Complex Forces

• The predictability of some things leads people to believe that the world behaves in a predictable manner when most of it does not. There are more forces at play than we can ever keep track of, and they interact with each other in a myriad of ways. Just about anything a person or an organization does can produce unintended consequences actual results differ from those expected and can even be the exact opposite. They can be positive or negative in nature and sometime create amazing opportunities. Sometimes actions can cause a cascade of other actions that go far beyond anything predicted. For example, when Justin Beiber’s mother posted a video of him singing on YouTube, little did she show know it would lead to stardom. We also see self-reinforcing loops where past success continually reinforces future success. Sometimes even a small initial advantage can lead to huge success.

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