Inherent Simplicity

Potential disagreement: Inherent Complexity or Inherent Simplicity?

Perhaps the greatest potential for confusion in comparing TOC and Cynefin is reconciling the existence of Complex Adaptive Systems attached to the Cynefin Complex domain with a concept that Goldratt called 'Inherent Simplicity.' In The Choice he said:

"The key for thinking like a true scientist is the acceptance that any real-life situation, no matter how complex it initially looks, is actually, once understood, embarrassingly simple." (8)

That assumption is formalized in the TOCICO Dictionary, V2 as:

Inherent Simplicity: "The concept that nature is simple and harmonious in itself." (9)

This is derived from a line by Isaac Newton frequently quoted by Goldratt which forms the underlying assumption behind Inherent Simplicity:

"Natura valde simplex est et sibi consona." "Nature is exceedingly simple and harmonious in itself." (10)

Goldratt builds on this to conclude that any system, no matter how complex, has an inherent simplicity at its heart. Therefore, improving the system relies on finding that inherent simplicity.

This conclusion is ripe for misinterpretation. I've recently heard this idea used as "proof" that Goldratt denied the existence of Complex Adaptive Systems. Certainly, from a Cynefin standpoint it appears that what he is saying is that what you perceive as a Complex domain situation will be transformed into a Clear domain situation as soon as you find the Inherent Simplicity. That sounds suspiciously like searching for the Philosopher's Stone or a sort of epiphany, or enlightenment.

The reality, however, is actually very much aligned with a Cynefin view of the world. When Goldratt talked about his approach to solving problems in What is this Thing Called TOC? (11) and The Choice, it's clear that he used abductive reasoning to solve problems, and that's what TOC teaches. (12)

A TOC practitioner starts with observed issues or concerns or symptoms, referred to in TOC as UnDesirable Effects or UDEs. He or she then works backward to identify a causal element or, more recently, a causal conflict, which if present, would cause the UDEs. In the Logical Thinking Process this is referred to as a Current Reality Tree (CRT). Like some of the other Thinking Process methods, the CRT builds on a set of logical tests called the Categories of Legitimate Reservation or CLRs. The CLRs provide the logic tests that the effects exist and that there aren't other causes that would create the same UDEs. Most importantly, it sets the stage to test and see if any other predicted effects are present. If any other effects are predictable from the cause, but are not present, then there must be another cause behind them and not the one hypothesized.

Next the TOC practitioner identifies potential actions, referred to in TOC as injections, that will begin to remove or mitigate the cause identified at the base of the CRT. A similar trail of effect-cause-effect logical relationships is then built and additional injections added, as necessary, to show how the injections can remove the UnDesirable Effects and replace them with Desirable Effects (DEs). That is how the overall system can be improved.

From a Cynefin standpoint, what Goldratt is referring to as Inherent Simplicity, is what happens when you are in a Complex domain situation: you develop a series of coherent safe-to-fail probes, consider the results, possibly run additional, more focused probes and eventually develop sufficient understanding of what's going on to find yourself in the Complicated domain. What had initially appeared to be complex and unpredictable is now controllable. Note that this progression in the TOC approach is consistent with the idea of Cynefin dynamics, in which our perceptions of the domain we are in can change based on our actions.

In terms of creating a practical manifestation of Inherent Simplicity, it's interesting to consider another Newton quote. Newton was the target of significant criticism after releasing his Laws of Motion since he did not attempt to explain what gravity was, only how its effects could be calculated. As a response to the criticism, Newton wrote:

"Hypotheses non fingo." (13) Translation: "I feign (or, suggest) no hypotheses."

Newton is saying that his equations explain the observed behavior and, therefore, they are useful, even if no one knows the mechanism by which they work. This is, I believe, very much what Goldratt means by Inherent Simplicity. He's saying that the system may well have a significant amount of Complex domain characteristics, and finding the Inherent Simplicity is finding a heuristic or assumption that enables the overall system to be managed comparatively easily.

That said, we need to remember that Goldratt focused on solving problems primarily in the business world. That is, areas that tend to be either closed form systems or at least have clear bounding conditions. Laws that define how we treat employees and customers, how accounting should work, and even principles of business ethics, mean that those aspects of organizations TOC practitioners look at, are seldom in the domain of so-called, Wicked Problems – problems that cannot be solved by logic or reasoning alone. (14) That said, I believe that TOC could indeed help deal with Wicked Problems.