irt: Rol Fessenden, Tue, Dec 5, 1995 9:32 AM EST
"I would add that most strategy statements have components which appear to
be mutually contradictory. One of the great values of this is that if we
simply accept the value of two "mutually contradictory" ends, we make
break through the paradigm that makes them mutually contradictory and find
a new paradigm in which the contradiction disappears.
In this context, management strategies really do add value. "
Rol, your comments bring to mind the work of Charled Hampden-Turner in
"Charting the Corporate Mind." I found his work a real eye opener in terms
of what can happen when we change the either/or mental model to an
integrative perspective. This is very similar to the manner in which
Mihaly Csikszentmihlayi, in "The Evolving Self," talks about complexity
being the integration of integrated and differentiated.
These two examples provide a rather differnt perspective than say the
linear perspective of Covey in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,"
where he talks about developing from dependent to independent to
interdependent. It is not a linear transition one makes but rather
interdependence is what occurs when manages to integrate dependence and
independence.
If you have web access there is a more indepth elaboration of this at:
http://www.radix.net/~crbnblu/itdepends.html
-- Gene Bellinger, CrbnBlu@aol.com