It’s What You Don’t Know That Counts
Discover the important roles chance and uncertainty play in successful strategic planning. In this ingenious work, author Ralph D. Stacey shows managers how their companies can benefit from the unexpected developments that impact their business and how they can prepare to creatively leverage the opportunities such developments present. He explains how an appreciation of conflict and team dialogue can help managers discover and build on the innate energy of their organizations. And he illustrates his theories with real-world examples from Sony, Kodak, Federal Express and other noted market innovators.
Customer Reviews
Most organizations don’t know they do this already:
Very thought provoking and only after several weeks of ‘mulling’ over what I had read did I realize that the global corporation for which I work (along with many others I know)actually does achieve its competitive edge through these instances of creative bounded chaos–they just don’t know it yet. Our striving to creative a ‘long term strategic vision’ is of itself an attempt to explain that which we do not know, cannot control or explain on a balance sheet. Self-awareness being the first step to self-actualization for the individual–the same would apply to my organization successfully navigating its’ current transformation. Listening to the words of Stacey would assist enormously in this process.
Insightful, foundational integration of chaos & biz strategy:
This book is a highly insightful integration of chaos theory with strategic management, a “must have” for anyone interested in “new science” practically applied in organizations. Stacey’s description of an organization as a complex web of relationships in a state of bounded instability is brilliant. Strongly recommended for any manager seeking to avoid portrayal in “Dilbert” - and EVERY executive.


