p.5 our simple premise that all theory is metaphor has far-reaching consequences...
any theory or perspective that we bring to the study of organization and management, while capable of creating valuable insights,
is also incomplete, biased, and potentially misleading.
p.40 the principle of requisite variety... states that the internal regulatory mechanisms of a system must be
as diverse as the environment with which it is trying to deal. For only by incorporating required variety into
internal controls can a system deal with the variety and challenge posed by its environment.
p.73 More recently, the brain has been compared to a holographic system... One
of the interesting features of the hologram is that, if broken, any single piece can be used to reconstruct the entire image.
Everything is enfolded in everything else... Holography demonstrates that it is possible to create processes where the whole
can be encoded in all the parts, so that each and every part represents the whole.
p.97 The metaphor of a hologram invites us to think of systems where qualities
of the whole are enfolded in all the parts so that the system has an ability to self-organize and regenerate itself on a continuous
basis.
p.100 Principles of Holographic Design:
Principle 1: Build the "whole" into the "parts" - Visions, values, and culture
as corporate "DNA"; "Networked intelligence"; structures that reproduce themselves; holistic teams, diversified roles
Principle 2: The importance of redundancy - in information processing; in skills
and the design of work
Principle 3: Requisite variety - internal complexity must match that of the environment
Principle 4: "Minimum specs" - define no more than is absolutely necessary
Principle 5: Learn to learn - scan and anticipate environmental change; double-loop
learning; emergent design
p.108 The principle of requisite variety, originally formulated by the
English cybernetician W. Ross Ashby, suggests that the internal diversity of any self-regulating system must match the variety
and complexity of its environment it if is to deal with the challenges posed by that environment. Or, to put the matter slightly
differently, any control system must be as varied and complex as the environment being controlled.
p.192 Power is a route to power, and one can often use power to acquire more...
Power used in a judicious way takes the form of an investment and, like money, often becomes useful on a rainy day.
p.255 five key ideas for guiding the management of change...
- Rethink what we mean by organization, especially the nature of hierarchy and control
- Learn the art of managing and changing contexts
- Learn how to use small changes to create large effects
- Live with continuous transformation and emergent order as a natural state of affairs
- Be open to new metaphors that can facilitate processes of self-organization
