The Chaos Imperative Lib/E: How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success

by Ori Brafman, Judah Pollack, Drew Birdseye (Reading)

People and organizations tend to approach chaos as if it were an unruly beast--something that needs to be reined in, or avoided at all costs. But what if there's a benefit to chaos? What if it's actually crucial for inspiring industry innovation? In The Chaos Imperative organizational thinker and bestselling author Ori Brafman and management consultant Judah Pollack dramatically demonstrate how even the best and most efficient organizations--from Fortune 500 companies to today's US Army--can become more innovative by allowing a little unstructured space and "contained chaos" into their planning and decision-making. Through their consulting work, they realized that while structure and hierarchy are essential both in large corporations and small groups, too much of either can stifle creativity. Weaving together stories and case studies with insights from areas as far-reaching as neuroscience, medieval history, and video gaming, Brafman and Pollack reveal how creating pockets of chaos within organizations can inspire the creative leaps that lead to new growth.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Management, Psychology, Audiobook, Military Fiction

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway and was delighted with its concise, well-structured narrative that provides excellent examples in support of its main points. For example, Brafman believes that by introducing controlled chaos, whereby we have the opportunity to think instead of having every working minute being rigidly structured, we will create conditions that allow innovative solutions to arise. This also allows for individuals to meet different people ("unusual suspects")whom we otherwise may not have interacted with to expand our network of contacts and which may lead to surprising insights("organized seredipity"). It is somewhat paradoxical to think that upsetting routines and encouraging chaos may lead to organized outcomes, but I believe this counter intuitive idea is meritorious. Although not specifically stated in the book, research as suggested that spending 10,000 hours engaged in a task may create the necessary conditions for excellence or greatness. This level of engagement allows people to have the necessary skill level to master their respective craft so that when these spontaneous eureka moments occur they have the abilities to operationalize these ideas. Brafman suggests this when he writes,"In white space, our brains create new connections and novel solutions that wouldn't come to mind if we were intently focused on a task." His chapter entitled "The Neurobiology of Insight," does a nice job popularizing some of the scientific research that may support his idea of approaching innovation via non-traditional means. In a short book that manages to give readers practical suggestions they can implement, there are short cuts that don't necessarily support all of Brafman's conclusions. For example,he starts the book off with the example of the bubonic plague and that this degree of chaos created the conditions Europe utilized to be a global powerhouse. Later Brafman modifies this analogy by using the term, "controlled chaos". It is certainly one thing to have offices without walls, and open dining rooms and unstructured meetings in corporations to facilitate ideas but to think that during a plague that wiped out 40% of some countries' populations they were benefiting from that degree of chaos at the time begs belief. Additionally, conclusions like this may suffer from a statistical limitation of regression analysis if one isn't careful. For example, if I study a variable like open meetings over the next quarter and my profits increase, I can say the results may be correlated but it doesn't mean that open meetings were the cause of my increased profits; there may have been other variables that I am unaware of which may be the explanation. Similarly, concluding that the plague lead to European ascendance is a little too simplistic.
Despite these minor issues, Brafman does a great job with a pithy, thoughtful book that encourages readers, like Frost, to take the road less traveled and keep an open mind while taking in the new senses and you just may be the recipient of an idea that can change the world.(less)

[Guillermo Maddalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante, para reflexionar y debatir.

[Son Tung · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think i could have spent time reading more wonderful stuff such as renaissance history and the new machine age. The idea about innovation, the need for creativity which the book represents is nice, but i don't think it makes sense to call it "the Chaos Imperative", rather the subtitle should fit better as the main title.

[Joshua Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible read to consider what I call "graduate level" application of leadership into a military (and civilian) organization. The principles and supporting stories layout the vision clearly. As a professional, it is then up to us to consider "how do I apply this to my team?" Having now finished the book, I'm not even 100% sure how to implement white space into my company. But through reflection I think my company and I can greatly benefit from the ideals laid out in here. Fun and enlightening read (and honestly a much better read than Starfish/Spider). Highly recommend for CPTs at any stage: staff, command, post-command. Will serve you (and me) well for our military futures.

