Critical

Reading Report on
Harvard Business Review paper

A Leaders Framework For

Decision Making
by David J. Snowden & Marry E. Boone

Course Code: ADM6261D

Course Instructor: Professor Lavagon Ika
Report submitted on
March 27, 2014

Report submitted by

Name: Mohammad Hossain

Student ID: 6981242
Program: M.Eng in Engineering Management
Semester: Winter 2014

Critical reading report

Introduction:
Harvard Business review paper titled as A leaders framework for decision making by David
J. Snowden and Marry E. Boone addresses the famous Cynefin framework, which is a decisionmaking model and is very widely used in different disciplines today. Authors of the
aforementioned paper addressed this famous framework for the global leaders to understand real
world situations/ environments and accurately employ their leadership skills in different
situations/ environments. The Cynefin framework is differentiated from generic 2X2 models and
termed the framework as a sense-making model where data precedes domains instead of domains
preceding data4. The framework identifies five basic domains of decision-making and they are
briefly described underneath1,

Simple: This is one of the ordered domains where the relationship between cause and
effect is evident (known knowns).
In simple domain, the approach is
to Sense - Categorize - Respond
and best practice should be
applied1.
Complicated: In the complicated
domain, the relationship between
cause and effect requires careful
analysis and/or the application of
expert
knowledge
(known
unknowns). Approach to manage
complicated situations is to Sense Analyze - Respond and instead of
best practice, good practice can be
applied1.
Complex: Complex domain is one,
in which the relationship between
cause and effect can only be
perceived in retrospect, but not in advance. Decision making approach in this domain is to
Probe - Sense - Respond and we can sense emergent practice1.
Chaotic: This is the domain in
which there is no relationship Figure 1; The Cynefin Framework; Source: A
Leaders Framework for Decision Making, by David J.
between cause and effect at systems Snowden and Marry E. Boone (2007). Page: 04
level. Ideal approach to handle
chaotic situations is to Act - Sense - Respond. Novel practices need to be applied in
chaotic domain1.

The fifth domain is Disorder, which is the state of not knowing the relationship between cause
and effect in decision-making1. These kinds of situations are handled basically by peoples
disposition to act.

Relevance of Cynefin Framework with Complexity in project management:

Indifferent of size, modern day business organizations around the world are highly emphasizing
on project oriented activities in order to harness greater value of their investments. Success of
these projects hugely lies upon the leadership skills and capabilities of project leaders (project
managers). And most often these projects are not found to be simple. Hence, project leaders
cannot just follow the generic project management approach presented in the PMBOK. Rather
they require assessing different situations/ landscapes and act accordingly tailoring their action
plans for the success of their project. Cynefin Framework allows the project leaders to see
situations from different angle, integrate complexity concepts and appropriately address real
world problems and opportunities. The paper A leaders framework for decision making,
mentions that the Cynefin Framework had been used as a vital tool in managing different
projects such as US Defense advanced research projects, new pharmaceutical product
development projects, etc1. How this framework can be utilized in different types of projects is
further discussed underneath.
Projects with very limited scope tend to be simple projects and should be managed with best
practices of the industry. A very good example of such project would be setting up a wifi
network in an office located in a commercial area. The project seems to be quite simple and can
be implemented with generic project management tools and techniques. Leaders managing such
project possess plenty of information and flexibility to deliver a quality wifi network with limited
amount of budget and time.
The above-mentioned simple project can turn in to a complicated one if the project manager
requires to bring several different regional offices of a single company located in different
locations around the globe under a common business platform (ERP software implementation).
The project has a wide scope and several inter-dependent factors such as perfect synchronization
between the regional offices, scalability (regional offices might not be of same size in terms of
human resources and business operation), top management support, time zone etc. Project
managers in such projects cannot directly employ the generic project management practices
illustrated in PMBOK. In such project the project manager requires analyzing different outcomes
with the help of experts (both internal & external) and respond accordingly. Doing so, project
managers may also require being careful about analysis paralysis1.
The complicated project of aligning different regional offices of a multinational organization
may appear complex if factors like regional politics and culture plays role. In such case, bringing
all the regional offices may take way more time and effort than expected or estimated if the
concept of such complexity is not introduced during the planning phase. However, even if such
complex factors are not taken into account in the planning phase, project managers need to
understand the scenario based on the project outcomes/ progresses during the execution phase
and tailor his/her action plans. The appropriate action may be sorted out via several iterations.
This would allow project managers avoiding massive debacle and accomplish the project at least
with basic requirements fulfilled. One other important factor that project managers require to
confront in complex projects is to avoid temptations to fall back to command and control mode.
Real life examples of complex projects can be the Airbus A380 project, Canadian Firearms
project, etc.

