Tag Archives: complex systems

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Catch 22: The Anatomy of a Social Trap

Joseph Heller’s best-selling, satirical novel, Catch-22, gets it name from the self-contradicting circular logic that the book’s protagonist, Captain John Youssarian encounters while on active service as a B-25 bombardier during World War II. This was the logic that prevented … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged complex systems, fund returns, pension funds, public service, social traps, sustainability | Comments Off on Catch 22: The Anatomy of a Social Trap

The Spirit of Capitalism: the Quakers and the First Industrial Revolution

The ecological model in The New Ecology of Leadership shows enterprises as being conceived in passion and born in communities of trust and practice. My insights into this dynamic were first guided by my discovery of the Society of Friends, … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Adam Smith, Anglican Church, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Barclays Bank, Book of John, Book of Matthew, Catholic Church, charcoal, Christian calling, Coalbrookdale, coke, community, complex systems, engines, English Civil War, English Nonconformists, First Industrial Revolution, George Fox, ideology of markets, iron, Iron Bridge, Lloyds Bank, market price, Max Weber, means and ends, pots, pumps, Quakers, Robert Barclay, Royal Navy, Sermon on the Mount, Shropshire, skillets, Society of Friends, sociology of virtue, spirit of capitalism, The Wealth of Nations, Theory of Moral Sentiments, William Penn | Comments Off on The Spirit of Capitalism: the Quakers and the First Industrial Revolution

Bain or Bane? Private-Equity and Creative Destruction

With Mitt Romney now the inevitable Republican Presidential candidate, renewed attention is being focused on his incredibly lucrative years running Bain Capital. In that private-equity firm he and his colleagues played key roles, mostly as the turnaround managers of mature … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged American economy, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Bain, complex systems, creative destruction, ecological perspective, forest renewal, incentives, innovation, Mitt Romney, neoclassical economics, Obama, predator, private-equity, scavenger, shareholders, tax policy, The Economist, venture capital | Comments Off on Bain or Bane? Private-Equity and Creative Destruction

Sustaining Complex Systems: Fairways and Traps

This past Sunday’s New York Times contained another cautionary tale about complex systems and the people who live in them. It is the story of the seaside town of Matunuck on the southern coastline of Rhode Island. The entire region … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged American politics, complex systems, decision-making, expedient, important, quick fix, Senate, sustainability, urgent | Comments Off on Sustaining Complex Systems: Fairways and Traps

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

The Ecocycle: A Mental Model for Understanding Complex Systems

I found this evocative image a short time ago. It captures the intention and spirit of the book admirably: three dragons – I have named them Passion, Reason and Power – scramble on a Moebius strip in a never-ending three-cornered … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged adaptive cycle, anticipation, Chapter 11, complex systems, creative leadership, destruction, ecocycle, ecosystem, General Motors, infinity symbol, Kodak, logic, mental model, Moebius strip, moment of Now, power, prediction, Rochester, social traps, strategic management, sustainability, sweet zone, trust | 2 Comments

Complex Systems – Learning from A River

The Mississippi river complex drains the heartland of America, exiting, as everyone knows, below New Orleans. The river, its catchment basins, flood plains and deltas comprise a complex system that has evolved over the eons to deal with change. Huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Change | Tagged Army Corp of Engineers, Atchafalaya, complex systems, Katrina, Mississippi, Mississippi delta, Mississippi floods, New Orleans, systems, wetlands | Comments Off on Complex Systems – Learning from A River Newer posts →