Weaving Complexity and Business: Engaging the Soul at Work [Paperback]

Roger Lewin (Author), Birute Regine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2001

Weaving Complexity and Business brings business people a new way of thinking about and working in the new economy, one that draws on the new science of complexity, which recognizes that business organizations are complex adaptive systems, in which people are crucial but unpredictable factors in their development. It offers managers and companies a deeper understanding of the organizational dynamics of today’s fast-paced/changing business environment both within companies and among them. Moreover, the book outlines a new theory of business that places human-oriented management practices under a theoretical umbrella of complexity science. The book also contains detailed case studies of successful UK and US companies that have embraced the principles of complexity science.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For businesses to succeed in the 21st century, people can't be treated like cogs in a wheel, ready to be sacrificed for profits, say authors Roger Lewin and Birute Regine in The Soul at Work. Instead, people must "become the new bottom line," they say, drawing this conclusion with the help of complexity science and their own study of companies that profit by putting people first. "In today's business environment of rapid change, a collective effort, a recognized need for others, becomes the means of survival and success," say Lewin, a science writer, and Regine, a psychologist. Businesses that follow the principles of complexity science are distinguished by fewer levels of hierarchy and more open communication, and they value people "as a way to promote adaptability and business success."

To show the principles of this new science at work, the authors profile organizations as diverse as the VeriFone division of Hewlett-Packard, DuPont, Monsanto, Babel's Paint and Decorating Stores in Massachusetts, Greenwich Village restaurants in New York, and Muhlenberg Medical Center in New Jersey. And they identify three practices common to these organizations: a style of leadership that guides without being controlling, the creation of dynamic teams, and the development of strong relationships among workers, customers, and community. The Soul at Work is an excellent resource for businesses and individuals interested in succeeding by getting the best out of people. --Dan Ring --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In a nutshell, "complexity science" refers to how things interact with each other in the natural world. Lewin and Regine, respected academics and authors, attempt to build on this model, pointing out its applications in the business world. The world is often chaotic, though properly challenged people can often surmount and even thrive amidst the chaos. But what does this have to do with business? The authors argue convincingly that the old mechanistic, command-and-control workplace model has outlived its purpose. Industry is "in the throes of revolutionary changes," and companies must see themselves as "complex adaptive systems" more akin to "environmental ecosystems." Employees are not cogs but people, and authentic employer-enployee relationships must be cultivated. Does this sound like the latest flavor-of-the-month management trend? Perhaps. But the authors are onto something here. Surveying a number of companies in both the United States and England, they show how large and small businesses that have embraced the principles of "complexity science" have turned themselves around, often dramatically, with improved profits and, more significantly, a more humane workplace for management and employees alike. Recommended for larger business collections.ARichard S. Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Texere; 1 edition (May 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587990431
• ISBN-13: 978-1587990434
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding contribution to business literature., January 13, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The SOUL AT WORK: Listen ... Respond ... Let Go (Hardcover)

The first thing I'll say about this book is, it's exceptionally readable. Thank God for that. I've slogged through way too many business books that are dull, dull, DULL; this one is engaging, anecdotal, relaxed and fun. (Speaking as a professional freelance writer, I know how much labor is required to make prose that's relaxed and fun.) Second thing is, the ideas presented here are intensely valuable. The book offers a splendid model for managing, based on "complexity science," specifically the study of "complex adaptive systems" - a fairly new way of looking at complex systems (like companies) and scoping out how they behave. The authors, Lewin & Regine, bring these vital concepts into the real world. If you're new to these terms, you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with them here. If you're familiar with the terms, you're probably intrigued, as I am, and ya gotta get this book! I'm reminded as I read Lewin & Regine of the work of Margaret J. Wheatley & Myron Kellner-Rogers. These people are on to something big.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on the Business Lessons of Complexity Science, March 13, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The SOUL AT WORK: Listen ... Respond ... Let Go (Hardcover)

