Wolfgang raises an interesting issue. I'll jump right in because
complexity and strategy is becoming my increasingly demanding hobby.
He asks, "What about mature industries?" Can the not renew or
transform? If they do, won't it take huge capital investment?
My response is "No." It will take a huge knowledge investment.
Maybe better expressed as creative, innovative effort. That is, new
thinking. My example is steel. Mini-mills have stolen the market
from the large steel mills.
The trend of the world is knowledge for capital. Knowledge for
capital means, in my interpretation, increasing complexity. By
integrating more fully with markets, suppliers, knowledge available,
technology in innovative ways.
What fools many people is that they think that increasing complexity
means "more complicated". This is not the case. Increasing
complexity is that which produces emergence and may result in simpler
processes **but at new levels**.
The issue, in my book, isn't to seek leadership or being the best or
being number one or any of that BS. The issue is to integrate with
the economic ecology in new ways which create value, give value back,
add value. We obscure the production of value by these exhortations
to "be the best" or dominate the market.
-- Michael McMaster Michael@kbddean.demon.co.ukLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>