Systems Thinking for Curious Managers: with 40 new f-laws ebook | Russell L Ackoff | 9781908009074

Shortly before his death in October 2009, we had agreed with Russ Ackoff the text of his latest contribution to the management debate. Called Systems Thinking for Curious Managers it features more than 40 new and previously unpublished f-LAWS (in the same vein as those published in his 2007 title, Management f-LAWS). As before, each f-LAW is accompanied by a witty, sometimes acerbic and always insightful commentary. Any one of these could serve as the ideal starting point for a strategy or planning meeting, for a team discussion, for a position or briefing paper.

In this collection, find out:

1. Why it is better to dissolve a problem than solve it
2. The best place to begin an intellectual, strategic or planning 'journey'
3. Russ Ackoff's contribution to the discussion on how organisation can best bring about 'continuous improvement'
4. ... and his thoughts on benchmarking
5. The relationship between consensus and agreement... and how best to reach agreement
6. What makes a successful business author
7. And much more besides...

The book also includes:

1. The 81 f-LAWS from the first collection (just the f-LAWS, not Russ's commentary or Sally Bibb's responses)
2. An extended essay written by Andrew Carey (and agreed with Russ Ackoff) which presents a thumbnail sketch of Ackoff's approach to Systems Thinking and Interactive Design and ties them in to his collection of f-LAWS. For anyone new to Ackoff's work or simply looking for a handy introduction to Systems Thinking in organisations, this is the ideal starting point. Separate sections cover:
   • Systems Thinking in the Crossfire Definitions
   • The Feedback Loop
   • Tropisms
   • Self-Organisation
   • Interconnectedness
   • Equifinality
   • Events vs Systems
   • Parts vs the Whole
   • Mess
   • Analysis vs Synthesis
   • Failure to Learn
   • Change
   • Aims and Intentions
   • People
3. A moving tribute to Russ Ackoff in the Foreword by his long-time friend and business partner Jamshid Gharajedaghi.

Russell Ackoff, who died in 2009, was one of the world’s leading business thinkers and one of the founding fathers of Systems Thinking. His Management f-Laws (a term coined by Ackoff) expose the conventions and laws of management – the hierarchies and power struggles, the ineptitudes and time-wasting, the prejudices and careless thinking – as flaws of management: all of which hinder successful strategies for organizational change and development.