Editor’s Note: A single gray rhino is difficult enough to wrangle. But when they come together, gray rhinos create a crash, literally —”crash” is the zoologically correct term for a group of rhinos— but also is the result of many problems, often avoidable, converging. Think of complex systems as crashes of gray rhinos. Complex systems theory helps us to understand how interconnected failures within a system can create major catastrophes and what we can do to head them off. In this article, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik, winners of the 2015 Bracken Bower Prize, explain how systemic challenges are increasing and why it is crucial for…
Author: Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik
Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik
CHRIS CLEARFIELD is a principal at System Logic, a Seattle-based research and consulting firm that helps organizations manage the risk of system failure. ANDRÁS TILCSIK is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, where he developed and teaches the award-winning MBA elective Catastrophic Failure in Organizations. Chris and András founded the Rethink Risk Project, and their book MELTDOWN will be published by Penguin Press in 2018.