--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But in a turbulent environment the change…" description: "\"But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around any kind of central authority. So it is best to manage the bottom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/kevin-kelly-2418_authority_but-in-a-turbulent-environment-the-chang_2013589.png" --- # But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread… ![“But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around any kind of central authority. So it is best to manage the bottom-up change rather than try to institute it from the top down.” quote by Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/kevin-kelly-2418_authority_but-in-a-turbulent-environment-the-chang_2013589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/kevin-kelly-2418_authority_but-in-a-turbulent-environment-the-chang_2013589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/kevin-kelly-2418_authority_but-in-a-turbulent-environment-the-chang_2013589.png) > “But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around any kind of central authority. So it is best to manage the bottom-up change rather than try to institute it from the top down.” [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In chaotic systems, decentralized, bottom‑up change is more effective than top‑down control, as authority is bypassed. **In simple terms:** Bottom‑up change works better in turbulence. Key Takeaway Embrace decentralized adaptation. Themes change authority decentralization Mood analytical strategic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - organizational restructuring - social movements - technology adoption - crisis response Key Concepts complex systems network theory Questions to Reflect On - When is centralized control essential? - How do you balance top and bottom approaches? A Different Perspective Top‑down strategies can still provide necessary coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Central Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-authority-2961921/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Widespread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-widespread-3610143/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Environment Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment-change-1834330/) [Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institute/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Manage Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage-change-1271739/) [Routes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/routes/) [Turbulent Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turbulent-environment-1560286/) ## Related quotes > [The current understanding was that it was impossible to predict how something would evolve because it was a very turbulent environment full of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-current-understanding-was-that-it-was-impossible-to-predict-how/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [My only role in the opening of the schools has been to suggest and encourage opening them. 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Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [But I absolutely believe that architecture is a social activity that has to do with some sort of communication or places of interaction, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/but-i-absolutely-believe-that-architecture-is-a-social-activity-that/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [If I put myself on the side of those who see the world as warming up in a bad way, who see the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/if-i-put-myself-on-the-side-of-those-who-see-the-world-as-warming-up/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [It is senseless to blame others or your environment for your miseries. Change begins from the moment you muster the courage to act. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/it-is-senseless-to-blame-others-or-your-environment-for-your-miseries/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [If current technological processes continue without change, the environment will change, and we, the human species, will either have to mutate or even die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/if-current-technological-processes-continue-without-change-the/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [The most effective way to manage change is to create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-most-effective-way-to-manage-change-is-to-create-it/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## More by Kevin Kelly > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [This is the culmination of a lot of people's vision. I think this is just another step towards making Central Michigan football among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/this-is-the-culmination-of-a-lot-of-people-s-vision-i-think-this-is/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Existence, it seems, is chiefly maintenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/existence-it-seems-is-chiefly-maintenance/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“We have no certainty we’ll contact extraterrestrial beings from one of the billion earthlike planets in the sky in the next 200 years, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-no-certainty-we-ll-contact-extraterrestrial-beings-from-one/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/changing-things-from-the-top-down-works-when-things-are-stable/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/it-s-generally-much-easier-to-kill-an-organization-than-to-change-it/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The only organization capable of unprejudiced growth, or unguided learning, is a network. All othertopologies limit what can happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-only-organization-capable-of-unprejudiced-growth-or-unguided/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We have to get better at believing the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-to-get-better-at-believing-the-impossible/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Our most important mechanical inventions are not machines that do what humans do better, but machines that can do things we can’t do at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/our-most-important-mechanical-inventions-are-not-machines-that-do/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“In the universal library, no book will be an island. It’s all connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-the-universal-library-no-book-will-be-an-island-it-s-all-connected/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We tend to think of the mind of an organization residing in the CEO and the organization's top managers, perhaps with the help of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-tend-to-think-of-the-mind-of-an-organization-residing-in-the-ceo/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The smallest thought could not exist unless the entire universe and the laws of physics were in some way encouraging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-smallest-thought-could-not-exist-unless-the-entire-universe-and/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“From the days of Sumerian clay tablets until now, humans have “published” at least 310 million books, 1.4 billion articles and essays, 180 million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/from-the-days-of-sumerian-clay-tablets-until-now-humans-have/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) [Explore all 167 Kevin Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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