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Wicked & Wise: How to solve the world's toughest problems
A groundbreaking new series developed by leading consultant Alan Watkins, the Wicked and Wise explores a number of hotly debated and “wicked” issues facing the planet and its people, and offers some intelligent, challenging and “wise” ways forward that may be able to break through the current intractable position. Each book in the series is co-authored by leading leadership consultant Alan Watkins and a hand-picked expert in each subject field.
The first book in the series looks at some of the most pressing and topical issues affecting the world today, from the clash of religions and cultures in a globalized world to the growing dominance of technology. Co-written with renowned social thinker and philosopher Ken Wilber the book sets the scene for debating the key challenges facing current and future generations, and sets possible agendas for how leaders, and potential leaders, can solve challenges through the wise application of multi-tiered multi-channel, multi-organizational intervention and lead in a highly developed, enlightened & selfless way.
The first book in the series looks at some of the most pressing and topical issues affecting the world today, from the clash of religions and cultures in a globalized world to the growing dominance of technology. Co-written with renowned social thinker and philosopher Ken Wilber the book sets the scene for debating the key challenges facing current and future generations, and sets possible agendas for how leaders, and potential leaders, can solve challenges through the wise application of multi-tiered multi-channel, multi-organizational intervention and lead in a highly developed, enlightened & selfless way.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2015
About the author
Alan Watkins
23 books42 followers"Alan Watkins is recognized as an international expert on leadership and human performance. He has a broad mix of commercial, academic, scientific and technological abilities. Over the past 18 years he has been a coach to many of Europe’s top business leaders and has helped companies treble share price, enter the FTSE 100, salvage difficult turnarounds and establish market leadership in their industry. He has written two books and has three more coming out this year. He advised the GB Olympic squad prior to London 2012 and is continuing to work with them leading up to Rio in 2016. He has a three degrees and is a neuroscientist by background."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 31, 2016
A most important book that introduced me to Alan Watkins and his notion of Integral Coherence. It makes Integral Theory more concrete and practical, but no less difficult to comprehend and move around in. And, the use of climate change as the wicked problem example is brilliant (in both the US and UK meanings). Seeing how Watkins and Wilber maneuver in the game space of this most difficult and timely problem without giving any position short shrift and demonstrating how Integral Coherence can move us toward a solution makes their rather abstruse theorizing feel literally down to earth. I can't wait to read Crowdocracy and Watkins' other books on Coherence.
November 3, 2016
There is a mathematical truism that ‘the smart and not-so-smart’ is smarter than ‘smart alone’; counterintuitive as it may seem, the truism has been proven over and over again in numerous experiments both in the laboratory and in real-life. However, this truism holds in specific circumstances only which technology can help generate at scale. This book uses that principle to propose something bold and profound – creating an omnicentric civilization (everyone participates in matters of importance and urgency that determine life and destiny) from a concentric one (only privileged/ powerful ‘leaders’ determine life and destiny), not least because of the ‘dark triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy’ that show up frequently as personality traits in most leaders.
Politics as we know it in general, and democracy as it ostensibly most evolved organizing form, are both failing us almost everywhere in the world in various ways for a whole host of systemic reasons which are reviewed and explained in detail, thereby necessitating an urgent upgrade of the Social Contract (originally formulated by JJ Rousseau and others) from dependence to independence to inter-dependence. The proposal of this book has greater feasibility today than ever before because of two reasons: the dawning realization by increasing numbers of people that the current concentric configuration of power and decision making is turning out to be woefully inadequate in addressing almost all wicked problems (a term which is defined precisely later) in our VUCA world; and the advent of technology that can harness the wisdom of the crowd without getting paralyzed by the tyranny of consensus or derailed by mob groupthink.
Various forms of government across the history of civilization are traced and each subjected to a critical assessment of strengths and weaknesses viewed through an evolutionary lens. Then, the mathematical truism of crowdocracy is analytically examined with a listing and description of the right conditions or circumstances only under which the truism of the wise crowd holds:
1. Diversity of knowledge and opinion: The Diversity Trumps (unfortunate use of term at the time of writing!) Ability Theorem
2. Independence of thought and collaboration: For circumventing the 6 groupthink factors of reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity
3. Decentralization of power: For tapping into the entire spectrum of specialized knowledge unencumbered by the hierarchy of control
4. Integration: Allowing the organic EDI process (Emergence, differentiation and integration) to unfold to determine ‘the best course of action in the moment’ rather than the perfect or ideal solution and tapping into the power of the Endowment Effect.
Crowdocratic approaches are beginning to be adopted in various business and political forms of the world; prediction markets and self-organization, www.participedia.net , the Icelandic constitution writing, Pia Mancini’s DemocracyOS platform used in Argentina, activism initiatives like #TakeItDown, www.change.org etc.
