The Action Spectrum offers a framework for taking actions in mechanistic controlled spaces as well as complex, adaptive, organic, complex spaces and the expectations and metrics to consider for each area.

1. Action Spectrum
portfolio development across the control,
guide, and nurture realms
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

2. Action Spectrum
Control Guide Nurture
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

3. Control Control
Closed, simple systems and predictable consequences.
Mechanistic. Reductionism works.
Short timeframes and quick feedback loops.
Most organizations focus attention:
place boundaries
claim ownership
set clear expectations
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

4. Examples Control
Flip a light switch. Light turns on.
Record image and sound with a video
camera.
Turn key in car, ignites engine. Engine
runs.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

5. Process Control
Action triggers result, possibly through a series of
cascading actions.
If the result does not happen, troubleshoot elements of the
“closed” and known system.
Improvement comes from increased efficiency.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

6. Metrics Control
Measurable, Countable
Clear relation of input to output
Dependable and predictable
Zero-Sum
Examples: # of parts or products, amount of money, or
length of video, rate of production.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

7. Benefits Control
Excellence of what is known.
Known and clear agent or authority.
Predictable outcomes.
Easily measurable results.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

8. Risks Control
Monoculture
Brittle, non-learning
Tendency to stay small scale.
Effort needed to “control” grows exponentially with linear
growth of size and required adaptability. Which, quite often,
grinds you to a halt.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

9. Guide Guide
Complicated or even complex systems.
Interpersonal dynamics. Attribution shared.
Most organizations focus attention:
incentives and bonuses for employees to cooperate
legal agreements
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

10. Examples Guide
Team designs product.
Directing the creation of a video.
Creating agreements with suppliers.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

11. Process Guide
Action success depends partly on interpersonal dynamics.
If the result does not happen, leverage influence or increase
“buy-in” of parties.
Effectiveness comes from process improvement and better
human dynamics.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

12. Metrics Guide
Milestone or goal achieved.
May be sortable or rate-able.
May be unclear what inputs were necessary to achieve
outcome.
May be non-zero sum
Examples: number of “takes” in shooting film, rating of
quality in the product, sales numbers.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

13. Benefits Guide
Share responsibility and access shared knowledge.
Flexible, more resilient than control space.
Shared attribution.
(sharing attribution with you doesn’t decrease my credit! Non-
zero-sum dynamics.)
Guessable outcomes (not 100% predictable though).
A key issue in service companies, managers often resort to
proscribing behavior, then things collapse.
When guiding by shared values and principles, the system
becomes self-managing.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

14. Risks Guide
Dependency on others.
Requires interpersonal skills
(non-rational environment).
Challenging metrics and more complicated feedback loops.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

15. Nurture Nurture
Complex adaptive systems. Probability instead of causality.
Organic learning. Attribution distributed.
Long, if not infinite, timeframes with webbed feedback
loops. Warning: power laws live here.
Most organizations focus attention:
interactions that invite and incentivize
encouraging innovation and creativity
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

16. Examples Nurture
Sharing this presentation with you.
Share video through social media.
Most advertising.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

17. Process Nurture
Same action can produce a wide variety of results.
“Plant seeds” and see what grows fruit. Expect most to fail.
Iterate.
Improvement unpredictable. Iterate and watch for patterns.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

18. Metrics Nurture
Sampling of outcomes (full measure unknown).
Complex and often multi-layered metrics pointing toward
intended outcome but are rarely the outcome itself.
Challenging to predict. Wide variations.
Examples: eyeball or viewer count within time period, story
attributing credit, change or deviation from previous
measure.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

19. Potential Nurture
Benefits
Agile.
Resilient, at times even anti-fragile.
Power laws.
Large scale collective impact.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

20. Risks Nurture
Dependency on networks and others beyond influence.
Diffuse authority and difficult attribution.
Unpredictable timeframes.
Uncertainty.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

21. Action Spectrum
Control Guide Nurture
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

22. Action Portfolio
Every organization has actions
within each realm.
Set expectations for each area
appropriately.
Metrics different for each.
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

23. Corporate Example
Control
makes tshirt in a factory
metrics: # of shirts produced/hour
Guide
designs new tshirt using a creative team
metrics: # of hours spent designing, employee turnover, comparitive shirt
sales
Nurture
invites shirt buyers to upload photos of themselves wearing shirt
metrics: # of sales, # of views to invitation, # of uploads
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net

24. Philanthropy
Example
Control
feed homeless at a shelter
metrics: # of meals served
Guide
education program to rehabilitate homeless
metrics: # of homeless who graduate within time limit, # of homeless with
jobs within time limit
Nurture
campaign to prevent homelessness
metrics: # of high risk individuals touched by program, story from at-risk
youth attributing program with prevention, change in rate of homelessness
(qualified by other potential factors in rate change)
by Jean Russell at Thrivable.net