Cynefin Framework

On Flow and Patterns

Cynefin treats patterns as connected and changing over time. People interpret them through experience and stories, making sense of events “in the moment.” Dave Snowden describes the role of narrative:

“Human decision-making and interactions are determined to some extent by patterns of prior experience. Some of that experience is direct; some is gained through commonly heard (and told) stories. The patterns of acceptable cultural and political diversity range widely among countries – think of the differences between acceptable political opinion in the U.S. and Europe. These differences are not about right or wrong, or empirical truth or falsity, but arise from stories told and retold within families and the culture as a whole. The same is true in organizations, where both formal and informal stories define acceptable ranges of behavior and provide a regulatory structure that determines the possible. The use of narrative to reveal patterns, and to pattern in its turn, is central to Cynefin methods.

Sometimes our meaning-making patterns become traps. They become like biased lenses through which we view the world that lock us into a particular perspective. We call this phenomenon ‘pattern entrainment.’

To counter this entrainment, we need multiple perspectives and disruption. It is not enough to ask for people to be more objective, or to rise above local prejudice or the patterns of past success. Even if they manage to do so, it will be impossible to sustain. Cynefin methods focus on disruption through descriptive self-awareness, and creating contexts where people can see things from different or new perspectives.” – Dave Snowden

The distinction affects how a group approaches a situation. In an ordered context, cause-and-effect analysis can identify a solution. In a complex context, patterns emerge through interactions, so the group needs ways to observe and respond as those patterns develop.