Wicked, not just difficult
Wicked problems, uncertainty and risk.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Where
- VUCA, Uncertainty and Complexity
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
Some problems can be solved; others can only be managed. Drawing on Rittel and Webber's ten properties of wicked problems and Keith Grint's distinction between tame, critical and wicked problems, this module helps you match management, command or leadership to the problem in front of you. It explores clumsy solutions, the limits of New Public Management targets, and climate change as the archetypal wicked problem. Risk, uncertainty and ambiguity are routinely used as synonyms, yet each points to a different tool. Building on Frank Knight's distinction, Rumsfeld's known and unknown unknowns and Taleb's black swan, this module sets out a ladder from certainty to ambiguity, the two-person test and a familiarity and clarity grid, illustrated by the early weeks of Covid-19. It helps you name the gap honestly and match your response.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Explain the defining properties of a wicked problem, including no definitive formulation, no stopping rule and the one-shot nature of each attempt.
- Distinguish Grint's tame, critical and wicked problems and identify whether management, command or leadership each one calls for.
- Plan a clumsy, provisional response to a wicked problem and assess whether a proposed target genuinely fits the problem it is meant to measure.
- Distinguish risk, uncertainty and ambiguity, and explain what a risk register can and cannot cover in relation to unknown unknowns.
- Apply the two-person test and the familiarity and clarity grid to identify whether a situation involves uncertainty or ambiguity.
The Modules.
1 hour 15 minutes of learning.
- 03Wicked Problems and Tame ProblemsSome problems can be solved; others can only be managed. Drawing on Rittel and Webber's ten properties of wicked problems and Keith Grint's distinction between tame, critical and wicked problems, this module helps you match management, command or leadership to the problem in front of you. It explores clumsy solutions, the limits of New Public Management targets, and climate change as the archetypal wicked problem.40 min
- 04Uncertainty, Ambiguity and Risk: Getting the Language RightRisk, uncertainty and ambiguity are routinely used as synonyms, yet each points to a different tool. Building on Frank Knight's distinction, Rumsfeld's known and unknown unknowns and Taleb's black swan, this module sets out a ladder from certainty to ambiguity, the two-person test and a familiarity and clarity grid, illustrated by the early weeks of Covid-19. It helps you name the gap honestly and match your response.38 min
Keep going.
Part of the VUCA, Uncertainty and Complexity topic, also sold whole as Clear heads in a complex world.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 15 minutes, £39
- Next stepFocus, Making sense of the mess, 2 hours 30 minutes, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- Explore, Making sense of complexity, 4 hours, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
- The whole topicImmerse, Clear heads in a complex world, 8 hours, £249. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £210.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Other Bitesize in the VUCA, Uncertainty and Complexity topic
- Naming the world we lead inCynefin framework and complexity for leaders1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Probe, sense, respondSensemaking in complex systems with Cynefin1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Seeing round cornersScenario planning and strategic foresight1 hour 15 minutes£39
- A considered answer to VUCAVUCA Prime and reframing complex problems1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Living systems, real casesComplex adaptive systems and case studies1 hour 15 minutes£39