There are two distinct modes of Do No Harm practice that have both proven highly effective. Do No Harm can be used adaptively to respond to changes in a context and it can be used predictively to anticipate changes in a context.

Adaptive Do No Harm

The adaptive user of Do No Harm adapts to a dynamic context as it changes based on constant updating of a Dividers and Connectors Analysis.

Adaptive use of Do No Harm looks at the ways the social dynamics in a context are changing by paying close and sustained attention to Dividers and Connectors. It then evaluates the effect an intervention is having in order to shift the intervention to have more positive and fewer negative impacts.

The adaptive use, seeing changes occurring in the context, aims to use the intervention to control change. It examines an intervention through Critical Detail Mapping, and then uses the patterns of the ABCs to change the intervention in order to have a conscious impact on the social dynamics.

Adaptive use is by far the more common of the two and can be considered the standard way effective practitioners use Do No Harm.

Predictive Do No Harm

The predictive user of Do No Harm looks ahead and predicts outcomes of actions and behaviors by thorough knowledge of the ABCs and their patterns.

Predictive use looks at the social dynamics in a context through Dividers and Connectors, maps out potential interventions using Critical Detail Mapping, and uses the patterns of the ABCs to predict how a particular intervention will have an impact on the Dividers and Connectors.

The people who use Do No Harm predictively often use it to build scenarios, so that when circumstances change (and they always do), they have several options already mapped out. They can shift as the context shifts because they have anticipated the changes in the situation.

Adaptation and Prediction

Neither method is to be preferred; both provide excellent results in complex contexts. Because they are different, however, they lead to differing tactics in implementation. Teams should be explicit as to which mode they are using.

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Related Topics
Four Do No Harm Techniques
Do No Harm
Collaborative Learning Methodology
Acknowledgement