[Justin Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember coming across this book several years ago, but it was good to read it with the distance of a decade since it was published. I think perhaps the most interesting element of this book is the unlikely collaboration between Ori Barfman and the U.S. Army's General Martin Dempsey. General Dempsey engaged Ori Barfman as he described the Army at the time as too rigid in its ways and how the institution of the Army was known within as a place where good ideas went to die. As a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the University of California Berkley the distance between him and the U.S. Army Officers he initially began working with was wide, but that collaboration flourished, including his later co-authoring a book with General Dempsey. Ultimately, he provides Five Rules of Chaos as a he closes the short volume. The second one, "Remember, It's Call Controlled Chaos" resonated. From his time at the Stanford Graduate School of Business he talks about how serendipity takes place within a structured environment. Leaders need to set the tone and create conditions for pockets of chaos, but organizations need to continue to execute their traditional roles. Along those lines I appreciated the third rule, "Make White Space Productive." In order to make the most of the time you allocate to provide that mental space for the mind to travel in the direction it sees fit, in some cases organizations needed more structure for such time. This often is effective for people engaged and experienced in a certain field who are currently producing that can benefit from that time to reflect as they explore beyond their day-to-day.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I read a lot of books of this sort. I like to think of them as Tim Ferris information in a Seth Godin package. This one, however, seems to be rather exceptionally fluff-free (along the same amount of information density as a book like Essentialism). A lot of validation here for me personally. I'll condense my main takeaways, both those stated explicitly and those implicitly stated or supported, in no particular order.

Injection of chaos into otherwise orderly systems is a necessary component of innovation (as opposed to optimizing efficiency). "White space" or unstructured time for thinking, either solo or in groups, is an environment that nurtures naturally occurring chaos. Chaos is easier to make maniest by removing obstacles to it than by trying to intentionally create it. It's the default state of the universe and order is what we typically seek to create from it, sometimes to an extent which can interfere with our goals. This becomes apparent in strictly hierarchical organizations (like the examples given of the military and hospitals) where information that is necessary for the overall organization may be locked into places in the hierarchy that don't shape objectives or authorize actions. Silence in a meeting can also be white space. Data needs to be couched in narrative to be useful, and properly contextualized (side point in the last quarter of the book).

[Tõnu Vahtra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally found a book discussing the Israeli saying "in Chaos there is opportunity", this thesis cannot be more true and has a central place in my everyday work life.

[from Shonna Froebel's review from 10.2016]
There are several elements than can bring controlled chaos into an organization. One is creating white space, time to step back and let people or groups stop working full-tilt at a problem so different connections can be made. This works the same way that solutions come to you in the shower, overnight, or while doing some unrelated activity. A second one is unusual suspects, which is bringing people with different experiences, different backgrounds, different methods, different ways of looking at things, into the mix. A third is planned serendipity, setting up a culture that encourages spontaneous interactions across the organization between all levels and all departments. This encourages the flow of new ideas.

[Henry Davis IV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this work's narrative style stands on its own as far as getting the author's points across, this book is really a follow up to Brafman's very popular work "The Starfish and The Spider." Unfortunately, unlike Brafman's previous book, The Chaos Imperative is much lighter on insight and recommendations. I won't include any spoilers in this review, so what the two or possibly three recommendations are will be left for Brafman to tell you. Still, this is a worthwhile book since it examines chaos or, more properly, unorganized / unplanned time from an open perspective which our efficiency chasing modern world often does not. I recommend this book to anyone interested in or a practitioner of organizational leadership and anyone who wants a better understanding of how they (and others for that matter) make decisions, think about problems, or just simply find inspiration life's pursuits.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resonated With My Soul

White space. I’ve always called it free thinking time. I have learned to plan it into my routine as crucial.

Invite unusual suspects to the table. I think of this as collecting people and visualizing how their unique personality and gifting will complement others when I introduce them.

Engineered serendipity. Put yourself in new environments and live with the anticipation that your life will be enlarged with every exchange.

I’m going to recommend this book to people who want to better understand what makes me tick.

