Adaptation
An adaptive ecosystem changes its behavior in response to its environment and over time ‘learns from experience’ leading to increased resilience and longevity. Adaptive changes vary in scope and can be intentional (e.g., goal or objective oriented) or unintentional. Early detection of changes in parts of the organization create opportunities to catalyze system wide adaptation for more orderly performance and development. Humans are highly adaptable ‘actors’’, who continually influence their respective system’s capacity to change.

Co-evolution
Co-evolution is essential to the sustainability of a complex adaptive ecosystem. How people in an ecosystem connect and relate to each other directly influences collective changes that impact the overall ecosystem (environment). As the ecosystem responds to change it influences patterns in the ecosystem, which will once again influence change — this is a constant process that allows people and ecosystems to work together for adaptive survival.

Complex Adaptive System (CAS)
A complex adaptive system is a nonlinear, interactive system which has the ability to adapt to changing environments. It can change or adapt its internal structure to meet the demands that arise from within and outside the system. The CAS generated actions are interconnected such that they continually influence and change the system.

Organizations are human systems and constitute a special CAS, Complex Adaptive Human Systems (CAHS). Humans mostly follow accepted system-wide patterns of

behavior but have the freedom to act and react in unpredictable ways, evolving by self-organization, transforming the environment in which they operate, and even mutating through an unplanned innovation or disruption.

Complexity
Complexity is the driver for behaviors of complex (adaptive) systems and the unpredictable actions and reactions that emerge from the interactions of multiple participants and components across many levels of the system. Predetermined solutions that “should” work, in theory, are often less impactful than expected because all intended and unintended outcomes cannot be fully anticipated.

Diversity (Difference)
All ecosystems, especially organizations, communities and other structural or relational groupings of people, benefit from differences and diversity among members of the ecosystem. Creative problem solving and project success flourishes when member perspectives include differences influenced by race, ethnicity, gender, age, academic training, economic status, life experience, neurocognition etc.

Ecosystem(s)
An ecosystem is inherently complex, emergent and adaptive with many interdependent parts that are constantly changing and evolving. Everyone and everything with a relationship to the defined ecosystem contributes to the aggregate behaviors and interactions that impact outcomes. In much the same way biological ecosystems are defined by the interactions of organisms and their physical environment; human ecosystems are defined by the interactions of people and their environment or the context in which they act.

Emergence
In a complex adaptive system, unpredictable events and issues can emerge from interactions between people and among parts of the ecosystem,not through direct control. A flexible organization that can improvise, innovate, and continuously adapt to their surroundings encourages self-organization which frequently triggers emergence. However, silos, constraints and rigid hierarchies can create barriers to emergent phenomena that have the potential to impact the ecosystem in small and large ways. Complexity thinking affords leaders a new method of anticipating and responding to emergent signals and structures that become evident in the ecosystem.

Initial Conditions
Complex systems are especially sensitive to initial conditions and even small changes to initial conditions in a complex system may have a large impact.

A complex adaptive ecosystem is responsive to intentional and deliberate actions that “set the conditions” for change. For example, a room set-up, meeting design and facilitation process are initial conditions that can make a significant difference in the success of immediate meeting engagement and longer term deliverables.

Iteration
Iteration is the act of repeating small actions or changes when setting initial conditions or shifting activities in an ecosystem. Small changes can go undetected or unnoticed, yet as each change iterates and interacts with other parts of the ecosystem, it creates the potential for significant overall change through emergence and self-organization. Through iteration, organization (system) output at each moment becomes input for processing the next moment.

Nonlinear System (Nonlinearity)
In nonlinear systems the magnitude of the change does not always result in the magnitude of the effects. All nonlinear systems are influenced by the relationship of ‘parts’ of the ecosystem that are interactive, interdependent, and sensitive to feedback effects from iteration. An organization is a nonlinear system that is deeply influenced by the actions and relationships of people and activities in the ecosystem.

Patterns
In a complex adaptive system, patterns reflect an identifiable condition or behavior that is both resilient and adaptive to the fluctuations in the ecosystem. Patterns are susceptible to change and will shift in response to internal and external activities generated by individuals, organizations, and other ecosystems.

Resilience
Resilience is a measure of an ecosystem’s ability to survive and persist during periods of rapid and dramatic change. Likewise, if an ecosystem is too resistant to change it can become stagnant or worse. Resilient ecosystems are able to more quickly recover from disruptions and find new stability through self-organization.

Self-organization
Self-organization is how a complex adaptive system responds and adjusts to continual fluctuations in its environment. The process of self-organization accelerates the emergence of new patterns of behavior resulting from interactions with large and small shifts in the ecosystem. This process is generally spontaneous, triggered by continual and random actions, however it can also be influenced by persistent and deliberate interventions. Any ecosystem of people has the capacity to be self-organizing.

Simple Rules
Simple rules guide behaviors and interactions of members of a complex adaptive system. The most common example from complexity science is a flock of birds, who can navigate long journeys in coordinated effort without apparent “central control.” In organizations, whether by known agreement or by the unspoken practices of working together, most members of the organization ecosystem tend to interact according to a short list of simple rules.

System States – Simple, Complicated, Complex, & Chaotic
Complex Adaptive Systems simultaneously operate in different states of complexity, influenced by the conditions present in the ecosystem. Identifying and aligning “areas or parts” of the ecosystem to actual conditions of complexity is seldom successfully addressed using a one-size fits all approach.

Simple: In a CAS, simple states are characterized by a clear cause-and-effect relationship between inputs and outputs, with the outcomes being easily predictable, such as routine tasks that are standardized, easy to replicate, and require no expertise to follow. Activities that operate in the simple state can provide a stable foundation for the more complex aspects of the system to build upon.

Complicated: In a CAS, complicated states generally involve many interdependent parts that require a high degree of expertise, careful planning, and attention to detail to achieve a specific outcome. Complicated systems are characterized by a less clear cause-and-effect relationship between inputs and outputs, and the relationships between them may not be immediately obvious. The knowledge gained from a successful outcome of a complicated system can inform the planning and execution of other areas in the system.

Complex: In a CAS, complex states are indicated by unique situations and outcomes are uncertain, requiring exploration, experimentation, and flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Unlike complicated systems, complex systems do not have clear cause-and-effect relationships, rigid protocols may be counterproductive, results cannot be easily replicated, and success may depend on factors that are difficult to predict or control. Successful outcomes of actions taken in complex systems offer value information and insight for subsequent planning and change strategies.

Chaotic: In a CAS, chaotic states are characterized by situations that are radically unpredictable and uncontrollable, requiring rapid responses and the ability to improvise and adapt quickly. Spontaneity, resourcefulness, and improvisation are necessary, rather than standard operating procedures. Although chaotic conditions might appear random at first glance, if people pay close enough attention to what is really going on, they might notice a “hidden” order or pattern. Recognizing and understanding the underlying and emerging patterns of system behavior can guide development of adaptive strategies and responses to chaotic events.

The Part, the Whole, and the Greater Whole
Ecosystems seldom exist in isolation. The concept of the Part, the Whole, and the Greater Whole clarifies why everything and everyone with a relationship to the ecosystem can influence outcomes. An organization operates within its self-defined boundaries and affiliations but it is also part of a larger community, that is part of a city, a state, a country, or a continent. The actions of any one part of the organization can be effective but when coordinated with the actions or activity of the whole, and ultimately the greater whole, the combined interactions produce a total effect that is greater than, or different from, the sum of the individual elements.