by Mark Harling | Sep 3, 2025 | Uncategorized
Navigating Complexity with Context and Culture I often talk about the complexity levels and the Cynefin framework, and I know it can sometimes seem a little intangible how it applies to real life. I’d like to share a potent example that came to mind from my time in...
by Mark Harling | Sep 2, 2025 | Blog, UK
Over this series, we’ve journeyed through the invisible landscape of organic choice points: those critical yet often overlooked moments where organisations either evolve or unravel. From cognitive blind spots that obscure early warnings to the cultural dynamics that...
by Mark Harling | Aug 26, 2025 | Blog, UK
The previous article revealed how time pressures (Chronos), missed moments of readiness (Kairos), and closing windows trap organisations. But the most profound barrier often lies within the leaders themselves. We readily discuss the glass ceiling for pay, but there is...
by Mark Harling | Aug 26, 2025 | Blog, UK
My previous articles have explored the fundamentals of organic choice points. In Article 1, we uncovered how cognitive biases and developmental limitations blind leaders to organic choice points, leaving them reacting to crises they could have foreseen. Article 2...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Blog, UK, Uncategorized
Holding On in Turbulent Times When I look across the forest canopy today, I see a landscape in flux. Some trees still stand tall and steady, but others have fallen. Gaps have opened. Saplings are rising in their place, fragile and uneven. It is not a scene of serene...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Blog, UK, Uncategorized
Seeing Through the Forest’s Eyes I’ve learned something humbling about myself over the past months: sometimes the strongest vision I hold for my business isn’t the one it actually needs. Earlier in this series, I wrote about the sapling I invested in heavily, the one...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Blog, UK, Uncategorized
Why Saplings Need Constant Attention Forests look effortless. From a distance, you see tall trees stretching into the canopy, layer upon layer of life renewing itself. But when you look closely, you realise how precarious growth really is. Saplings are fragile. A dry...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Uncategorized
Why Farming Tools Don’t Work in Wild Forests When you walk through a managed tree farm, there’s a certain order to it. The trees are planted in neat rows, evenly spaced, growing straight and tall. They are cultivated for predictability and yield. There is little...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Blog, UK, Uncategorized
Choosing What to Nurture When a gap opens in the canopy, the forest responds. Seedlings that had been lying dormant suddenly push upward, stretching toward the light. Some look strong and promising, others more fragile, even lacklustre. But not all seedlings become...
by Mark Harling | Aug 25, 2025 | Blog, UK, Uncategorized
Facing the Canopy as Business Owners I was walking in the forest this morning when I came across a sign about the forest canopy. It explained how the canopy is always in flux: trees die, storms knock them over, and new gaps open in the cover above. Those gaps are then...
