Episode 99: complexity in chaos
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Looking Outside is for curious people looking for a fresh take on familiar topics, in business and beyond.
Things used to be simpler. Competition fueled innovation. When wars were fought, you could easily tell who the good guys were. Institutions could be trusted. A lens like this might feel right, but is it true? Richard Hames doesn’t think so. Operating at the intersection of complex systems thinking, philosophy, foresight and organizational readiness for decades, Richard has observed the fracturing – and near collapse – of our societal and governing anchors. But this gradual transition, this disconnection from the ‘old world’, while unsettling, is neither good nor bad. For this future, Richard says openness and curiosity will serve us better than the best preparation.
To look outside, Richard gets started. One of the lessons from his time as a musical conductor was that inspiration doesn’t come from nowhere, but from the first note. In action, he finds a path to new perspectives.
Richard is an Australian futurist and systems philosopher known for his pioneering work at the intersection of complexity, governance, and societal transformation. Educated in the UK and Europe and now based in Thailand, he is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science and the founder of both the Centre for the Future and the Asian Foresight Institute. His early careers in medicine, computer science, academia, and the arts shaped a uniquely multidisciplinary perspective that continues to define his work.
A former Group CEO who transformed a failing media company into one of Europe’s most dynamic corporations, Richard has spent decades advising governments, global institutions, and multinational organizations across the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He is widely recognised for developing Deep Design — a regenerative, whole‑systems approach to second‑order change — and for his influential methodologies including Transformational Narrative, Systemic Acupuncture, and Strategic Navigation.
Regarded as one of the world’s most erudite futurists, Richard has a long track record of anticipating major global shifts, from the climate crisis and the Global Financial Crisis to geopolitical upheavals and the rise of AI. A prolific author and celebrated speaker, his work challenges industrial‑era assumptions and offers new pathways for leadership, governance, and societal renewal in an age of accelerating complexity.
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