The Intelligence Advantage, Organizing for Complexity [Paperback]

Michael McMaster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 1996

The Intelligence Advantage makes available a new understanding of the way
that human beings create organizations. Ideas recently made available through advances in philosophy, science, technology and communication are investigated. These advances foster insight into ways of organizing productive activity that is consistent with the nature of human beings and society.

Complexity is becoming a common word in business literature. Mike McMaster blends complexity with post-modern thought and the work of the interdisciplinary group called the Santa Fe Institute to provide useful, understandable metaphors and analogies, as well as practical design principles and effective management and work practices.

Provides a sense of clarity about what organizations are, how they operate and the kind of thinking that is called for to sustain their survival.
Explores the many possibilities of organizations.
Written in a lively, down-to-earth style.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Complexity is becoming a common word in business literature. Mike McMaster blends complexity with post-modern thought and the work of the interdisciplinary group called the Santa Fe Institute to provide useful, understandable metaphors and analogies, as well as practical design principles and effective management and work practices.

About the Author

Founder, Knowledge Based Development (Consulting Group)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann; 1 edition (April 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075069792X
• ISBN-13: 978-0750697927
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McMaster rivals Nonaka's Knowledge-Creating Company, April 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Intelligence Advantage, Organizing for Complexity (Paperback)

Arie de Geus, whose view of The Living Company appears in Harvard Business Review M/A 1997 says of this book: "We will fail to realise the potential of organisations until we see them as organisms in their own right and intelligence is the source of an organisation's capacity for survival. These are the basic hypotheses in Mike McMaster's thinking which, then, leads towards his illuminating ideas on organisational design and away from much of the mechanistic thinking of recent management theory". Sample David's view on innovation (page 133): "Corporations that are known for innovation are specifically designed to create occasions for innovation and support innovative activities. They include reward systems, communication practices, investment, blending people and ideas and appropriate reporting structures. In corporations not specifically designed for innovation, the innovative capacity is mostly displayed by individuals who are sufficiently powerful to get their ideas accepted. Given the lack of design to support such activity, the relative organisational innovative expression in such corporations is quite low." McMasters goes on to define innovation but notice some carefully chosen nuances in the words he uses; "Our operational definition of innnovation is THAT ACTIVITY WHICH RESULTS IN A CHANGE THAT HAS USEFULNESS BEYOND A CURRENT APPICATION AND THAT ALTERS THE ABILITY OF THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE". Innovation increases the flexibility, complexity or computational ability of the larger system." Innovation is not therefore a natural thing for corporate boards to direct if they are paying too much attention to counting up last quarter's figures or downsizing your future. Anyway, McMasters goes on to discuss many other subtleties regarding creativity. For example : "In a group or team, creativity occurs in dialogue itself. An individual may have originated and be indentified with a creative idea. Yet, if an idea is a group creation, it is the result of the interplay of the participants, both for and against the idea. Each individual has contributed to the thinking, the creative process and the creation itself in ways that are not always obvious." If you feel passionately about questioning the value of constructs like these - would you like to join a worldwide e-mail summit on ORGANISING CREATIVITY? To do so e-mail me,
Chris Macrae, editor of Brand Chartering Handbook & MELNET
www.brad.ac.uk/branding/ E-mail me at [e-mail]

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to herd cats! Leading self-organizing organizations., August 15, 1999

By 

Meredith B. Handspicker "preacher teacher" (North Bennington, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Intelligence Advantage, Organizing for Complexity (Paperback)

A clearly written, conceptually lucid, practical guide to leading self-organizing organizations which can respond effectively to the demands of their environment. McMaster emphasizes that changed thinking and speaking precede changed organizations. Mechanical thinking won't make it in an age which demands organically structured organizations utilizing every ounce of intelligence of every member. Leaders who want control will wind up with no organization to lead; leaders who want to enable everyone in the organization to operate at their own maximum of creativity, freedom and productivity (no contradiction here) will survive and thrive. Amen. Applicable to non-profits and other organizations as well as businesses

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT INSIGHTS INTO ACHIEVING ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS!, April 5, 2008

By 

Yvette Borcia and Gerry Stern "Stern's Manage... (Culver City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intelligence Advantage, Organizing for Complexity (Paperback)

An intriguing exploration of organization using advances in philosophy, new science and technology. Aim is to foster insight into ways of organizing productive activity consistent with the nature of human beings and society. Focuses on organizations as complex adaptive systems, emphasizing the capacity to learn, innovate, generate knowledge, and act successfully in a highly competitive environment. Key chapter topics: leadership, learning, freedom, and innovation, creativity and flexibility. This book has enduring value and is as informative and insightful in 2008 as when first published.