Registrations for the free workshops on Prof. Karl Weick and HROing close today.

The workshops will focus primarily of Weick’s foundational philosophy outlined in his first book. We will also explore his later works and their implications for understanding and tackling risk.

You can register here: admin@spor.com.au

One of the places to start with Weick is in his work on tight and loosely-coupled systems. This is foundational for anyone who wants to think about systems. And, it is not about one or the other but rather a dialectic between both types of organising.

As we know from Taleb and Amalberti (hyper-safety), the tighter the system the greater its fragility. The more loosely-coupled a system the greater the opportunity to accommodate ambiguity, paradox and fallibility. So, the kind of system one develops can create greater risk the more it tries to control it.

This is why Weick argues that ‘bricolage’ is essential for organising.

Similarly, linear systems as are advocated by the swiss-cheese semiotic and the ideology of zero, are also weak and disable bricolage.

Yet, when we read the discourse of safety it is often obsessive (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-obsession-as-a-mental-illness/) and consumed by itself.

The best way to foster maturity in tackling risk is to NOT be obsessed with safety. Indeed, any obsession with safety creates weakness and blindness to risk. This is one of the key messages of Weick.

The workshops are proposed for 7am Canberra time on 9, 16, 23 and 30 June 2026.

Registrations for the free workshops close today.