Replying to Steve in LO426:
I am excited by your request because of the anticipated responses. I too
lean to the practical side of things while admiring the more philosophical
as well. I am going to assume that by complexity (small "c") you mean the
day to day "ordering" of the tasks/decisions/information that a manager
must deal with. The methods developed by Senge and associates (loosely
meant) around the five disciplines and the "System Archtypes" modeling
techniques are great for understanding organizations and there is much
more out there not (yet) in the"Literature of the Fifth Discipline" which
could be useful...I sure others will contribute much here about that...but
there is also the approach of people like Stephen Covey whose several
books (and seminar industry) is helping the everyday manager "manage" the
complexity of his day to day existence. I believe we need to develop
technologies to develop the person or the Self-in-the-Systemto compliment
our tools to manage/understand the systems themselves. I am refering to
the personal qualities like courage, compassion, respect for truth,
clarity, empathy and trustworthiness which when push comes to shove is
required for appropriate action, rational decison making, and clear
thinking.
Regards,
Tim J. Sullivan
Ministry of Health
From: "Tim Sullivan" <TJSULLIV@BCSC02.GOV.BC.CA>