Projects that are very short and of emergency in nature, may fall under chaotic domain of the
Cynefin framework. Most of the rescue operation projects are good example of such kind of
project. In such projects, project managers do not have the flexibility to waste time anyway.
They have to bear the pressure, act instantaneously and try to find out rooms to stabilize the
situation. Chaotic circumstances may also appear in breakthrough product development projects
where the developers are not aware of too many unknowns.

Key learning from the paper:

1. Basis of Cynefin Framework: Cynefin Framework of decision-making is based upon
the fundamental relationship of cause and effect. And the framework is created as an
emergent property of social interactions.
2. Good leadership is not a one-size fits all: As said above, everyday business around the
world is changing so fast that leaders can not just follow the generic scientific
management theories to achieve success. Good leadership involves deep understanding of
the concept of complexity and employs such understanding in different contexts1.
3. Entrained thinking often traps decision makers: Leaders or decision makers are often
prone to entrained thinking because of their confidence gained from past experiences2.
Such a phenomenon refrains leaders to think out of box and understand situations more
accurately.
4. Projects are often incorrectly classified: In reality, projects are often disregarded as
complex projects while it is actually complicated or vice versa. And because of this
incorrect assumption, project leaders manage the project with wrong approach and
ultimately fail to see success.
5. Complacency may lead a simple project towards chaos: Over simplification of any
situation may lead managers towards chaotic situations1. This may often happen
specifically in technology-based projects where technology takes major shifts over period
of time.
6. Differentiation between best practice and good practice: Cynefin Framework suggests
that, instead of best practices, good practices are to be employed in complicated projects.
The key differences between best practice and good practice are the emergence of expert
input and availability of several appropriate ways of solving problems. Project leaders
require carefully selecting the most appropriate options available and handle situations
where experts may disagree with each other.
7. Cynefin Framework is best suited for the execution phase of any project: As said
before, Cynefin Framework is a sense-making model, it is most appropriate for the
execution phase of any project in which project leaders have data to understand and
reiterate their action plans.
8. Particular project may display characteristics of multiple domains: Characteristics of
multiple domains can be found in single project at the same time3. For example The
Canadian Firearms Program may seem to have characteristics of both complicated and
complex domain. The overall program has more than 50 different federal and provincial
departments working together, which are very much interrelated with each other. This
may pose the concept of complicacy in this program. However, the socio-political
pressure, which is also highly present in this program, causes more uncertainty in all
respects. And hence the same program can also be considered as a complex one.

9. Leadership in different domains: It is not prudent to expect any leader to succeed all
the domains addressed by Dave Snowden and Marry Boone in their famous decisionmaking model. Project leaders effectively leading simple or complicated project may not
effectively lead complex projects.

Limitations of the paper:

Dave J. Snowdens paper A leaders framework for decision making is an award winning
paper published in 2007 and is considered as one of the excellent Harvard Business Review
papers. Nevertheless, no framework or model is free of imperfection or limitation. The paper A
leaders framework for decision making seem to have less focus on the edges or borders
between the domains. Borders between the domains are very crucial in sense making since it
indicates the difference or patterns between the ways we perceive any situation or environment2.
As mentioned in the previous section, projects are often incorrectly classified and this is because
of the perceptual variety amongst people. The same project may seem be in different domain to
different people depending upon variety of factors and perceptions. However, developer of
Cynefin framework Dave J. Snowden with his co-author C.F. Kurtz The new dynamics of
strategy: Sense making in a complex and complicated world (2003) addressed the boundary
factor and proposed three geographical metaphors (the shallow, the chasm and, the high plateau)
so that leaders can have better understanding about the original environment2.

Conclusion:
Cynfein framework is an excellent decision-making method to evaluate different systems, their
peripheral environments and decide on action plans. While most of the management aids are
tactical and quantitative, Cynefin Framework is strategic and qualitative3. However, decision
regarding the selection of models depends upon the context and multiple models can be used in
different contexts of a same project. Project leaders must be careful about selecting the models
for their decision-making.

References:
1. David J. Snowden and Marry E. Boone (2007), A Leaders Framework for Decision
Making, Harvard Business School review, November 2007.
2. C. F. Curtz and David J. Snowden (2003), The New Dynamics of Strategy: Sense-making
in a Complex and Complicated World, IBM Systems Journal, Volume: 02, No.: 03
3. H. William Dettmer (2011), Systems Thinking and the Cynefin Framework: A Strategic
Approach to Complex Systems, Goal Systems International.
4. David J. Snowden (2010), The Cynefin Framework [YouTube video], Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oz366X0-8