I have read over two dozens books on complexity science and its applications to organizations of all types. Clearly, The Soul At Work is the best of those books. If you already know something about complexity science and its business applications and want to learn more or simply want to get started on the subject, this is the book you should read. Here's why. First, the authors are very fine writers. They also seem to have had outstanding editing. The book is by far the best written of any that I have read on this subject, and is among the best written of any business books I have read as well. This quality particularly shows up in clarifying ideas that can be hard to grasp (complexity science), explaining very interesting examples, and connecting the ideas to the examples in very useful ways. Second, most of the examples are fresh, so you will learn something new by reading these cases. Most business books choose the same examples over and over (do IBM and Coca-Cola seem familiar?), and it gets a little tiring for the reader. The one example in The Soul at Work that I was familiar with was Verifone, and the authors developed lots of new material there that substantially added to my understanding. Third, the cases have a lot of variety in them (as to type of organization, size of organization, the people profiled, the cultural background of the organization, and so forth) which provides a multidimensional perspective that is very helpful. Fourth, the authors successfully contrast their ideas with the humanistic approach to management and the engineering approach, which is a useful backdrop for understanding what they have to say. Anyone who does prefer the humanistic approach will like this book, and will get many new ideas for employing that direction. Fifth, and most importantly, the central theme of the book rings very true to me based on my over 30 years of consulting experience with organizations of all kinds. Trust-based relationships are an essential element of how organizations become more effective. Improve the trust, and any organization works better. The main reason is that trust helps overcome the stalls of poor communication, procrastination, bureaucracy, tradition, disbelief, and avoiding unattractiveness. Although others have made this point, The Soul at Work makes the point better. If you think about the new electronically-connected world, you can see that its main limitation is establishing trust before we can each feel comfortable extending ourselves and our connections in new directions. If you only read one business book this year, this is my recommendation. It's the best business book I have read since The Living Company by Arie de Geus.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ ON COMPLEXITY SCIENCE, March 11, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The SOUL AT WORK: Listen ... Respond ... Let Go (Hardcover)

This is the best business book I have read since Arie de Geus's, The Living Company. THE SOUL AT WORK is beautifully written, delightfully edited, and full of useful advice for how to benefit from complexity science in your organization. Many books on this subject are very turgid, focus mostly on explaining complexity science, and have few examples and little specific advice. If you only want to read one book on complexity science, this is the one for you. If you like a humanist approach to management (people come first), this is also a book you'll be glad you read. The authors do a very nice job of comparing the humanistic tradition in management and complexity science as bases for putting human relationships in the forefront of what needs to be accomplished. I especially enjoyed the many case histories of organizations applying complexity science, which included the thorns along with the roses. Only one case was familiar to me, that of Vodafone, and that one included a lot of material that I had not read or heard before. Obviously, a lot of careful research went into the work. The conclusion, that trust is essential, is one that other authors of books on complexity science agree with. I think the basis of that conclusion is explained better in this book. If I may expand on what the authors wrote, the reason that trust is so important is that it serves as a mediator to overcome the many sources of stalled progress in organizations. For example, trust helps straighten out miscommunications by encouraging dialogue rather than misinterpretation of motives, reduces misconceptions by increasing communications, softens the repugance that the ugly and repulsive can inspire (hiding us from what we need to focus on), assists in overcoming mindless following of traditional ways, inspires people to overcome procrastination, makes people open to new ideas which allows them to overcome disbelief about the new, and encourages flexible solutions that are normally stifled by bureaucratic processes. I hope the authors will write a sequel that has detailed directions about how to surpass the state of the art in using complexity science in organizations. I would read that book as well. I strongly urge you to read this book because its basic conclusions are very important for the type of virtual communications-driven organizations that will be everywhere in the future. You'll feel better about the new technology if you see, hear and feel how human relationships become even more important in this context. If you have friends or family members who are overwhelmed by the rate of change today, you should share this book with them as well.