TEDxConcordia - Michelle Holliday - The Pattern of Living Systems

In her TED Talk, Michelle Holliday challenges us to see what the pattern of living systems reveals about the future of humanity.

Here is the thrust of her argument (the whole text is posted at her blog):

At every level of human activity, it’s the same simple pattern.

And this pattern suggests a very different guiding story.

The pattern is this. All living systems have four defining characteristics:

1. First, there are parts – that's the individual bees in a hive, it's the trillions of individual cells that make up your body. And it's the people in an organization, each with unique perspectives, passions and contributions to share.

The more diverse or divergent the parts, the more resilient, adaptive and creative the living system will be. And we know this from biodiversity, right? We need divergent parts.

2. The second characteristic is that there is the level not of the parts but of the whole - an emergent whole - with characteristics and capabilities of its own that can't be understood by looking only at the parts. So that's the whole bee hive. It's your body, it's you, and you're so much more than just a collection of cells, right? You think, you feel, you move. And these are things that can't be understood by looking only at your cells. And it's the organization, with its culture and its dynamics that lie at a level above that of the individuals.

The more convergent the whole – so, for example, the more you remain recognizably you even as your cells are continuously replaced, the more the organization remains focused on a clear shared purpose, even as people come and go – the more convergence there is, the more resilient and adaptive and creative the living system will be. So there's this paradox that you want high levels of divergence and high levels of convergence if you want a thriving living system.

3. The third defining characteristic is relationship. Dynamic relationship internally and externally.

And the more open and free-flowing the relationships, the more resilient, adaptive and creative the living system will be. So, you want to build a vibrant network of connections if you want a thriving living system.

So we have divergent parts, convergent whole, dynamic relationships.

4. The final characteristic of living systems is what some biologists call a self-integrating property. That means that by itself, the living system integrates divergent parts into a convergent whole in dynamic relationship internally and externally in an ongoing, moment-by-moment process of self-organization and self-creation.

So that's what biologists call a self-integrating property.

Here is some background on Holliday - she is the founder and brand manager of Cambria, a consulting group.

MICHELLE HOLLIDAY Founder & Brand Strategist, Cambria Consulting

Michelle Holliday is a brand strategist with close to 20 years’ experience in international marketing. Her expertise is in aligning internal and external branding and communications for powerful, sustainable impact.

Early in her career, Michelle was one of two expatriates responsible for establishing H.J. Heinz in the former Soviet Union. She developed and implemented a comprehensive strategy to launch five product categories, covering everything from pricing and positioning to packaging and promotion. When she left, the office had 35 employees and sales of $12 million a year, with product distribution throughout the former Soviet Union.

She left Heinz to become Brand Manager for the Coca-Cola brand for Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. With an $11 million marketing budget, she initiated and oversaw a full range of advertising campaigns. She is most proud of her work on the region’s first national contest, which tied together an under-the-cap prize mechanism, 3 television commercials, outdoor advertising, point-of-sale materials and a 30-minute nationally televised film produced specifically for the promotion. As she entered the position, Coca-Cola was new to the region and market leader Pepsi had a 20-year head start. When she left, Coca-Cola’s sales were double those of Pepsi’s.

Her growing interest in the internal side of branding led Michelle to leave Coca-Cola to co-found a consulting firm dedicated to leveraging culture and leadership more effectively. It was here that she developed the Engagement Competency Model (ECM), a diagnostic tool and guiding framework for building an organization that engages employees and customers on a sustainable basis. Based in Washington, DC, her firm’s clients included Merrill Lynch, the US Department of Energy and the Eurasia Foundation.

When personal circumstances led her to Montreal in 2004, Michelle continued to apply the ECM, first as a freelance consultant and then as founder of Cambium Consulting, a multi-disciplinary team blending brand strategy, organizational development and graphic design. In these capacities, her experience has included clients in foodservice, scientific fields, healthcare, retail management, consulting, business-to-business product offerings, and energy efficiency. For an international chain of cafés, her mandate was to help preserve the best and evolve the rest of the client’s culture. To this end, she developed and implemented an integral brand strategy, articulating the company’s positioning, developing and applying core marketing standards, and creating an employee training program and “vibe” video. Her contributions have been vital to the company’s rapid expansion. In another example, she helped all 650 employees of the Montreal Nature Museums to articulate and move toward a compelling shared vision. A highlight of that client relationship has been the opportunity to engage some of the world’s most brilliant nature scientists in conversation about the living systems theories that underlie the ECM.

When she is not helping clients, Michelle is writing a book that is both deeply philosophical and eminently practical describing the emerging era in human civilization, in which engagement is the only viable competitive lever.

Michelle has a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Studies and a Master’s Degree with a concentration in International Marketing. She is certified to apply the values-based Cultural Transformation Tools. She has lived in the USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Russia and France and speaks English, Russian and conversational French.

Tags: TEDx, Concordia, Michelle Holliday, The Pattern of Living Systems, future of humanity, divergent parts, convergent whole, dynamic relationships, self integrating, biologists, life, meaning, systems theory, biology, Philosophy, Cambria, Consulting, Engagement Competency Model