Customer Reviews

The Complexity Advantage

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very clear presentation of a difficult topic-the relationship of the new field of complexity science to business. It is particularly useful for anyone who is thinking "Complexity science is interesting, but what are the implications for the real world." This book gets off to an outstanding start with the unit "The Main Point: Self-Organization." This indeed is the aspect of complexity science that has the most relevance for business. The authors also are to be commended for being the first book that I know of to relate the concept of memes to the question of how to use complexity science to improve organizations. (According to the Oxford English Dictionary a meme is "an element of a culture that may be considered to be passed on by non-genetic means, esp. imitation." For more information on memes, enter "memetics" in the subject search box on amazon.com.) However, I would have liked to have seen an expanded discussion of memes. I believe the authors missed the opportunity to use the concept of memes to clarify the distinction between the old way of managing and the new way that they espouse. Traditional approaches to management are based on a meme set that can be traced back through Newton to Aristotle. The new approach to management that they recommend is grounded in a new meme set provided by complexity science. The authors initial focus on self-organization is capped-off with an equally brilliant section on "Reducing the Artificial, Designated Power Hierarchy and Enabling Natural Organization." However, the "lists of steps" in the middle chapters are somewhat overdone and in my opinion detract from the main thrust of their book. I'm afraid the casual reader may not fully grasp the importance of what the authors are saying: The traditional organizational hierarchy, in all of its MBA-ish splendor, is essentially unnatural. For it is complexity science, especially self-organized groups, which offers a natural approach to management. No one, in my opinion, has demonstrated they really know how to execute this new perspective within a major organization. The authors' approach is as good as it gets, and it has a real-world feel that is better than that of British complexity science guru Ralph Stacey (Complexity and Creativity in Organizations) or the American gura Margaret Wheatley (Leadership and the New Science). What is clear is that those organizations that figure out how to manage naturally will have a substantial competitive advantage over those who use artificial, unnatural approaches.

The authors and the text come highly recommended but I must say that the book is a profound disappointment. What I expected was a book blending complexity science with applied business experience. What I received was another undistinguished business book. For a study based on nonlinear principles, Susanne Kelly and Mary Ann Allison rely excessively on linear lists and programs. Much like any other business text, there are the five levels in the fitness model, the fourteen steps to success, the four simple rules, and so on. In short, the authors appear to be thoroughly grounded in linear thought. There was very little on growing complexity thoughts, behavior, and actions in your own portion of the business organization. Instead, the authors have written a book that should appeal to corporate training departments everywhere because of the focus on simple steps, simple progressions, and simple solutions. My advice is to save your money because The Complexity Advantage is too easily forgotten.

This book reveals how complexity theory (CT) can be used in today's complicated organization. However, it lacks the tools on how to achieve what it intends to do. The steps and levels of organization 'maturity' described by author is clear. It has interesting sections and good lessons to teach. The book does not stand on its own. It needs help from other disciplines to put the plan into reality. Perhaps, readers may find more in Theory of Constraints than what is expected in Complexity theory in business world at this point in time.

Despite all of the hype, I found this book to be wordy, convoluted, and devoid of clarity. Sure, some of the concepts are useful, but they are presented in such a self-important and unconvincing style that they are useless. Any normal person would get lost in all of the acronyms and made-up new language. Phrases like "autocatalytic loops generating stable, healthy memes for robust self-organization" abound on every page. This book is for Ivory Tower theorists, not for somebody trying to run a business and manage a business. These may indeed be "big ideas", as a recent WSJ review states, but those ideas need a new voice....

"Your business comprises self-organizing systems whether you know it or like it. You can cut costs and improve profits dramatically by learning to work with these systems rather than against them. So, what is self-organization and how does it work?...In this book," Susanne Kelly and Mary Ann Allison write, "we build on complexity science to explain and apply the principles of self-organization to business and organizational behavior. We discuss the enterprise environment and energy that leaders must provide to generate the power and precision of laser-sharp business performance"(p.4).

In this context, in Chapter 1, after defining complexity science and complexity advantage, they argue that "Complexity advantage companies address today's transition in business-plagued by rapid change and increasing uncertainty. For approximately a century our manufacturing model was comparatively stable...The Information Age has turned previous 'knowns' upside-down...The best business plan is only a best guess." And hence they summarize the old and new business paradigms as following:

I. Manufacturing Age Business

* Game: Bulk-material manufacturing.

* Goal: Commodity product.

* Domain: Regional.

* Future: Predictability, deterministic.

* Change Periodic nuance, steady rate, digestable.

* Rules: Linear cause and effect.

* Game plan:Five-year strategic plans.

