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Robert Axelrod

Harnessing Complexity Paperback – August 2, 2001

by Robert Axelrod (Author)

9 customer reviews

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Harnessing Complexity will be indispensable to anyone who wants to better comprehend how people and organizations can adapt effectively in the information age. This book is a step-by-step guide to understanding the processes of variation, interaction, and selection that are at work in all organizations. The authors show how to use their own paradigm of "bottom up" management, the Complex Adaptive System-whether in science, public policy, or private commerce. This simple model of how people work together will change forever how we think about getting things done in a group."Harnessing Complexity distills the managerial essence of current research on complexity.…A very valuable contribution to the emerging theory of competition and competitive advantage."-C.K. Prahalad, University of Michigan, coauthor of Competing for the Future"A brilliant exposition that demystifies both the theory and use of Complex Adaptive Systems."-John Seely Brown, Xerox Corporation and Palo Alto Research Center

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"A brilliant exposition that demystifies both the theory and use of Complex Adaptive Systems." -- -John Seely Brown, Xerox Corporation and Palo Alto Research Center

About the Author

Robert Axelrod is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. A MacArthur Prize Fellow, he is a leading expert on game theory, artificial intelligence, evolutionary biology, mathematical modeling, and complexity theory. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michael D. Cohen, Professor of Information and Public Policy at the University of Michigan, has served as an External Faculty Member of the Santa Fe Institute and as a long-term consultant at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (August 2, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0465005500
ISBN-13: 978-0465005505
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 9 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #64418 in Science & Math (Books)
- #593 in Management Science
- #9227 in Business Processes & Infrastructure

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Pancho

Good change through directed evolution

November 15, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Complexity is all around us. How can we use it to our advantage? The authors present a framework that allow "agents" (individuals, organizations, programs, etc.) or systems (interacting collections of agents) learn from their environment and thereby take advantage of complexity to grow, profit or reproduce.

The framework involves the continual improvement of "strategies" (instructions). This improvement happens through variation and selection. Some agents and systems allow modification of individual strategies, while others only allow change to agents, and implicitly, their package of strategies.

The framework clearly works. Examples include evolution by natural selection, the Deming cycle, and wikis. All these bring about good change through the framework described here, even if not explicitly.

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JCarroll

Top-notch

July 29, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent book

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Eric Perez

... fan of Axelrod's work & (Cohen) these men are brilliant although I differ in my geo-politic as well as ...

April 29, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am a fan of Axelrod's work & (Cohen) these men are brilliant although I differ in my geo-politic as well as cultural ideology. I suppose myself a diehard ultra-conservative less-than liberal.

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A Terrific Book on Getting Benefits from Complexity Science

May 7, 2000

Format: Hardcover

HARNESSING COMPLEXITY is a breakthrough book on complexity science. It provides the first useful framework and vocabulary for evaluating complex adaptive systems, while giving you the first guidelines for considering how to use the circumstances of your complex adaptive system to your organization's advantage.
All of this is beautifully summarized in a brief concluding chapter. I suggest you begin by reading that chapter, so you will have a better idea of why you are learning what you are learning.
This approach will also be improved by keeping in mind some problem or opportunity that you want to think about in terms of complexity science as you read the book. You'll get more out of the book that way.
But do be warned that the book starts off like a typical popular book on a technical subject by academics. There are lots of references to the work of others, lots of pages of definitions, and a very long introduction. But don't be fooled; it's just laying the groundwork for enabling you to apply a new framework to your situation. But the writing is simple and clear. The examples are varied and interesting -- drawn from computer sciences, evolutionary biology and social design. One of those areas is bound to interest you.
The framework is pretty simple: Variation (we usually encourage too little of it -- that's our old friend complacency fooling us, again); Interaction (connections cause ideas and physical changes to grow in significance -- showing the importance of overcoming the communications stall); and Selection (watch the tendency to close off experimentation too quickly or to reward the wrong behavior -- avoiding the misconception and disbelief stalls).
I found that the framework immediately worked in thinking about problems that I have been considering, like how to spread the awareness of superior practices.
In fact, the framework itself is a good example of a theoretical best practice thinking exercise. I highly commend it to you.
Unfortunately, the book will appear to be too difficult and too abstract in concepts for many. I suggest the authors plan to follow this book with one more along the lines of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Complexity Harnessers (I'm sure they'll find a better title). The point is that most readers will want more help with application, and less development of the framework.
I strongly recommend this book to those who want to understand more about complexity science. The nontechnical overview is excellent. But more importantly, I strongly recommend that you try to apply the book's principles as expressed in the conclusion to your own issues, those of your organization, and those of humanity and the other species on Earth. I think this book can be a big help in speeding human-led progress.

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j4u

too generic and hard to put it into practical use

July 10, 2003

Format: Hardcover

Overall, I think the book is too generic, only touching the surface of complexity/organizational theory. Hard for me to get any good action steps/tips for my practical job.
The author pointed out three points of "Complex Adaptive System"
- variation
- interaction
- selection
It looks like something new. However, the author only talks on the very surface level of these three concepts. He explained why variation/interaction/selection is good to corporate organization, just as it is good for living beings. Yet, you can't find specific action steps to work on. In addition, if we do not go into deeper level (or new meaning), these three concepts will be just like old concepts with new names (i.e. diversity/teamwork/performance evaluation).
Net, I find this book is hard for practical use, and only recommend it to people who are extremely interested in complexity theory.

8 people found this helpful

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TV's Sean Kearney

Harnessing complexity... without the harness

January 27, 2003

Format: Hardcover

In the first paragraph of the preface of this book, Axelrod and Cohen ask, "In a world where many players are all adapting to each other and where the emergring future is extremely hard to predict, what actions should we take?" As a "reader from Boston" recommended, providing recommendations for practical application (7 Habits of Complexity?) would have helped answer this question.
Unfortunately, even the authors' anectodal examples provide little insight into HOW to "harness" complexity. While this book is primarily aimed at "designers and policy makers," it may actually be most useful to consultants looking to add new buzzwords to their bs lexicon.
I would recommend Briggs and Peats's "Seven Life Lessons of Chaos" for those who are looking for a more nuts-and-bolts approach to these issues.

19 people found this helpful

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