The Cynefin framework – and how it helps us understand complexity

I write and talk a lot about complexity and working and leading in complex environments. And in doing so, I invariably refer to Dave Snowden’s Cynefin framework.

Cynefin (pronounced Ku-nev-in) is a Welsh word meaning something like ‘habitat’, but which also implies multiple unknowable factors in our environment and our experience.

Snowden first introduced…