When Solving The Problem Isn't The Problem - with David Olney

This episode is with David Olney. David is an Australian, based in Adelaide, whose career has spanned university teaching, security analysis, professional training and strategic communication. For nearly 20 years, he lectured at the University of Adelaide, teaching subjects including Applied Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, International Security and the Politics of Leadership. He's also trained people across Defence, government and private organisations, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Defence.

In the conversation that follows, David explains, with great clarity, the difference between complicated and complex challenges — and the barriers that make adaptation so difficult, for your company AND you.

We cover: 

Understanding complexity — and why organisations resist it

• The distinction between complicated and complex problems: predictable interactions versus systems that evolve through human behaviour, time and feedback.
• Why organisations prefer to treat complex challenges as complicated ones — the psychological comfort of predictability, control and familiar expertise.
• Catastrophic failures, near misses and unexpected shocks as catalysts for recognising complexity.
• The particular challenge for established media businesses: adapting before a crisis forces change.
• Streaming and AI as examples of disruption confronting organisations with the limitations of their existing models and capabilities.

Russell Ackoff's puzzles, problems and messes

• Why solving individual problems in isolation can intensify the wider mess.
• Systems thinking, interconnected variables and the unintended consequences of interventions.
• The Yellowstone National Park example: wolves, beavers, waterways and forests as an illustration of system-wide interdependence.
• The importance of understanding feedback loops and second-order effects before intervening.
• Using artificial boundaries and necessary simplifications to make otherwise overwhelming complexity manageable.

Practical frameworks for navigating complexity

• John Boyd's OODA loop — Observe, Orient, Decide, Act — and the importance of orientation in identifying where and how to intervene.
• Toyota's Five Whys technique: moving beyond symptoms and immediate assumptions to uncover underlying causes and relationships.
• Herbert Simon's distinction between maximising and satisficing — agreeing on the appropriate standard of performance before acting.
• Lessons from high-reliability organisations, including aircraft carriers, nuclear power plants and hospital emergency departments.
• The US Marine Corps' Left of Bang approach: recognising anomalies and acting before they develop into crises.
• The importance of trusting frontline observations and empowering junior employees to raise concerns.

Leadership and organisational adaptation

• Gary Klein's distinction between refining existing capabilities and seeking insights into emerging challenges.
• Why long-tenured management teams can become trapped in optimising yesterday's successful operating model.
• The distinction between management and leadership: refining yesterday versus preparing for tomorrow.
• Creating organisational conditions that encourage curiosity, anomaly detection and constructive challenge.

Strategic communication and change from within

• Why solving a complex problem is often easier than securing organisational permission and resources to address it.
• Strategic communication as a bottom-up capability, rather than simply a top-down management function.
• Translating frontline challenges into the priorities, incentives and concerns of senior decision-makers.
• The importance of genuinely bidirectional communication in adaptive organisations.
• How hierarchy, status and internal power structures can prevent critical information from reaching decision-makers.

The human dimension of complexity

• Why psychological adaptability is increasingly as important as technical problem-solving expertise.
• The challenge of accepting that yesterday's expertise may not be sufficient for tomorrow's environment.
• The growing importance of generalists who can connect disciplines, perspectives and specialist capabilities.
• Developing organisational adaptability by empowering and promoting people closer to the frontline.
• The role of leadership renewal, cultural flexibility and openness to unfamiliar ideas in navigating sustained change.

David on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidolney/

Online: https://davidolney.com.au/