Complexity, Innovation, Knowledge and Learning: A quantum interpretation of management

Management research: practically irrelevant

The Economist published a challenging article about management research: "Practically irrelevant". The tile speaks for itself. It is observed that business schools (as all other academic disciplines) are evaluated on the quality of research and this according to its academic qualities.  It is published in journals that never ever a business man will read, and I would even suggest more, that also most academics don't read.  How the hell could you read all the publications appearing today? We have indeed created a self-fulfilling prophecy where the volume and the rankings are more important than the contribution. The Economist suggests that while preparing their students for the real world, they research a theoretical world: does academic research contribute anything to business ?

It is AACSB (amongst others) that have refueled the debate (that is an old one anyway). They forget for a moment that it are mainly those accrediting bodies and periodicals like the Financial Times that have an almost extravagant impact on that publications policy.

Academic tradition (as in any discipline) became publish or perish, not contribute or perish. Careers depend on it. The Economist correctly suggest that mindsets need to be undone. It is not about disciplines but about contribution to innovation. And how to rank the outsider; the outsider that is probably really extending the frontiers of knowledge.

I am not convinced that the solution suggested (more implication of business) is the right one.  Since the pharmaceutical companies are sponsoring most of pharmaceutical research it is not surprising that most research goes to diseases of the wealthy world (that can pay the drugs) and not to the most devastating diseases. The problem is career technical (how to succeed an academic career; something which could be managed differently by the business schools) and epistemological (do we really only need rational, quantitative and reductionist research).  The economist puts the finger on that sour spot: quantitative, reductionist research doesn't add a lot to the understanding of human behavior. We know it, but we continue. And at the end of the day, the researcher is inventing an interesting problem that can be researched (technically) but that has no relevance anymore.

We should not become consultants, though, since we have many of them already and they don't contribute necessarily either to progressing a deeper understanding of management. We need another epistemology, searching for non discovered roads yet.  Re-search (searching what already has been searched) can only lead to re-finding (finding what already has been found.

Maybe we should be courageous enough to start searching into a new management paradigm, as was suggested on the Global Compact summit in Geneva, July 2007 (see my earlier post), or during the IONS conference last August in Palm Springs (also see my earlier post).

I agree with the analysis of the Economist, but not with its remedy.  Let us be a bit more courageous and contribute indeed a new conceptual (conceptual indeed) understanding of management practice (and not theory). Most probably, we are not going to find that in our A journals.

Consciousness in Action

From Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 August, the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) held its 12th International Conference: Consciousness in Action, the science and practice of transformation.  If you have some interest in my work, you know how much I appreciate what IONS is working at for many years now.

With their own words: "The Institute is not a spiritual association, political-action group, or a single-cause institute. Rather, we honor open-minded approaches and multiple ways of knowing, bring discernment to our work, and support diversity of perspectives on social and scientific matters. The institute's work is dedicated to transforming contemporary worldviews on the relationship between consciousness and matter. The implications of our empirical research and community education efforts extend far beyond the laboratory and the lecture hall. Indeed, our work speaks to a shift involving humanity's deepest knowing and understanding of ourselves and our universe."

I went there with my spiritual counterpart, my wife Erna, and why not to share a nice picture.

An impressive number of very interesting speakers shared their ideas, but even more so their commitment to the work of IONS. With the risk of leaving out some crucial ones, a little list of those that at least left a strong impression with me.

Of course, the IONS founder and former Apollo Astronaut, Edgar Mitchell. The visionary who understood the importance of better understanding how consciousness works, and this already many years ago. The IONS researchers Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Dean Radin, Tina Amorok, and Cassandra Vieten. Visionary workers and speakers, that all make an impressive contribution to the world, in making that world a more happy and worthwhile place to live in. Moreover, they are all able to share their commitment with the roughly 1000 participants present in a straight forward and involved manner.

Van Jones on green collar workers and in the inclusion of less favoured youth in the society. Lynne McTaggart about the extreme power of intention and how it influences the world. Hazel Henderson, known from her site on ethical markets, about the impact that all of us might have on how economics behave. And not to forget the life stories of Lynne Twist and Hafsat Abiola. Such nice people that might be real examples for all of us.  They do have an impact on the world, and a real positive one.

Not only was this a very motivating event, for which I would like to congratulate IONS.  Many speakers also highlighted that we really needed another economic model, another theory of the firm and another shared value set amongst managers. A subject dear to me, to which I hope I can continue contributing  and hopefully even in a more impacting way. Is it a dream to have an IONS research program around a paradigm shift in economics and management, a transformation, and is it a dream to have IONS more present and active in Europe ?  I hope not.

