Make Almost Anything Happen: How to Manage Complexity to Get What You Want

by Tim Kilpatrick

WHY AREN'T HARD WORK AND KNOWLEDGE ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE COMPLEX GOALS?

Mostly because of the human struggle with managing complexity.

Unfortunately, these skills are not formally taught in schools or imparted to us by others. Whether you're starting a business, inventing a product, or getting in shape, the overwhelming volume of knowns, unknowns, and uncertainties are often too difficult for our mental models.

In Make Almost Anything Happen, Tim Kilpatrick walks us through the fine art of managing complexity—setting mission-driven goals, fine-tuning approaches, and working through failure—in order to achieve what we want and to address what makes us vulnerable. Kilpatrick's framework is based on proven approaches used by scientists, inventors, and systems engineers to make sense of biology, ecology, economics, psychology, forecasting weather, and creating new products.

As routine and knowledge work moves to robots and artificial intelligence, the remaining work will require managing complexity. Make Almost Anything Happen is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn the skills and framework to manage complexity and thrive in our modern day.

336 pages, Hardcover

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

As a health care strategist, systems engineer, and entrepreneur, Tim Kilpatrick has spent over thirty years managing complex missions that required creating strategies that addressed thousands of interacting elements of people, realities, and activities. These complex missions included testing a new nuclear submarine combat system, transforming hospital care from paper to digital, and creating frameworks for managing patient health.

Reviews

[Bookish Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get What You Want by Tim Kilpatrick
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It’s no secret we live in a very difficult time. We deal with complex issues both personally and professionally. And at times our situations make us crazy with self-doubt wondering how we can better manage our lives.


Fortunately, health care strategist, systems engineer, and entrepreneur Tim Kilpatrick might have the answer in his book Make Almost Anything Happen: How to Manage Complexity to Get What You Want.

Make Almost Anything Happen is divided into six distinct parts:

Mission
Impacting People
Impacting Realities
Impacting Activities
Strategy
Iteration
Part one describes how to define and develop a mission or goal you want to achieve. This is of utmost importance.

Part two examines how the mission impacts people in various ways.

Part three focuses on how the mission affects our reality and the reality of others.

Part four defines what activities will benefit from the mission by studying people and realities affected by the mission.

In part five, we develop a strategy framework. The strategy framework delves into how the mission we’ll accomplish with a planned out complex system.

And finally in part six-iteration-is about learning by working on various activities, what Kilpatrick calls an “Enablement Framework.”

Throughout Make Almost Anything Happen, Kilpatrick provides ample examples on the people who made things happen by managing complexity. Some are well-known like Coco Chanel and the Wright Brothers. More currently there are names like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Sarah Blakely, the creator of Spanx.


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And there are names of people not as well-known like Olympic Bob sledder Jasmine Fenlator and Edward Jenner who invented the small pox vaccine.

Unsurprisingly, a book about managing complexity is, well, complex. While reading this book, I was overwhelmed by the information, data, ideas, and requirements outlined by Kilpatrick. I suggest using Post-it Notes, highlighters’ and journaling to keep track of all of the pertinent details.

Fortunately, Kilpatrick’s writing isn’t dry and stuffy. He writes in a friendly tone and implies this book can be used personally as well as professionally. For instance, one of Kilpatrick’s personal missions is to be a better father, a very worthy goal.

Make Almost Anything Happen is a pretty heavy duty book, but should be read in the workplace, the classroom, and on the homefront.


Originally published at the Book Self:
https://thebookselfblog.wordpress.com...

[Anna Sainclivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Tim Kilpatrick’s book interesting. One of the first things he discusses is how complexity can lead to failure. By identifying this, and learning to see what you are dealing with, he then provides techniques to deal with any issues. He provides case examples to show how to execute, learn, predict, and adjust in different situations. Each chapter offers explanations, some illustrated, and ways to manage what it is you want to accomplish. He also cites resources that could be of further help. The section on predicting and influencing human behavior was particularly interesting, and I think could be helpful to the reader. The author discusses the importance of empathy. Overall, this guide is comprehensive and full of information which can help get you started on your goal. I would recommend this if you want to get started and are unsure as how to do it.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept hitting walls with big projects, so I figured maybe I was missing some kind of strategy, and this book definitely gave me a fresh perspective. The book pulls from systems thinking, science, and engineering principles, but it’s written in a way that’s surprisingly approachable. You don’t need a PhD to get value from it. I especially appreciated the focus on mission-driven goals and how to adjust your approach when things inevitably go sideways. My only small critique is that some sections felt a bit dense, especially when diving into technical examples. I found myself re-reading a few parts to really absorb the ideas. But overall, the message is clear.

Overall, this helped me rethink how I approach challenges. I think it’s a solid read if you’re ready to level up your thinking and finally make progress on the stuff that matters.

[Valery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Kilpatrick's Make Almost Anything Happen is a smart, straightforward guide to handling life's complexities and achieving your goals. Kilpatrick breaks down complex topics into small, achievable steps, making even the most daunting tasks seem doable. He uses a combination of systems theory, psychology, and personal experience to help you understand how to affect outcomes and stay focused in a chaotic environment. The tone is encouraging and practical; ideal for professionals, creatives, and more. A clear, empowering read for those ready to turn what they want into tangible results. Certainly a positive and forward-thinking book. Recommended.

[Lindsay DeRollo]

Excellent

This guidebook provides excellent strategies for achieving complex goals in different areas of your life. All of the advice in this book is very simple, practical, and actionable. I enjoyed reading the success stories of those who have done well with applying these strategies in their lives in different types of situations and career roles. It gave me motivation and a boost of confidence knowing that I could succeed as well. This book will truly help those who feel overwhelmed with trying to plan and achieve difficult job positions or any type of goal in their life. Recommended.

[Steven Finkelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s easy to forget sometimes that dealing with complex situations is not something that’s formally taught in school. It’s just something that you’re supposed to pick up along your way. However, life is an infinitely complex situation, which is why some people struggle with so many aspects of it. They never learned how to prioritize what’s most important and to put less value on things that don’t matter as much.

This book can help if you feel like this describes you. In it, you will learn techniques you can apply to virtually any aspect of your life to make sure you achieve your goals. You will learn how to better process and learn from your failures as well.

[Charlene Hernes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Kilpatrick wrote a great book and helped me realize why they don't help people understand and achieve their goals. They don't teach this in school like the should. It was very well written and researched. I really learned a lot of this book and makes you wonder why this book is so important for people to read. They really need to read this to learn that they dreams can come true with their goals, and trying to be happy and doing what you love doing. It is important for people to read this book, and it should be taught in school. It should be reached and importantly enough show what is should be and what people can do to achieve this. I give this book a 5-star rating.

[S Tyty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that this book gives you tools for dealing with overwhelm, managing multiple moving parts, and focusing on what truly matters. I think that this book gives you the mindset and structure to make real progress.
It’s inspiring, smart, and incredibly useful. It is a book I’ll be returning to often. I’d recommend Make Almost Anything Happen to anyone who wants to understand how to navigate complexity and actually turn vision into reality.

[Tara Dodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing read

This was such an awe-inspiring compilation of inventors, creators, aspirers solving complex issues. This book was a reminder that not everything in the world is solved by logigical and algorythmical thinking. Were a complex humanity that requires complex thinking! such a great book!

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that the writing is conversational, never academic, even when tackling big ideas. Also, the tone is encouraging, and the author manages to make complex systems feel almost intuitive. I especially liked how he connects these ideas to the modern world, where artificial intelligence and automation are changing how we work. It made me reflect on how essential adaptability has become.

[Steven Ridgely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information.