Leadership Tangles Blog

This blog typically focuses on business leadership topics related to what I call organizational tangles. Today I focus on a different type of tangle, a Cascade Tangle, and one that might well ensnare us all. Cascade Tangles are a multi-system mess that like dominoes, result in a cascade of failure. The recent financial meltdown appears to be a result of the failure of multiple systems, and like a house of cards, may still be on the brink of collapse.

The current economic meltdown seemed to come out of the blue. Sure, there were warning signs that the economy was slowing, beginning early this year. I was in Taiwan on business the week of September 15, and was stunned to read headlines that the whole global system was in danger of a systemic meltdown. If ever there was a lesson in the importance of reading and heeding warning signs, this is it.