An examination follows on how the possible mechanics of how crowdocracy could apply to the ‘Trias Politica’ (Montesquieu)- legislature, the executive and the judiciary along with the principles of achieving both checks and balances and determining policy through a 6 step process; all of which are brought to life in a couple of very interesting thought experiments.
Finally a definition of a wicked problem is offered as having 6 key properties:
i. Is multi-dimensional
ii. Has multiple stakeholders
iii. Has multiple causes
iv. Has multiple symptoms
v. Has multiple solutions
vi. Is constantly evolving
And it is established how crowdocracy empowered by a suitable technology platform stands the best chance of providing wicked solutions to such problems.
Politics as we know it in general, and democracy as it ostensibly most evolved organizing form, are both failing us almost everywhere in the world in various ways for a whole host of systemic reasons which are reviewed and explained in detail, thereby necessitating an urgent upgrade of the Social Contract (originally formulated by JJ Rousseau and others) from dependence to independence to inter-dependence. The proposal of this book has greater feasibility today than ever before because of two reasons: the dawning realization by increasing numbers of people that the current concentric configuration of power and decision making is turning out to be woefully inadequate in addressing almost all wicked problems (a term which is defined precisely later) in our VUCA world; and the advent of technology that can harness the wisdom of the crowd without getting paralyzed by the tyranny of consensus or derailed by mob groupthink.
Various forms of government across the history of civilization are traced and each subjected to a critical assessment of strengths and weaknesses viewed through an evolutionary lens. Then, the mathematical truism of crowdocracy is analytically examined with a listing and description of the right conditions or circumstances only under which the truism of the wise crowd holds:
1. Diversity of knowledge and opinion: The Diversity Trumps (unfortunate use of term at the time of writing!) Ability Theorem
2. Independence of thought and collaboration: For circumventing the 6 groupthink factors of reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity
3. Decentralization of power: For tapping into the entire spectrum of specialized knowledge unencumbered by the hierarchy of control
4. Integration: Allowing the organic EDI process (Emergence, differentiation and integration) to unfold to determine ‘the best course of action in the moment’ rather than the perfect or ideal solution and tapping into the power of the Endowment Effect
Crowdocratic approaches are beginning to be adopted in various business and political forms of the world; prediction markets and self-organization, www.participedia.net , the Icelandic constitution writing, Pia Mancini’s DemocracyOS platform used in Argentina, activism initiatives like #TakeItDown, www.change.org etc.
An examination follows on how the possible mechanics of how crowdocracy could apply to the ‘Trias Politica’ (Montesquieu)- legislature, the executive and the judiciary along with the principles of achieving both checks and balances and determining policy through a 6 step process; all of which are brought to life in a couple of thought experiments.
Finally a definition of a wicked problem is offered as having 6 key properties:
i. Is multi-dimensional
ii. Has multiple stakeholders
iii. Has multiple causes
iv. Has multiple symptoms
v. Has multiple solutions
vi. Is constantly evolving
And it is established how crowdocracy empowered by a suitable technology platform stands the best chance of providing wicked solutions.
Politics as we know it in general, and democracy as it ostensibly most evolved organizing form, are both failing us almost everywhere in the world in various ways for a whole host of systemic reasons which are reviewed and explained in detail, thereby necessitating an urgent upgrade of the Social Contract (originally formulated by JJ Rousseau and others) from dependence to independence to inter-dependence. The proposal of this book has greater feasibility today than ever before because of two reasons: the dawning realization by increasing numbers of people that the current concentric configuration of power and decision making is turning out to be woefully inadequate in addressing almost all wicked problems (a term which is defined precisely later) in our VUCA world; and the advent of technology that can harness the wisdom of the crowd without getting paralyzed by the tyranny of consensus or derailed by mob groupthink.
Various forms of government across the history of civilization are traced and each subjected to a critical assessment of strengths and weaknesses viewed through an evolutionary lens. Then, the mathematical truism of crowdocracy is analytically examined with a listing and description of the right conditions or circumstances only under which the truism of the wise crowd holds:
1. Diversity of knowledge and opinion: The Diversity Trumps (unfortunate use of term at the time of writing!) Ability Theorem
2. Independence of thought and collaboration: For circumventing the 6 groupthink factors of reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity
3. Decentralization of power: For tapping into the entire spectrum of specialized knowledge unencumbered by the hierarchy of control
4. Integration: Allowing the organic EDI process (Emergence, differentiation and integration) to unfold to determine ‘the best course of action in the moment’ rather than the perfect or ideal solution and tapping into the power of the Endowment Effect.
Crowdocratic approaches are beginning to be adopted in various business and political forms of the world; prediction markets and self-organization, www.participedia.net , the Icelandic constitution writing, Pia Mancini’s DemocracyOS platform used in Argentina, activism initiatives like #TakeItDown, www.change.org etc.
