Facing the difficulties of coping with a turbulent world, some managers resort to oversimplifications: they typical take the form of "recipes", which are often sold by business schools and consulting firms. In the best-selling management literature, one all too often finds titles like "10 rules for …" or "How to ..", which sell the false idea that there are some (usually a few!) all encompassing recipes to get what one wants. One of the basic results of the study of complex systems science is that trainers and managers will understand that there are no always-successful rules, and that they will understand the reason why they aren't .

Note that recipes may sometimes work, but their validity is always transient and limited.

The approach taken in CETRA is orthogonal to the search for simplifying, comforting rules, so it is likely that our proposals will not appeal to those who look for recipes.

Complex systems change by passing through instabilities, where old ways of working become no longer viable. Forecasts are possible and powerful in between these instability points, but they are much more difficult near instabilities. Yet, complex systems science is able at least to help in dealing with these sudden changes. Although no one can tell where a particular system will go, it is possible to identify possible types of evolutions. If a careful monitoring is adopted, it can lead to better management of the ongoing changes.