For years in organizations we have talked a lot about how to increase empathy to increase productivity. Now, without wanting to take anything away from all the work done on empathy, we need to introduce a new word into the corporate lexicon: entropy.
All in all, the most manifest consequence emerging today is the increase of complexity (the so-called VUCA volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) with a further burden of structural and systemic difficulty due to the surge in uncertainty and instability post 2020. The risk related to this situation is the increase of entropy. The concept of entropy comes from thermodynamics, but for this reasoning it is preferable to use the simplified definition.
“However, it is possible to give a simplified explanation of entropy, interpreting it as the "degree of disorder" of a system. Thus an increase in the "disorder" of a system is associated with an increase in entropy, while a decrease in the "disorder" of a system is associated with a decrease in entropy."
Entropy equals disorder, chaos. The virtuous circle is that, as complexity increases, entropy increases: complexity is an external factor (therefore difficult to control), entropy is an internal factor, therefore, theoretically, easier to control.
The question arises: how to reduce entropy in organizations? Of course, an all-encompassing recipe would be impossible to formulate and each situation would present conditions that are on the average different. Following the guidelines of manifest realism and the linear approach, the main idea would be to address the complexity by making more clarity, dialogue and comparison. Clarity is the keyword as a synonym of procedural order to be promoted in the organization and in the strategic architecture.
Clarity of objectives to be achieved | Clarity of decisions to be made | Clarity of the actions to be developed.
It takes time and preparation, but if everyone worked to reduce process defects decision making we could significantly reduce the complexity and increase the concentration on the really important things such as effectiveness, foresight, growth. “Manifest clarity, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.” Lao Tse. All the best!
