The world as we know is changing, primarily because of how we think about it. Creating a generative learning organization is key to learning at the speed of change. To do this, an organization must be treated as a complex dynamic system of interactions between all people and the situations in which they are involved. This perspective helps you to see the organization as a system of interactions between its parts. By recognizing the parts of the system you can identify patterns of interaction. Recognizing patterns helps you to:

• Analyze your situation from a different perspective
• Solve complex problems
• Plan possible solution paths
• Act in ways that create the desired results within the system

Because complexity continues to increase, organizations need to be aware of the way in which they are responding to this increasing complexity and the changes that complexity brings. You may find that you need to analyze your situation differently, and to respond to situations differently, in order to produce the results you desire. The problems and opportunities that you face are found at several levels within the municipal system, including the people, the processes and the way in which the organization is designed. When you analyze your organization, you may find that energy and resources are being spent on certain parts of the system at the expense of others. Looking at the inter-relationships helps you to find appropriate actions that can, more often than not, lead to desired results. These actions require two things: energy from all individuals involved, and resources to make actions happen. Organizational design helps you to decide how to focus energy and resources on particular areas of your organization in a way that produces desired results, without causing harmful side effects.