* Leader: Manages strategic plan to end state.

* Ownership: Centralized decision-making and responsibility.

* Challenge: Demand versus capacity to deliver.

* Resources: Material and financial capital.

* Risk: Moving too quickly-out of control.

* Approach: Quality, low cost of production. Branding, emergent price standards. Diminishing returns.

* Role of Team: Optimizing of quality and productivity. Application of raw energy. Repetitive day-to-day operations. Processing of resources.

* Process Perspective: Parts interact in sequence of steps. End-to-end effiency key, standardization the answer.

II. Information Age Business

* Game: Design and use of technology.

* Goal: Knowledge-based products.

* Domain: Global.

* Future: Uncertainty, probability, possibility.

* Change: Way of life - accelerating, overwhelming.

* Rules: Nonlinear complex interaction.

* Game Plan: Three-year probability scenarios.

* Leader: Envisions and coaches on direction.

* Ownership: Distributed decision-making and responsibility.

* Challenge: Demand versus capacity for change.

* Resources: Human, social, or intellectual capital.

* Risk: Moving too slowly-out of the running.

* Approach: Be first-best if possible, high-cost R&D. Market lock-on, high margins. Increasing returns.

* Role of Team: Quality:productivity:adaptability. Application of ideas. Quest for innovation. Processing of information.

* Process Perspective: Whole emerges from interacting parts. Micro-to macrointegrity key, feedback the answer.

Finally, they write that "By the way, if you are part of a start-up or a small-to-medium-sized business, don't be fooled by the adjective global. Today, satellite communications, the Internet, and air transport move information, materials, products, and people rapidly from place to place. All of us are now connected through a global market comprising mail-order customers and suppliers, supply chain partnership, and international franchise competition. Even our local pizza parior has installed a fax machine and is designing a Web site. They must compete not only with the deli down the street, but also with global fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. Without the complexity advantage, they risk the fate of dinosaurs."

Highly recommended.

Based on experience using complexity theory in working to promote organizational change relating to process, software, architecture, and organizational behavior, Kelly arrived at important insights that she and Allison present in this informative and absorbing work. They build on complexity science to explain and apply the principles of self-organization to business and organizational behavior. They describe what they refer to as "complexity advantage companies" capable of changing in response to the highly chaotic, unpredictable environment of today's markets. They introduce a model for organizational evolutionary fitness (the complexity advantage model) which has its origins in the Capability Maturity Model used to develop software. The insights and creativity of the authors make this an impressive book.

This book takes a new and different approach to deal with the multitude of inputs and signals coming at us today. I found the science of complexity a very logical and understandable approach, and the illustration of taking diffuse light and focusing it into a laser with many times the power, a wonderful analogy. This book also tries to explain why reengineering, benchmarking and TQM have not been greater successes. The 14 Steps to Success are the core of the book and the part on which a reader should focus. I am a great believer in the need to repeat to continuously adapt and improve, and "repeat" is a critical part of the processes here also. This will become a widely read and discussed book in business in the years to come.

This is a thought provoking, perception changing book, grounded in reality, with good real-world examples. For anyone working in the fast changing world of business, it provides a practical way of moving forward and being innovative while still maintaining the integrity of the group involved. The book demonstrates how to integrate the individual contributions of people in the workplace with the needs of the organization so that both thrive. I recommend this book highly.

Don't get me wrong, I like the book. It is just that it is difficult to translate it into an initiative. Even if I ask members of the team who need to understand the concept and come up with ways to advance the concept, we will be spending time on "I don't understand this line here". My point is that the writing seems to be targeted to the decision-makers who are well-educated or well-read but it would be simply too difficult for the actual implementers - middle managers, task leaders, team members, etc. This is even more apparent at the global scene where English is the second or third language. This is probably why I can buy the brand new hardcopy on sale at a cheap price and the stack remains tall for many days (no one else is buying it).

THIS IS A GOOD BOOK. WE KEEP A COPY ON OUR DESK TO REFER TO IT OFTEN. WE FOUND IT INTERESTING AND ENJOYABLE, AND EVEN LEARNED SOMETHINGS FROM IT. IN OUR DISTRIBUTION COMPANY WE TRY TO OVER COME STALLS WHICH SLOW US UP AND BRING US DOWN. WE FIND THAT THIS BOOKS KEPT US GOING. WE ALSO FOUND THE BOOK THE 2000 PERCENT SOLOUTION TO TAKE US TO THE NEXT LEVEL TO GET THROUGH THE STALLS THAT PLAGUE US ALL EVRYDAY OF OUR LIVES. BOTH ARE GOOD READING.