[Gopal Katragadda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea isn't exceptional but something to be continuously be aware of. In the world we live in where every minute of the day is planned, from adults to children, to achieve something, it is essential to take time out to synthesize the productive time into meaningful knowledge and leave time for creativity to happen.

As for the taking the idea into business, I have personally brought together teams composed of different talents and had seen first hand the magic that is produced. Engineering Serendipity.

Brafman is a wonderful story teller, makes the reading enjoyable.

[Bryce B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short interesting book about the need to create ‘white space’ and ‘chaos’ in order to maximize potential. Brafman explains the mechanics of how our minds need downtime to fully synthesize through hard problems at the beginning of the book and goes on to give examples of how this plays out in organizations as disparate as the US Army, Hospitals, and Silicon Valley. It’s a good personal reminder for those of us who use the phrase ‘I’m really busy’ far too frequently.

Rating: 3.5

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more than “Radical Inclusion” (written with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey) but less than his hallmark book “Starfish and the Spider.” It gave some insight as to how downtime, white space and chaos all help organizations grow.

[Federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy interesante

Me gusto mucho la vision disruptiva sobre las organizaciones, es momento de hacer algo distinto y el libro describe perfectamente como las nuevas oportunidades surgen del caos organizado.

[Feil Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parece una guía de tan práctica aplicación, que cobra mucha más relevancia en las situaciones de incertidumbre y bloqueo, particulares, que estamos viviendo. Tiene una cantidad de referencias tan funcionales que validan lo que se describe, que es un SE TIENE QUE LEER, de la actualidad.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Create some whitespace for your teams!! You need your own whitespace to unplug. Interesting and numerous examples of other successful people who had whitespace, serendipity, and chaos to trigger innovative ideas.

[Allan Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another must read for anyone interested in understanding how they can take different approaches to improvinfo organizational performance or when a Rivas change is necessary.

[Stijn Calis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toevallig opgepikt in de bib en aangenaam verrast. Een groeiboek met een narratieve leidraad die meteen mijn interesse wekte.

[Dilini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first few chapters up to the chapter where the brain anatomy was explained. After that, it was mostly stories that I had to skip sometomes.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

explains why skipping skool is good so i vote yes

[Consuelo Harz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excelente libro para comenzar a comprender la necesidad del caos en nuestra vida personal como profesional para poder comenzar a liderar!

[Keyia ST · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book to learn how to rewire your brain to teach you how to move through Chaos and make it work for you. PIVOTAL for creatives.

[Viktoria Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting view point and different from business advice in most other books. Engaging and well written. Not necessarily very well supported by data, more of authors opinion is... Still a good book to help open up your mind to the possibilities.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Dutch, it was an interesting, easy to read book. Brafman and co-author Pollack show that chaos is needed in organization that have become too efficient (thanks to Six Sig Sigma and other methods). Chaos sounds scary for managers, but the way Brafman describes (or prescribes) it, chaos is controlled and just enough to generate ideas and innovation. Three elements are needed: white space, unusual suspects and organized serendipity. White space is needed in our highly organized lives to give our brains rest, to solve problems or come with new thoughts. How often have you found the solution on an issue during a walk where you lead your thoughts wander? Recruiting 'unusual suspects' brings people to the organization with different views, from a different area for example. The third element is organized serendipity. Changing processes or structures to allow exchange of ideas and thoughts. An example is a meeting that has a purpose but not a structured agenda. Brafman shows that we don't need large changes, big reorganizations to become more innovative. Changing small things, like allowing time for freewheeling and bringing in other people in sessions than the usual managers group, could already make a difference. That's the valuable part for me of this book, it makes me feel I can do something myself and now.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is useful for educators and people managers of all kinds. Ori Brafman makes a clear argument for the benefit of unstructured time, or white space. After reading this book, the usefulness of white space seems just obvious, a 'no brainer'.

There is a quote from LaoZi that I love...