An examination follows on how the possible mechanics of how crowdocracy could apply to the ‘Trias Politica’ (Montesquieu)- legislature, the executive and the judiciary along with the principles of achieving both checks and balances and determining policy through a 6 step process; all of which are brought to life in a couple of very interesting thought experiments.
Finally a definition of a wicked problem is offered as having 6 key properties:
i. Is multi-dimensional
ii. Has multiple stakeholders
iii. Has multiple causes
iv. Has multiple symptoms
v. Has multiple solutions
vi. Is constantly evolving
And it is established how crowdocracy empowered by a suitable technology platform stands the best chance of providing wicked solutions to such problems.
Politics as we know it in general, and democracy as it ostensibly most evolved organizing form, are both failing us almost everywhere in the world in various ways for a whole host of systemic reasons which are reviewed and explained in detail, thereby necessitating an urgent upgrade of the Social Contract (originally formulated by JJ Rousseau and others) from dependence to independence to inter-dependence. The proposal of this book has greater feasibility today than ever before because of two reasons: the dawning realization by increasing numbers of people that the current concentric configuration of power and decision making is turning out to be woefully inadequate in addressing almost all wicked problems (a term which is defined precisely later) in our VUCA world; and the advent of technology that can harness the wisdom of the crowd without getting paralyzed by the tyranny of consensus or derailed by mob groupthink.
Various forms of government across the history of civilization are traced and each subjected to a critical assessment of strengths and weaknesses viewed through an evolutionary lens. Then, the mathematical truism of crowdocracy is analytically examined with a listing and description of the right conditions or circumstances only under which the truism of the wise crowd holds:
1. Diversity of knowledge and opinion: The Diversity Trumps (unfortunate use of term at the time of writing!) Ability Theorem
2. Independence of thought and collaboration: For circumventing the 6 groupthink factors of reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity
3. Decentralization of power: For tapping into the entire spectrum of specialized knowledge unencumbered by the hierarchy of control
4. Integration: Allowing the organic EDI process (Emergence, differentiation and integration) to unfold to determine ‘the best course of action in the moment’ rather than the perfect or ideal solution and tapping into the power of the Endowment Effect
Crowdocratic approaches are beginning to be adopted in various business and political forms of the world; prediction markets and self-organization, www.participedia.net , the Icelandic constitution writing, Pia Mancini’s DemocracyOS platform used in Argentina, activism initiatives like #TakeItDown, www.change.org etc.
An examination follows on how the possible mechanics of how crowdocracy could apply to the ‘Trias Politica’ (Montesquieu)- legislature, the executive and the judiciary along with the principles of achieving both checks and balances and determining policy through a 6 step process; all of which are brought to life in a couple of thought experiments.
Finally a definition of a wicked problem is offered as having 6 key properties:
i. Is multi-dimensional
ii. Has multiple stakeholders
iii. Has multiple causes
iv. Has multiple symptoms
v. Has multiple solutions
vi. Is constantly evolving
And it is established how crowdocracy empowered by a suitable technology platform stands the best chance of providing wicked solutions.
October 30, 2022
comprehensive map to understand and navigate tough global issues
This is an insightful guidebook to understanding the complexity of human beliefs, development, systems, and structures, the problems that emerge with each stage, and most importantly- how to work through challenges that engage and work with all levels. A useful reference to ensure issues are thoroughly analysed and understood so that a solutions can be worked on.
This is an insightful guidebook to understanding the complexity of human beliefs, development, systems, and structures, the problems that emerge with each stage, and most importantly- how to work through challenges that engage and work with all levels. A useful reference to ensure issues are thoroughly analysed and understood so that a solutions can be worked on.
July 18, 2016
I am soooo happy to read a book cowritten by Ken Wilbur. I am also glad to have been introduced to Alan Watkins. I found the premise very interesting, and can only hope that there are people who will actually use this approach of integral coherence to try and solve the world's problems. They need to get started immediately!!
February 18, 2023
‘in a pluralistic society, there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about ‘optimal solutions’ to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no ‘solutions’ in the sense of definitive and objective answers.’ --- Rittel & Webber, 1973
First things first.
This book was not written by practitioners.
Instead, it is an advertisement of Ken Wilber's Integral Framework (A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science & Spirituality) and how this might be used to solve climate change.
The text is (broadly) divisible into four parts:
1. Introduction to Ken, his meta-theory and Wicked problems
2. Using Integral Theory to get a thorough understanding (mapping) of a Wicked problem
3. Applying the framework to Climate Change
4. Working through the mapped problem (using CC as an example) to arrive at a set of Wicked solutions
The authors are widely read and offer some useful synopses of network theory and exterior / interior mapping. The latter offers a good upgrade from the Thinking - Feeling axis we frequently see in the MBTI, and I would recommend this book to enthusiasts on that basis.
