Unintended consequences of a networked world

We don't have to be reminded of how everything is connected to everything. The global financial crisis is now in our faces every day. We are currently watching the unintended consequences of the Australian government providing deposit guarantees to bank deposits. The flood from non guranteed funds to the banks has been prolific enough to force some fund managers to stop all withdrawals. Too bad for the retirees who had chosen to use these funds like bank accounts.

Perhaps the point is that the level of connectedness is such that no amount of sophisticated modelling can predict the consequences of any particular action. This year in Australia we have seen record everything ... from stock market movements through to the hottest August day, the coldes October day... and the list goes on. Perhaps the media reports on these things more now, but my guess is that the world is becoming more volatile.

So what can we do about it? I suggest we do less planning and more reacting (agile). Perhaps in the networked world one is rewarded more for agility than planned response. Easier said than done I'm sure....