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

Don't be trapped in dogma's, even not in management dogma's

A former student of mine mailed me the link to Steve Job's Stanford Commencement Speech 2005. And since coincidence does not exist, last week I participated in the Dalai Lama's teachings in France. It is striking how much great minds meet each other in the way they think, they believe and they operate.  Job's indeed summarized his speech saying certainly not to believe in dogma's, of any kind, and I add: also not in management dogma's.  And management dogma's we have.

Jobs asked to trust that the "dots" eventually will connect down the lane. As long as we love what we do, that is what keeps going, and that is what makes one realise great things. We should keep searching until we find. Imagine for a moment that this would be the last day of your life. Is what you are doing now, really what you would like to do on the last day of your life.  If not, change it.

Things have no meaning in themselves.  There is just a sequence of events, and it is our mind that gives precisely the meaning it wants to give to those events (a very free interpretation of the Dalai Lama's ideas, I admit). If you love what you do, you will give events that positive outcome that they deserve.

Turning a dogmatic management school curriculum into a stakeholder curriculum, sustainable, social, entrepreneurial, giving students the attitude of and focus on value creation, is most probably one of the challenges that most business schools are confronted with. To give some ideas to kick it off, I'd like to refer to an article of David Cooperrider "Sustainable Innovation".

A better business model

First of all an ode to "Ode".  Ode is a very interesting, fresh and meaningfull magazine. According to his founder and editor, Jurriaan Kamp, a magazine for intelligent optimists.  It believes in progress, ongoing opportunities and the creativity of humankind. They claim to offer their readers the chance to link up with an international network of inspiration and cooperation, strengthening the forces devoted to respect, justice and equality.  In doing so, they hope to invite their readers to make their own contributions to a more just and sustainable world.  It exists in an English and a Dutch version. Hehe, refreshing and exciting I would say.

In the Jan/Feb issue Muhammed Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and founder and managing director of the microfinance institution Grameen Bank, gives some insight in how we could move away from the narrow interpretation of capitalism we believe in. In this narrow interpretation, we create a one-dimensional human being to play the role of entrepreneur. We insulate him from other facets of life, such as the religious, emotional, political dimensions. He is dedicated to one mission in his business life: to maximize profits.

He invites us to be brave, recognizing that this is because of the failure to capture the essence of a human being in our theory. Most people take pleasure in helping others.  Our eyes are blind by the theories taught in our schools. Social business entrepreneurs: entrepreneurs in the non-for-loss business; they do make profits, but they all do it for a societal purpose. A social business entrepreneur is in for adding real value to markets, countries and people.

He suggests interestingly to start producing what he calls social MBAs. Social Business Entrepreneurs need to develop their own norms, standards, measurements, evaluation criteria and terminology.  This can only be achieved by creating a separate stock market for social business entrepreneurs.  Interesting and challenging.