{"id":2365,"date":"2019-11-12T17:44:19","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T16:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/?p=2365"},"modified":"2023-11-01T15:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T14:32:39","slug":"the-ecosystem-of-wicked-problems-by-christian-sarkar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/the-ecosystem-of-wicked-problems-by-christian-sarkar\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ecosystem of Wicked Problems <\/b>by Christian Sarkar"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As humanity faces a growing number of existential challenges, we find that governments and institutions are not doing their jobs \u2013 they are failing us precisely at the moment we need them most. The apocalypse has many horsemen: social unrest, inequality, environmental collapse, species extinction, pandemics, trade wars, and yes, old-fashioned war. Even the tired wars of ideology have returned.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1258\" height=\"1508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1.jpg 1258w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-768x921.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-854x1024.jpg 854w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-830x995.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-230x276.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-350x420.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sarkar1-480x575.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1258px) 100vw, 1258px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with an observation: We don\u2019t know how to collaborate.<\/p>\n<p>Is this true?<\/p>\n<p>We aren\u2019t taught to collaborate. Our careers are based on competition, not cooperation. Sometimes our collaborative efforts extend to including our children and relatives in the family business. It\u2019s called nepotism.<\/p>\n<p>Just think back to that cross-functional meeting you had where individuals from different divisions, different countries, were brought together by a critical initiative to solve a company-wide problem.<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"width: 55%; color: #000000; background: #ffffff; float: left; margin: 0 0 0 1px;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=\"\">\n<h2><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong>Drucker Forum 2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"sidebar-contents\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">This article is one in the \u201cshape the debate\u201d series relating to the <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><a style=\"color: #00ccff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/home\/\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">11th Global Peter Drucker Forum<\/a><\/span>, under the theme \u201cThe Power of Ecosystems\u201d taking place on November 21 &amp; 22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria.<br \/>\n<strong>#GPDF19 #ecosystems<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Did it work?<\/p>\n<p>Change initiatives fail more often than they succeed, and there is information on <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/1995\/05\/leading-change-why-transformation-efforts-fail-2\">how and why<\/a> that happens. Also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/business-functions\/organization\/our-insights\/the-psychology-of-change-management\">what works<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Why do people reject good ideas? Most businesses and many individuals\u00a0don\u2019t have the mindset required to interact openly and with integrity\u00a0in the larger ecosystem. Here are 5 common\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortenhansen.com\/book\/collaboration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">collaboration barriers<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Not Invented Here:<\/strong>\u00a0the deadly disease that has destroyed so many industry incumbents<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hoarding:<\/strong>\u00a0cultural inability to share knowledge (both in and outside the company)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Findability:<\/strong>\u00a0difficulty finding the right expert or partner<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inability to Collaborate:\u00a0<\/strong>individual performance is rewarded, team performance \u2013 not so much!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trust Issues:<\/strong>\u00a0fear-based culture doesn\u2019t encourage open behaviors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So how can we expect businesses, governments, non-profits, and citizens to together to solve today\u2019s wicked problems, when we can\u2019t even solve a business problem?<\/p>\n<p>Many years ago I found myself at a party in Kolkata, listening to one of the wealthiest people in India talk about how bored he was \u2013 he had done and seen everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is nothing left for me to do,\u201d he complained.<\/p>\n<p>I blurted out \u201cWhy don\u2019t you teach poor people how to make money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pointed to a poor woman walking by on the street with a baby in her arms. \u201cSee her? Why not teach her to be rich like you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was never invited back to those parties.<\/p>\n<p>The point is, it\u2019s always \u201cMe first.\u201d Our egos won\u2019t let go of our stories, our narratives.<\/p>\n<p>Where have we heard refrain before? America First. England First.<\/p>\n<p>In their book, Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economics, Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer tell us that responding for the emerging future requires us to suspend our judgements, redirect our attention, let go of the past, lean into the future that wants to emerge through us, and let it come.<\/p>\n<p>We learn that \u201cthe ability to shift from reacting against the past to leaning into and presencing an emerging future is probably the single most important leadership capability today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Easy.<\/p>\n<p>To fix this broken world, Scharmer and Kaufer point out three symptoms in the \u201clandscape of pathologies\u201d \u2013 three divides: ecological, social, spiritual-cultural. Our institutions work on trying to solve problems in a fragmented way \u2013 one symptom at a time. It\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n<p>Everybody, like the rich guy on the balcony in Calcutta, is in their own bubble.<\/p>\n<p>So how do we go from ego-systems to eco-systems?<\/p>\n<p>By building <a href=\"http:\/\/www.activistbrands.com\/how-companies-can-build-a-purpose-platform-for-the-common-good\/\">platforms of purpose<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2371\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1427\" height=\"743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2.png 1427w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-768x400.png 768w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-1024x533.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-830x432.png 830w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-230x120.png 230w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-350x182.png 350w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sarkar2-480x250.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1427px) 100vw, 1427px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><del>It turns out<\/del> the only time people mobilize is when there\u2019s a threat to their way of life. Existential threats, like war, or 9\/11. Or \u201cNew Coke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jVLWsryfQr8\">world\u2019s gone mad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What are we going to do to make it sane again?<\/p>\n<p>We must architect platforms to create public value, and save the world in the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ask:<\/strong> is my company <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marketingjournal.org\/the-healing-organization-an-interview-with-raj-sisodia\/\">healing<\/a> or hurting the world?<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Christian Sarkar<\/strong> is an artist, entrepreneur, and consultant.\u00a0 He is the founder\u00a0of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.doubleloopmarketing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Double Loop Marketing LLC<\/a>, a marketing consultancy, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecosystematic.com\/\">Ecosystematic<\/a>, an ecosystem mapping tool.\u00a0He\u2019s also the co-author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Brand-Activism-Purpose-Christian-Sarkar-ebook\/dp\/B07K71B413\">Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action<\/a>, a book written with Philip Kotler, the \u201cfather of modern marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is one in the Drucker Forum<strong> \u201cshape the debate\u201d<\/strong> series relating to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/home\/\">11th Global Peter Drucker Forum<\/a>, under the theme \u201cThe Power of Ecosystems\u201d, taking place on November 21-22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria <strong>#GPDF19 #ecosystems<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As humanity faces a growing number of existential challenges, we find that governments and institutions are not doing their jobs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[238,261],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4330,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions\/4330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}