Free style brainwashing

A few articles in the recent issue of "Le Monde Diplomatique", discuss the role or the operation of the media in a free society. An interview with Noam Chomsky (Professor linguistics at MIT and famous contributor in the AI debate) discusses brainwashing in a free society. The acquisition of a number of newspapers (Wall Street Journal, Les Echos) by business men that are close to power, highlights the key note role that "communication" plays as an instrument of governments. The interview makes reference to one of Chomsky's books: Manufacturing Consent (authored together with Edward Herman).

Chomsky observes that despite the democratic character of societies like the US, politics do not voice the 75% majority American citizins against the Irak war. Both in the "democratic" Irak and the US the populations agree in vast majority that the region between Israel and Iran should be nuclear weapon free. But it just is not translated into politics. Chomsky questions the true character of a democratic society. And here come the medias in.  When there was no evidence at all for the presence of any nuclear weapans in the dictatorial Irak (evidence gathered by the UN), the "free and democratic" press contributed overwelmingly in the creation of a fear: a fear for a possibility for which we had no evidence at all (and that afterwards indeed seemed to be a large orchestred invention). 

Totalitarian regimes are clear: the press works within very clear and defined limits. The reader knows what he gets (often nothing). The editorial lines of "democratic" newspapers, or more so, democratic TV chains, is more fuzzy. Editorial comments will have to fit non written rules (isn't that the success of the bloggers community ?). That is difficult for the journalist, but that makes it equally difficult for the reader to interpret.

Marie Benilde (in the same issue of le Monde Diplomatique) introduces her article about the influence of the press as follows. She paraphrases Serge Dassault, owner of "Le Figaro" (well distributed, conservative French newspaper): "Why would freedom of speech belong to the journalists and not to the shareholders." And yes, I do not want to wind on for ever about Berlusconi.

Be aware of the "freedom" of information, before you go into action. But action comes, and action for the better of the world this time. I am sure.

When scientists become "crazy"

When scientists become "crazy", we might finally get to the essence of what happens.  Not surprisingly, it are quantum physicist like Einstein, Pauli and others that have invariably asked the real questions about existance beyond the measurable.  I'll devote a specific post on the most exciting conference of the Institute of Noetic Sciences a week ago in Palm Springs CA, but I just want to paraphrase Edgar Mitchell (PhD of MIT and Apollo 14 astronaut; by the way, the founder of IONS).

"... we are working at the most compelling frontier of our time and that is consciousness.  The integration of science and spirituality allows us to understand and give true meaning to our connectedness to the inner self, to each other, and to the Earth".  We might need this, in order to give some sense to ideas around sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and others.

For those that want an easy and attractive start in this journey, there is a site with so called psy games, based on the IONS research, in order to experience some of it, without too much effort. Enjoy it.

An anthropological study of Flamenco in the South of France

I came accross an interesting anthrophological study of Flamenco in the South of France.  It is made by Cedric Pipezan (as a masters thesis), and it is in French.  For those that read French and have an interest in Flamenco, interesting.

The management lessons of a student pilot

Indeed, I have started to take flying lessons. An old young boys dream, and I am certainly not the only one to have it.  Only, I thought it was time to do something about it. I know it is polluting, does not contribute to a sustainable development of our planet, but I hope earlier or later to be able to contribute with this skills to the development of regions and populations for which a plane is sometime the only salvation. And while taking those lessons I have learned a lot about management.

The success of a flight is a good preparation, both the navigation and the technical check up before the flight. It is good to know where you would like to go, in order to be able to take some immediate decisions. That does not mean that you also arrive where you would like to go.  But it is all about the travel, and not about arriving.

The most critical phase is take off.  Whatever goes wrong during take off and initial ascend has immediate and often serious consequences.  However, it is not always under your control what happens. Once you have reached your intended flying level, you can take some time to look around, to enjoy the flying and the environment. Then comes landing.  That is just a masterpiece of coordination and control. But that is the most difficult.  Just as passing on a successful company in the hands of somebody else (the more so if it is one's own company). A perfect landing is and remains a great sensation.

Piloting is being at ease, it is making little corrections to a plane that has a remarkable tendency for stability.

And don't forget, you are in command, and you have full and ultimate responsibility for your passengers. They trust you but they have no other choice than to follow you. Respect that choice and respect your passengers.

Have a very good holiday.