As for evidence - there is none. Instead, we get some end-of-chapter references as the authors energetically opine on geopolitics, human progress, and the state of the world today. This is also where the book becomes problematic.
As part of their model, the authors suggest that we evaluate people along states and lines. "States" are Ken's take on the entirety of the Earth's mystic traditions. According to Ken, most of the world's major wisdom traditions deal with "Awakening". Like in the Matrix, we're all asleep until we take the red mindfulness pill, and most of us won't care to try unless we've had a temporal peak experience. He also makes allowances for people dealing with poverty and hardship, as peak spiritual experiences and involuntary stress conditions don't go well together.
With that out of the way, he exhorts readers to raise their consciousness and reminds everyone that one's level of "awakening" can be ranked 1 to 5. Not only is this problematic (since when has ranking others by their perceived level of personal enlightenment ever led to anything good in the world?) it is also deeply presumptuous. We have seen religious scholars like Karen Armstrong devote their entire careers to unpacking God, and Karen's barely even made it past the Western monotheistic traditions. Same with Francesca Stavrakopoulou. I would be deeply sceptical of any Westerner who claimed to have fully understood one Eastern tradition - let alone all of them well enough to synthesize them.
Then there is this:
One of the most important discoveries of developmental research is that levels of development can be accelerated but not skipped or bypassed. [...] Hope floats even higher when we realise that the post-modern level of consciousness, or level 6, is not the last major level to emerge in human evolution. A few decades ago developmentalists began noticing the rare emergence of an entirely different stage or level, one that was fundamentally and significantly different from anything that had emerged to date in all of history. [...] the emergence of 'the' Integral level was a profound, utterly unprecedented 'monumental leap in meaning'. [...] Today, only around 3-5 per cent of the worldwide population is at Integral levels of development.
There is so much to unpack here. Will the reader be the next special snowflake who gets to be part of this rarefied 3-5 per cent? What about countries, or supranational organisations?
For reference, levels one to three are rooted in developmental psychology, we can be fairly confident of these. After that, it all gets a bit... subjective:
- Level 1: differentiating self from others (ego development)
- Level 2: differentiating one's emotions from others (i.e. another person's feelings are not extensions of mine)
- Level 3: safety and security - Adler - learning my strength, taking what's mine and screw you (criminal organisations, some countries)
- Level 4: the 8 year old stage, "I belong, these are the rules for belonging, woe unto you if you stray" (extremism on both ends of the political spectrum, fundamentalism, some countries)
- Level 5: the meta cognition stage, "thinking about my own thinking", emergence of the drive towards excellence, to benchmark, to place the data that is being generated from the system above my personal experiences - provided the system is credible (corporations)
- Level 6: post-modernism, everything is subject to interpretation, nothing but also everything is true; capacity to reflect critically on the systems that produced truth at Level 5 (NGOs)
- Level 7/8: Ken's theory
So what to make of this.
On the one hand, I very much liked Ken's version of the four Thinking/Feeling quadrants. I think it's useful to have a model that considers:
- the interior (hidden) experience of the individual (feelings)
- the exterior (objective, behavioural, factual) experience of the individual (thinking)
- the interior (hidden) experience of the group (culture, notion of "we", belonging, implicit give and take, subjective sense of justice - feeling)
- the exterior (objective, measurable) experience of societies (frameworks, systems, borders, courts - thinking)
...and that is simple enough to provide a plural set of lenses to any given situation.
On the other hand - I don't think this book has enough in the way of references, third party data or actual humility to earn its stripes. It is a weakly held manifesto on how one might approach a Wicked problem, but I honestly couldn't recommend it over Dan Heath's Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen.
I'll leave you with a final quote which, to me, captures the essence of these authors:
The second person perspective is the shared perspective and it is the secret to constructive and effective relationships - but only if the stakeholder group's overall centre of gravity (its altitude) is at level 5, beginning worldcentric or higher. The facilitator's primary role is therefore to foster this perspective, at such an altitude, with the stakeholder group [...]
Think of it like a zip. When the facilitator is looking for common understanding, he or she is attempting to find where the stakeholders are connected or 'zipped' [...]
We can see this dynamic in personal relationships where two people meet and the resulting sex is amazing. They are connected at the most basic physical level. That may be enough for a while, but if they are not emotionally connected then eventually the relationship will fizzle out.
Who knew that sex and facilitation went together? I will never think of consultancies the same way again.
February 13, 2020
Uneven
Some of the book presents valuable information in useful and concise ways. Other sections are blurry expression that feel like selling rather than informing. These sections are distinct wordy. I have up on the book half way through
Some of the book presents valuable information in useful and concise ways. Other sections are blurry expression that feel like selling rather than informing. These sections are distinct wordy. I have up on the book half way through
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