The chaos is inevitable. I am working with humans, and what's more, humans bring conflicting perspectives and experiences. There is no mechanistic predictability available! What will happen in the room or over the duration of the project is largely unknown... I can prepare, but planning is usually futile. In these situations, figuring out what is the minimal order for people to be able to organise and move forward meaningfully and productively is essential.

For Tim and I, the resolution is in our practicing relationship with each other, day in and day out, with its inevitable hurts and with a commitment to learning from each other. This resolution in relationship is not neat and tidy, but more real, deep, and entirely based in practicing together.

In addition to getting results swiftly, people get really excited to learn a whole new suite of tools and a new way of thinking about problem solving. It immediately starts to be applied all over the organisation. As one client put it last week: "What we do is not hugely different—the structure is not undergoing big re-design—but how we do everything is changing".

If we want to be change leaders, we have to find a way to engage and work with people who hold power and influence. It is essential piece of the puzzle that needs to be integrated into our strategies. It is dangerous not to—our work ends getting squashed, co-opted or undermined long term. Simple put, any obstacles I carry to working with power is hurdle to having impact.

What's the minimum order we need to navigate change meaningfully and productively? Too much control and we kill learning, too little and everything falls apart. My go to is the chaordic stepping stones. I use the chaordic stepping stones all the time: project planning, meeting preparation, long term strategic plans, my own personal reflection, designing events and trainings, writing proposals … the list goes on.

Ok, so there's some questions I ask every time before choosing to work with someone on a project, event or long term initiative. They help me get a sense of the landscape and discern if the conditions are in place for me to do my best work.