Tag Archives: economics

Climate Change and Evidence-based Management: An Ecological Perspective [Part I]

In the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, British science writer Matt Ridley wrote another one of his provocative essays around his theme of “rational optimism”. [In 2010 Ridley wrote a book, The Rational Optimist, which I reviewed for Strategy+Business.] … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Clayton Christensen, data, ecological perspective, ecology, economics, innovation, judgement, Matt Ridley, Northern Rock, prediction, resources | Comments Off on Climate Change and Evidence-based Management: An Ecological Perspective [Part I]

Economics as a Moral Science and the Capitalist Dilemma: An Ecological Perspective

As I mentioned last week, Kenneth Boulding was and is my favourite economist and I was reminded again of his work when I came across a New York Times article on capitalism and the Dalai Lama. In it His Holiness … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, capitalist dilemma, Clayton Christensen, Dalai Lama, ecocycle, economics, evolutionary perspective, exchange, integration, Jeffrey Pfeffer, John Dewey, Kenneth Boulding, Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, moral science, Paul Samuelson, Pitirim Sorokin, real world economics, threat | Comments Off on Economics as a Moral Science and the Capitalist Dilemma: An Ecological Perspective

From Machines to Plants: Wandering in The Gardens of Democracy

In The New Ecology of Leadership I draw an extended, disciplined analogy between the cycle of an ecosystem (my favourite is a fire-dependent, lodge-pole pine forest) and the trajectories that organizations follow as they go through their lives. The objective … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged complex systems, destruction, ecological perspective, ecology, economics, Eric Liu, Gardenbrain, Gardens of Democracy, government, hedge-funds, Machinebrain, means and ends, Nick Hanauer, politics, Second Enlightenment, The New Ecology of Leadership | Comments Off on From Machines to Plants: Wandering in The Gardens of Democracy

Management Without Principles

Management “principles” have been a prominent feature of the field ever since the 1950s, when a concerted attempt was made to put management on the path to becoming a social science. With economics as their guide and physics as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Cartesian mind, complex systems, context, contextual intelligence, ecological rationality, economics, history matters, innovation skills, management principles, Master's golf, meaning, POSDCORB, The Innovator's DNA | 1 Comment