Thirty spokes connect to the wheel’s hub;
yet, it is the centre hole that makes it useful.
Clay is shaped into a vessel;
yet, it is the emptiness within that makes it useful.
Doors and windows are cut for a room;
yet it is the space where there is nothing that makes it useful.
Therefore, though advantage comes from what is;
usefulness comes from what is not. (Tolbert McCarroll translation)

LaoZi obviously didn't know the breakthroughs made in modern psychology. But if he did, he might have written something similar about "white space" as Ori Brafman. I will use Brafman's insight about white space, the default mode, and organized serendipity in my daily life in much the same way I use LaoZi's wisdom.

[Boris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have pretty mixed feelings on this one.

I _strongly_ agree with the argument - white space, unusual suspects and planned serendipity are necessary and powerful for disruptive (as opposed to iterative) innovation. Cool.

Now. On to how it's written. This book is absolutely painful. It's a narrative. It's a narrative where he literally tells you about narratives that he told other people. I told you there were 3 main points - they aren't ever on the same page. I'm not confident that they are in the same chapter. As a person who likes to pull out generalizable structure/framework this was absolutely painful. Imo, anecdotes are a good form of supporting argument, but they should support something general instead of just being tossed your way wholesale and hoping something sticks.

So. Good concept, but I wish the author could be clear about his concept.

TL; DR: dealing with S types is hard for us N types.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic is spot on. The book, not. The Army story seems contrived (a main character, um person, pulled out a "decision matrix" on a trip to evaluate what hotel to hold a conference in). Some of the historical anecdotes were interesting and some, well, contrived. The neurological chapter was also interesting, but out of place. And casually mentioning that Kary Mullis was “one of the few scientists to openly question whether AIDS was caused by the HIV virus."

Yes, "HIV virus". Redundancy is lost on the authors, and their editors. And that little bit only demeaned the point they were trying to make.

Bottom line...forget this book. I'm a fan of disruptive innovation, but I'm not sure the authors know what it really is. I don't like structure, though I do like order. I like a little white space and try to make sure it's part of design processes and help coworkers find it. Of course, my ADD randomness is sort of built for it. Go find a better book. This is a waste.

[Bart-Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all need 'contained chaos' in our lives and careers. Chaos creates opportunities for new and inspiring ideas. In order for it to happen in a controlled way, Ori Brafman advises us to create 'white space' in our programme: moments between the daily tension in which there is no plan or structure that gives the brain room to come up with new ideas.

In addition, increase the chance for serendipity to occur by creating the right circumstances: create teams tat include unusual suspects, make sure people from different backgrounds and visions work along.

Brafman offers compelling evidence and case studies (US Military, Silicon Valley, Nintendo etc.) to prove his case. The book is very well written. Personally I think it contains one of the best intros I've ever read. Very well recommended.

[Ayelet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings together so many great ideas and examples about how to introduce chaos into our lives in order to be more productive. The author's work with the Army provides a nice unifying thread to the stories.
I couldn't stop thinking about the Big Bang Theory episode, in which Sheldon is unable to solve a problem and forgoes sleep and food to work harder to find the answer. Then, remembering the story of how Einstein made his great discovery while working at the patent office (this story is in the book!) decides to do the most boring, mindless job he can think of-- and joins Penny at work at the Cheesecake Factory. And it is there that he has his breakthroug.

[Ilib4kids · Rating 2 out of 5]

658.401 BRA
CD 658.401 BRA
无所事事 做百日梦是有好处的
p91 (according to Neurobiology study, fMRI images)how much of brain's overall potential is used when daydream? Anywhere around from 80 to 95 percent.
p98 This doesn't mean that if we daydream all day or sit around idle all the time, somehow a magical part of the brain will be activated, leading to breakthroughs or moments of genius. Rather, it means that after long periods of hard work, we sometimes need to relax and let our minds wander to allow the unconscious default part of our brain to synthesize and consolidate all we've been working on, to help us discover the meaning and the way forward.

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro La necesidad del caos, de Ori Brafman y Judah Pollack.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: Innovación,Técnicas de creatividad, e Innovación, desarrollo y cambio.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro La necesidad del caos, Cómo liberarse de la tiranía de las estructuras rígidas y generar casualidades para impulsar nuestros negocios y nuestro futuro: La necesidad del caos