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Title: Weaving Complexity and Business: Engaging the Soul at Work by Roger Lewin, Birute Regine ISBN: 1-58799-043-1 Publisher: Thomson Texere Pub. Date: 07 May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A delightful read!
Comment: These authors have woven together a masterpiece that brings forth the importance of the new science of complexity in an understandable and practical way. They take us beyond where Margaret Wheatley invited us to ventured years ago, and support the importance of relationships as the basic unit of change. While the book is intended for business readers, it has application to therapists and anyone who is interested in genuine relationships, mutual respect and creative emergence of new ideas.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best Book on the Business Lessons of Complexity Science
Comment: I have read over two dozens books on complexity science and its applications to organizations of all types. Clearly, The Soul At Work is the best of those books. If you already know something about complexity science and its business applications and want to learn more or simply want to get started on the subject, this is the book you should read. Here's why. First, the authors are very fine writers. They also seem to have had outstanding editing. The book is by far the best written of any that I have read on this subject, and is among the best written of any business books I have read as well. This quality particularly shows up in clarifying ideas that can be hard to grasp (complexity science), explaining very interesting examples, and connecting the ideas to the examples in very useful ways. Second, most of the examples are fresh, so you will learn something new by reading these cases. Most business books choose the same examples over and over (do IBM and Coca-Cola seem familiar?), and it gets a little tiring for the reader. The one example in The Soul at Work that I was familiar with was Verifone, and the authors developed lots of new material there that substantially added to my understanding. Third, the cases have a lot of variety in them (as to type of organization, size of organization, the people profiled, the cultural background of the organization, and so forth) which provides a multidimensional perspective that is very helpful. Fourth, the authors successfully contrast their ideas with the humanistic approach to management and the engineering approach, which is a useful backdrop for understanding what they have to say. Anyone who does prefer the humanistic approach will like this book, and will get many new ideas for employing that direction. Fifth, and most importantly, the central theme of the book rings very true to me based on my over 30 years of consulting experience with organizations of all kinds. Trust-based relationships are an essential element of how organizations become more effective. Improve the trust, and any organization works better. The main reason is that trust helps overcome the stalls of poor communication, procrastination, bureaucracy, tradition, disbelief, and avoiding unattractiveness. Although others have made this point, The Soul at Work makes the point better. If you think about the new electronically-connected world, you can see that its main limitation is establishing trust before we can each feel comfortable extending ourselves and our connections in new directions. If you only read one business book this year, this is my recommendation. It's the best business book I have read since The Living Company by Arie de Geus.
Rating: 2
Summary: Can we believe them!
Comment: A typical format from a journalist (science writer). Similar to the original "Life at the Edge" by Lewin, and the original book on "Complexity" by Waldrop. They just keep on telling us how important complexity science is, and how the world can no longer be run on the old mechanistic principles that got us this far. This line is so overused and boring. Wow; major insight from the authors: The world revolves around relationships. And finally, their narratives ( not case studies as they are careful to point out) are different accounts from Monsanto to Du Pont. Can we believe them? These stories hardly confirm anything about why complexity science is so important. But to be fair the authors admit this right up front when they say they are not trying to establish formal proof, but rather seek resonannce and verisimilitude as a source of validation, rather than validity. And for this honesty they get 2 stars not 1.
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Title: Imaginization: New Mindsets for Seeing, Organizing and Managing by Gareth Morgan ISBN: 076191269X Publisher: Sage Publications Pub. Date: 01 July, 1997 List Price(USD): $31.00 |
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Title: The New Public Personnel Administration by Felix A. Nigro, Nigro, Lloyd G. Nigro ISBN: 0875814298 Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $65.95 |
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Title: The Leadership Dance: Pathways to Extraordinary Organizational Effectiveness by Richard N. Knowles, Andrew A. Moyer, Yvonne Tennebroek ISBN: 0972120408 Publisher: Center for Self-Organizing Leadership Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.50 |
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Title: Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos by Roger Lewin ISBN: 0226476553 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan ISBN: 0761906320 Publisher: Sage Publications Pub. Date: 01 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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