Welcome to Edgeware

Welcome to Edgeware
Complexity Resources for Health Care Leaders

Complexity. It is a concept that is imposing in its very name. In fact, even the idea of explaining complexity ("making complexity simple") is, at its heart, paradoxical. This raises intriguing questions: Must an approach to complexity be complex? How should a resource book for complexity science be structured? It is questions like these that Edgeware seeks to answer.

So, how does Edgeware address complexity? You will soon discover that Edgeware's very structure models the principles it is addressing. This holds implications for you, the reader (or, to use a more accurate term, "the participant"):

Edgeware is non-linear.
Those of you who are strictly left-brained and orderly may find your preferences challenged! Edgeware is not a "book" that is read from beginning to end. Instead, it is a collection of aides, ideas and resources that allow people with different learning styles and in different contexts to explore this fascinating science from multiple angles. Start at the beginning. Start at the end. Pick a page at random. It doesn't matter - you will soon find your way.
Edgeware offers multiple points-of-entry.
Whether you are new to complexity science, or you are further along in the lifelong journey of exploring its intricacies, there are several portals through which you can access Edgeware. The following pages of this Welcome section will assist you in taking the first step.
Edgeware is unsettling.
Complexity may require that you disassemble some of your old mental models about organizations, and the world around you. Old beliefs about control and management, for example, look very different when viewed through a lens of complexity. Resist the temptation to dismiss the difficult lessons of complexity; it's good to be somewhat unsettled. (This, in itself, is a concept consistent with complexity.)
Edgeware honors the old.
There's no need for you to throw out everything you know. Complexity science is not about bulldozing over old concepts and theory. Rather, it helps illuminate what has worked in the past, and why. One of the beauties of complexity science is that it is cross-disciplinary. It is built on patterns that can be observed in the economy, in a vegetable garden, in global organizations... even in the structure of clouds. In fact, the roots of complexity science are thousands of years old.
Edgeware is a "thinking" approach.
This is not a program that you "roll out" in organizations, with banners and coffee mugs. It's a new way of thinking and seeing the world -and, hence, a new way of working with real organizational and health care issues.
Edgeware offers multiple voices.
You may notice that Edgeware's personality is somewhat fragmented. Its tone and approach shift frequently. Its perspectives vary. In fact, many voices are represented here, including several leading thinkers in complexity science and many health care leaders who are putting complexity-inspired approaches to work.
Edgeware is alive.
Like all complex adaptive systems, Edgeware is in a perpetual state of transition. It will grow, change and evolve over time as more is learned, new ideas are tested and new experiences are shared. Don't ask for a detailed plan that charts the future growth of Edgeware; there isn't one. Instead, Edgeware will be allowed to grow and change in response to the needs and contributions of the many, many people who use it. People like you. In fact, if you would like to offer your suggestions, edits, new "Tales," or even contrarian points of view, please contact Curt Lindberg at (609) 395-7776, or e-mail him at curt.lindberg@home.com

Most important of all, remember that Edgeware thrives on your learnings, your experiences, your energy. It is more than this website; it is an active community of learners. Your participation, in whatever fashion, holds the potential for tremendous change.

Thank you for joining us,

The Edgeware Design Team
Curt Lindberg
curt.lindberg@home.com
609-395-8785

Brenda Zimmerman
bjzim@yorku.ca
Schulich School of Business, York University,
4700 Keele Street, North York, Ont, M3J 1P3.

Paul Plsek
paulplsek@DirectedCreativity.com
Paul E. Plsek & Associates
1005 Allenbrook Lane
Roswell, GA 30075