Resilience in Automated Work Environments

😥 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. Many organizations proudly tick the boxes: ✅ Agile ceremonies every two weeks ✅ DevOps pipelines running smoothly ✅ Big “digital transformation” programs launched …yet they still struggle to truly adapt when disruption hits. Why? Because they are optimizing parts of the system, but not the whole. That’s where the 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 comes in. A Cybernetic Enterprise is: 👉 “𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘈𝘐-𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘀, 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘀-𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴.” Let’s unpack this: 🔄𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: Not waiting for quarterly reviews or the next sprint retrospective. Adaptation is constant, like a thermostat that never stops adjusting. ♻️𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀: No more projects launched and forgotten. Every action feeds measurable outcomes back into the system—whether product usage, customer sentiment, or operational resilience. 🤖+🧑𝗔𝗜-𝗔𝘂𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Not “AI will save us” hype, but human + machine working together. AI handles patterns and scale, humans handle judgment and purpose. 🚀𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: Not project-based groups that dissolve after delivery, but durable product teams with the skills, tools, and authority to act immediately on feedback. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁? 🔄𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲/𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗲® gave us iterative development, but still locks teams into fixed cycles. Cybernetics makes every moment adaptive. ⚙️𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 automated delivery but mostly for engineering. Cybernetics extends continuous flow from strategy to customer outcomes. 🏢𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗧 was built on silos, long cycles, and rigid plans. Cybernetics replaces rigidity with resilience. 🏗️𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 was often a one-time program. Cybernetics is an operating model, permanent, evolving, alive. Think of the contrast like this: ⚓ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 = battleships (powerful but slow to turn). ⛵ 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 = a fleet of agile sailboats (nimble, responsive, resilient). 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 “𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝟮.𝟬.” It’s a shift in DNA, from optimizing delivery to redesigning the enterprise itself as a system of systems. 🔗 Link to my book: https://buff.ly/ddvGPby #CyberneticEnterprise #Leadership #AI #DevOps #CyberneticTransformation

A WAKE-UP CALL: THE CROWDSTRIKE OUTAGE AND THE LOOMING THREAT OF AI DISASTERS I was stuck at the Miami airport last Friday, like so many others across the globe. The CrowdStrike incident has sent shockwaves through the world, exposing the vulnerabilities in global computing infrastructures. It affected numerous private and public organizations worldwide, including airlines, hospitals, and even the delivery of uniforms for the Olympic Games. So what lessons can we draw from this wake-up call? How do we build resilience in an autonomous world? First, we must recognize that automation and AI is a double-edged sword. While it promises immense productivity gains and breakthrough innovations, it also introduces new risks and failure modes. Just as a single bug can bring down software systems, flaws in AI algorithms can cascade into catastrophic failures. Second, we need to invest heavily in system safety and robustness. This means rigorous testing, formal verification of AI systems, and building in safeguards and human oversight. We can't rush to deploy AI without proper checks and balances in place. Third, organizations need to prioritize resilience as a key property of their systems and business processes. This means designing for graceful degradation, having backup systems and continuity plans, and fostering a culture of adaptability. Resilience is not just about withstanding shocks, but rapidly learning and evolving from them. Finally, addressing system risks requires cross-boundary collaboration between technologists, business leaders, policymakers and society at large. No single entity can tackle this alone. We need proactive governance frameworks, responsible innovation practices, and public awareness around both the potential and pitfalls of technology. The CrowdStrike incident is a harbinger of the AI-related disruptions to come. Let it serve not as a cause for panic, but as a catalyst for building safeguards and resilience into our AI-powered future. Failing to do so would be the real disaster. #CrowdStrike #AIDisaster #Cybersecurity #Resilience

🐑 What Sheep in a Tornado Can Teach Us About Business Resilience and AI When a tornado hits, sheep instinctively huddle together—not out of fear, but because evolution hardwired them to minimize individual risk by acting collectively. This behavior isn’t just natural—it’s strategic. And it offers a powerful lesson for AI design and business strategy alike: In uncertain, high-risk environments, success doesn’t always come from top-down control. It comes from: 🔹 Decentralized decision-making 🔹 Fast, adaptive responses based on local signals 🔹 Collective resilience through simple, scalable rules 🔹 Prioritizing group safety and stability over isolated optimization In business, as in AI systems, these principles matter: ✅ AI teams building autonomous systems should design for collective adaptability, not just individual intelligence. ✅ Leaders navigating disruption should empower local teams to act fast on local insight. ✅ Organizations under pressure (economic, geopolitical, or technological) must move like flocks—tight, aligned, and responsive. Nature has already solved many of the problems we’re trying to automate. We just have to pay attention. Resilience doesn’t have to be complex. Sometimes, it’s just about sticking together when the winds pick up. Do you agree? A tornado struck near Xilamuren Town in Inner Mongolia, ripping off the metal roof of a herder’s sheep pen and damaging nearby facilities. Moments before impact, surveillance footage showed the sheep instinctively huddling in a corner by the wall, avoiding harm. #AI #BusinessStrategy #Resilience #Leadership #SwarmIntelligence #AdaptiveSystems #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Autonomous #Technology