Dealing With Complexity

The world is growing in complexity. More people. More agendas. More perspectives. More ideas. More problems. More needs to be heard and understood. Collectively, this makes for an imposing reality. Given this: what is a person to do? How can a business cope? How can a nation succeed in achieving peaceful co-existence? How can a planet sustain itself? The answers to these questions are as complex as the world that drives them. At the same time, responses and possible solutions do share one particular common element. For those of you guessed "communication," then go to the head of the class.

If there is going to be any chance at all at addressing the world's dilemmas, then people are going to have to talk with each other. Further, they are going to need to do so in ways that help them feel connected, listened to, validated, and even appreciated. All of this is one tall order that takes solid thinking, planning, collaborating, and test runs. These are exactly the kind of tasks that persons with good communication skills identify and undertake. The trick for those communicators and all who work with them is to devise a way or ways that help ensure the strategies are successful. This, of course, is where good communication on everyone's part comes into play. Also, it does not hurt if participants possess patience, a sense of humor, and an ability to think in the long term.

Communication is not easy, nor is it always successful. Looking ahead to 2009, the world faces an array of complex issues that range from food and water shortages and weak economies to global warming and AIDS prevention. What's a people to do? For starters, seeking ways to communicate makes for a great first step.