Working with uncertainty, complexity and change using the

Chaos Theory of Careers 

CDI Annual Conference Cardiff, Mon 9th November 2015 Professor Jim Bright

Faculty of Education and Arts jim.bright@acu.edu.au

The Chaos Theory of Careers

•Complexity

•Change

•Chance

© Jim Bright 2015

Careers are subject to a huge number of different influences

• Parents

• Economy

• Globalisation

• Education

• Teachers

• Accidents

• Health

• Geography

• Acts of War

• Terrorism

• Relatives

• Friends

• Relationships

• Parenthood

• Chance Encounters

Complexity, puppies & ping pong

• Limits on Predictability

© Jim Bright 2015

How many combinations of a Rubik’s cube are there?

43,252,003,274,489,856,000 ~ 43 Quintillion

It is estimated by Simon Harper that it takes 90 days counting 16 hours a day to reach 1 million.

making it 10664877519737 years, 2 months & 20 days to count to 43 quintillion

(currently life expectancy is approximately 82 yrs) Good luck!

© Jim Bright 2015

Change

© Jim Bright 2015

Chance

Between 70% - 100%

of people say

a chance event

significantly changed

their career Pryor & Bright, 2011

© Jim Bright 2015

Lorenz, Chaos, Weather & Prediction

Non-linearity A tiny change in the initial conditions leads to a

dramatically different outcome

In this case the change was

C=C+0.01 between A and B

LorenzModified Lorenz attractor. It is defined by

the following 3 differential equations:dx/dt=-ax+aydy/dt=cx-y-xzdz/dt=-bz+xy

values a=10, b = 28, c= 3.99 from 3.98 x=y=z=1

© Jim Bright 2015

The Limits of Plans

Chaos Theory of Careers Pryor & Bright 2011

• Dynamic, continual change

• Planning NOT Plans

• Strategic Opportunism

• Being open to Possibilities

• Avoid being trapped into narrow & static thinking

• Stepping back and seeing bigger emergent picture

© Jim Bright 2015

Successful Careers Flow fromFlexibility

Curiosity

Creativity

Openness

Risking Failure

Persistence

Contact Jim Bright

• jimbright@me.com or jim.bright@acu.edu.au

• https://au.linkedin.com/in/jimbright

• www.brightandassociates.com.au

• @DrJimBright

• https://www.facebook.com/jimbright.careerdevelopment

© Jim Bright 2015