Summary: Organizational development is evolving towards embracing continuous change to adapt to increasingly dynamic environments, moving away from solely episodic change. Episodic change involves planned, macro-level interventions to manage organizational failures or opportunities, while continuous change reflects ongoing, micro-level adaptations through interactions of people, processes, and technology. Both views provide complementary insights into organizational change. Episodic change, with its structured approach like Lewin’s unfreeze-move-refreeze model, is criticized for not capturing the constant flux of organizational life. Continuous change, however, lacks clear metrics but offers a perspective of perpetual adaptation. Merging these perspectives allows for a more nuanced understanding of change, suggesting that leaders should integrate both to manage and anticipate change effectively in turbulent contexts.

Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is an archetypal image that Westerners associate with Japan. But, more than a picture of waves threatening to devour fishermen as Mt. Fuji looks on, a closer look illuminates key concepts in chaos theory that Western science did not “discover” until recently while offering timeless lessons for fostering adaptability and growth in turbulence.