![[MY DIGITAL GARDEN/Hidden Images/RBenson01 Facebook.jpg| 400]] # Introducing Myself ## Who am I? I'm Randall Benson, a long-time management consultant and occasional author. My career has involved helping leaders achieve significant organizational and community change. I wrote *The Quest Effect* to explore the topic and capture my insights. I have the urge to continue writing. So I hope this digital garden will provide an outlet for me and create value for others. ## Why am I Writing? I'm writing because I have something profound to share. I've seen that complex change is where high-leverage opportunities abound. It is where transformation takes place and breakthroughs happen. Yet, when it comes to complex change, one thing stands out above all else. That's the power of a quest to realize complex change and to heal wastelands.  I'd like to create an online guide to complex change.   Our track record with complex change and transformation has been abysmal. Yet, I've experienced firsthand how that failure rate can turn upside down. I want to share my knowledge and hard-earned wisdom to help others succeed. ## Why am I qualified? The topic of complex change has fascinated me for some time. It started when I first noticed those principles in my client work. My career has involved many years of studying and applying complex-change concepts. Also, I've worked with dozens of clients on complex change initiatives. As a result, complex change is a subject I have experienced at a deep level.   As I've worked with change leaders in business, government, healthcare, and communities. During that time, their results excited and amazed me. These clients achieved consistent success with complex change, often achieving remarkable outcomes. Some examples include: - An overcrowded emergency department becomes the nation's fastest. It also offers the first 30-minute service guarantee. - An international airport that hasn't seen a remodel for 27 years. Yet it achieves a number 5 ranking in customer service. Before, it was unranked among the top 100 international airports.  - A cruise line transforms its reservations operations and achieves 100% booking. This was the first time in its history. - A hospital at its capacity limits and needs more beds. It reduces its patient length of stay by over 40% thereby creating the equivalent of 192 extra beds. - A community organization helps African Americans buy their first homes. This grew household wealth.   - A truck parts factory doubles its output with the same staff and facility. When I wrote *The Quest Effect*, I wanted to describe a framework for navigating change. That framework had proved transformational for my clients. Since I wrote my book, I've learned a great deal more. As a result, I further developed an unorthodox approach to navigating complex-change initiatives.  My degrees in economics and industrial technology were a great help. So was a graduate degree in operations management. Yet, many of my insights came from diverse sources. These included organizational change theory, complexity sciences, mythography, and history. The intersections of these interests were the key. They led me to see that complex change was the quintessential quest. ## What will I be Writing about? I want to write about three topics: 1. Complex change 2. The Quest framework 3. Healing the wasteland ### Complex Change I'll be writing about change, particularly complex change. I will distinguishing between complex change and other types of change. That is the golden key to successful transformative change. It unlocks a universe of opportunity and accesses new levers of power. I'm excited to share that world with you. Topics I want to explore: - Complexity and complex change principles - Using the Quest Framework for navigating complex change - Fascinating stories and legends about real and fictional quests - Case studies about applying the Quest Framework to complex change - Guidance from my book, *The Quest Effect* - Applying complex change principles to pressing world problems ### The Quest Framework The quest is an archetypal pattern found in complex change and transformation. At its core, a quest is a journey. Yet, it's a special journey. It's a demanding search towards a specific goal or mission. The goal or mission involves: - Restoring vitality, - Breaking through to a new level, or - Healing a wasteland.   Quests entail exploration, discovery and application. Experiments are the engine that drives the quest. They spin up in a spiral of evermore demanding trials. In time, the questers reach a point where the transformation is achievable.   Humans have an innate propensity to quest. Evolution scientists tell us it's in our DNA. To reach new levels, we draw on the quest to seek beyond our immediate needs. Quests have a remarkable way of engaging our the passion, creativity and innovation.   Many people dismiss quests as the stuff of movies, myth and legend. Cultural stories give shape to the archetypal pattern of the quest. But that doesn't lessen the quest's significance. The quest exhibits a universal pattern that has always resonated with people. I'm convinced that the quest is a powerful tool. I base that assessment on my own research and experience. The quest is the single most significant factor in bringing about complex change. It is how we can heal wastelands. ### Healing the Wasteland At first, I thought quests were about achieving breakthroughs. While that's true the quest is also about much more.  Central to the quest tradition is the idea of healing the wasteland. The wasteland represents forces of diminishment and chaos. Metaphorical wastelands are everywhere. Yet, the climate crisis has taught us that wastelands are not only metaphorical. Our quests aim to heal the wastelands of our lives and our world. I've seen healing happen; I want to nurture it. So, I intend to share some practical wisdom and essential advice. If all goes well, I can add some unsettling ideas, bold concepts, novel paradigms. ## Who am I writing for? I'm writing for myself to indulge my curiosity and explore ideas. I want to create relationships with others who share my interests. I'm writing for others interested in profound, transformational change. It could be personal, organizational, social, or world change. I'm not interested in ordered change like project management, agile, or steps programs. But, I'm fascinated by how change emerges from disorder and uncertainty. I'm focused on novelty and unexplored territory. I'm interested in exploration and application, but not traditional planning and control.   I'm looking for others who want to explore complex change with me. ## How can you get involved? I want to hear from you! Soon, I'll set up communication channels. ## Personal background I've lived much of my life in Seattle before moving to the San Juan Islands in Washington State. I now enjoy life in Bellingham, a small port city on the Washington coast near the Canadian border. I enjoy playing bluegrass music, trekking the Pacific Northwest, bicycling, and nature photography. <p> <p> </p> ![[Digital Garden Seedling 01 small2.png]] [[How Article Maturity Works| What is This?]] If you found this article helpful, share it with your network! | [Email Me](mailto:[email protected]) | [Quest Effect Website](www.questeffect.com) | [My Book - The Quest Effect](https://www.amazon.com/Quest-Effect-Mastering-Breakthrough-Organization/dp/0967545331/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XIMAD1W2YFBB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kdRdPPDqpm_VomZu3b_YlQM_wQXI2AzuSbAu966GwwPGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.zBB0GSA-MVQz_-J1M-Q-XZpAEXBVeFCmNnUcgGTOAg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=%22the+quest+effect%22&qid=1729191943&s=books&sprefix=the+quest+effect+%2Cstripbooks%2C162&sr=1-1) | | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- © 2024 by Randall Benson. 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