Notice What's Unfolding in the Moment

The Field Guides translate our Workplace Absurdity Pattern Library into practical resources for people working inside real organizations.

While the pattern library helps you recognize recurring patterns

 - like ethical drift, strategic theatre, or technological salvation, 

the Field Guides focus on something more immediate:

understanding what you’re actually seeing when those patterns 

show up and spark ideas of what to do before, during and after.

These guides are designed for the moments where something is happening or has just happened and it’s not yet clear what it is.

Each guide supports working with patterns across different moments:

• in real time — when something feels off, but hasn’t been named 
• in reflection — making sense of what just happened 
• in ongoing practice — recognizing patterns earlier over time 

You’ll find:

• ways to surface what’s actually happening beneath the conversation 
• ways to stay oriented without forcing or shutting things down 
• ways to understand what kind of situation you’re in before deciding how to engage 

The Field Guides are not prescriptive playbooks.

Complex situations rarely have a single right response.

Instead, they offer a way to:

• make sense of what’s happening as it unfolds 
• understand what’s driving it 
• and judge what’s worth engaging with… and what’s already in motion 

The guides are designed for people working inside complexity:

• practitioners inside organizations 
• consultants and advisors 
• leaders navigating change 
• researchers studying how work actually unfolds 

Anyone who’s experienced that moment where something feels off but it’s not yet clear what it is

Modern organizations rarely drift into dysfunction overnight.

Long before strategies fail or cultures fracture, small signals begin 

to appear: contradictions between priorities, decision bottlenecks, quiet workarounds, and moments of organizational absurdity 

that people learn to live with.

The Organizational Absurdity Index is an experimental diagnostic tool being developed through our Workplace Absurdities Research Program.

Its purpose is to help organizations recognize these signals earlier and interpret what they may be revealing about systemic pressure inside the organization. Rather than diagnosing problems after they become visible, the index explores how everyday absurdities can function as early indicators of deeper structural strain.

The index is currently being designed to examine patterns such as:

• recurring contradictions between strategy and execution
• fragmentation of authority or accountability
• decision bottlenecks and narrowing options
• workarounds that signal hidden constraints
• patterns of humor, irony, or frustration emerging in everyday conversations

Importantly, the index does not only measure deterioration.

It also looks for signs of adaptive capacity, where organizations are successfully absorbing pressure, maintaining orientation, and preventing systemic drift. This balance helps distinguish between environments that are under strain and those that are actively adapting.

The Organizational Absurdity Index is currently being piloted and refined.

During this phase we are testing:

• potential absurdity indicators
• early warning signals of structural pressure
• patterns that reveal both decay and adaptation
• ways organizations can interpret these signals collectively

The goal is to evolve the index through real-world observation rather than theoretical design.

We are currently looking for a small number of organizations and practitioner partners interested in participating in the pilot phase.

Participants will help test the indicators, contribute observations, and shape how the index evolves. If this is something you would like to explore join our pilot.