are paramount.
