(2013-03-11) Rao Foxy Systems Thinking

Venkatesh Rao encourages a "Foxy" approach to Systems Thinking (contra Hedgehog Concept).

Tools:

• Motif - Mind Mapping tip: make the center a Motif (tangible anchor example - e.g. Shipping Container, Y2K bug) instead of an Abstract idea (e.g. Globalization, App Life Cycle Management). Good motifs naturally allow our minds to pick out the Important Pattern-s rather than the Conventional ones.
• Aphorism
• Metaphoric Map
• 2x2 diagram (Matrix): discriminates a complex and messy reality into 4 more tractable and equally rich classes by employing 2 orthogonal but mutually relevant dichotomies.. try to name each quadrant with an archetype label or Motif.
• bricolage, collage, constraint triangles, Improv, paradoxes, parables, Naming, Narrative, Non Sequiturs, Viral Venn Diagrams...

Question like a fox, answer like a hedgehog... Start Up like a fox, scale like a hedgehog.