Patterning in Time is just what it sounds like—though time in this sense refers not just to clock time, but to developmental time. Patterning in Time concepts address change in human systems. They help make sense of underlying processes in human growth (including not just individual growth but also the growth of relationships), predict change dynamics in organizations, and better understand how various realms of human inquiry—science, government, education, religion—have evolved over time. Of particular significance for today, they provide perspective for making sense of the changes that define our time.
Patterning in Time concepts describe how what makes a system creatively vital very much has its seasons. Whether our concern is the span of a creative project, the duration of a relationship, a personal lifetime, or the story of culture, different stages not only give voice to very different truths, they reflect very different notions about what makes something true. Patterning in Time concepts describe how various scales of formative process layer one atop the other and together define the context of any creative moment.
A full Patterning in Time analysis addresses change at each systemic layer pertinent to the question one wishes to confront. For example, to address the sort of organizational leadership needed to succeed with a specific project we might be interested in how far the project had already progressed, the ages of those involved, the maturational stages of the project team and the organization as a whole, and the project’s relationship to broader cultural change processes. Patterning in Time addresses the layer within layer of formative dynamics that, like the structures of a “living” Russian doll, make a moment creatively unique.
The first Patterning in Time page outlines formative process’s main stages. Second uses the evolution of music through time to illustrate this progression. The third looks at Patterning in Time substages.