Surfing the Edge of Chaos : The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business

Rating:
Summary: Shoddy science research
Review: "Businesses...can learn a great deal from nature (p 3)". I wholeheartedly agree, but unfortunately this book does not deliver.

The business research appears well done, but the science reserach that is supposedly it backing up is abysmal. The impression this book has left me is that the writers started with their theories and then handpicked some scientific anecdotes and (sometimes erroneous) generalities to support some of their claims, while other claims (like the Law of Requisite Variety) have no substantiation from the life sciences attempted. This is a backwards approach; I would have liked to see the authors examine the scientific research and then see what the business implications are.

Three examples of erroneous generalities:

1. Endemic island organisms just "tweaking the status quo" (in reality, this is where the greatest diversity happens; its the 'weedy' organisms like starlings and dandelions that adapt by just 'tweaking'). (And I will try to ignore the goof about the dodo being from the South Pacific).

2. The idea that cooperation and altruism are major forces that organisms "seek" (in reality, these have been discovered to be incidental effects).

3. Equating the idea that 'every molecule in the human body replaces itself via genetic instructions' with the idea that 'human and corporate bodies are rejuvenated by fresh and varied genetic material'. Those are two very opposed statements.

There is so much biological research that has major implications for organizational research that is lacking here: Memetics and primate social systems are two in particular.

To conclude: The authors apparently have a poor grasp of the biological sciences, so that means their attempts at backing up their claims with biological reserach is suspect at best.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Over Rated
Review: "'Living systems' isn't a metaphor for how human institutions operate. It's the way it is." The book is built on this point. Living systems work much more rapidly and effectively than most human ones do. By using the most successful living systems as models, we can make great strides in improving our human organizations. Think of this as a best practice book based on the ants and the bees.

Surfing the Edge of Chaos is an unusually good book on applying the lessons of complexity science about the biological world to business progress. The material is aimed at continuous renewal of the large existing organization, but will be valuable to organizations of all ages and sizes. The explanations of the key principles are well documented with many interesting animal and business examples. Based on experience by the authors as advisors to most of the businesses cited, the stories have a depth and a resonance that is missing in many books about how to apply the lessons of "complex adaptive systems" to human organizations.

The book also strongly and effectively challenges the existing engineering and reengineering models of how to improve organizations. If you are about to put a lot of effort into these areas, hold up until you have a chance to read this book. You may well change your mind.

Many people tell me that they still do not understand what they need to do in order to apply the lessons of complexity science to their business after reading books on this subject. Few will have that problem after reading this excellent work.

The authors help make the transition between the mechanical model of organizations to a biological one by synthesizing four new principles:

(1) "Equilibrium is a precursor to death."

(2) "In the face of threat, or when galvanized by a compelling opportunity, living things move toward the edge of chaos. This condition evokes higher levels of mutation and experimentation, and fresh solutions are likely to be found."

(3) "When this excitation takes place, the components of living systems self-organize and new forms and repertoires emerge from the turmoil."

(4) "Living systems cannot be directed along a linear path. Unforeseen consequences are inevitable. The challenge is to disturb them in a manner that approximates the desired outcome."

Fascinating examples are drawn from the exploration unit of British Petroleum, Hewlett-Packard, Monsanto's refocus into biotechnology, Royal Dutch/Shell's downstream activities, Sears' refocus of its store activities, and the U.S. Army's approach to war gaming to illustrate these principles. One of the things I liked about the examples is that they pointed out the errors that the organizations made, as well as the successes. In most cases, the companies only partially converted to following these principles. You will also learn about African termites, South American fire ants, North American coyotes, and fires at Yellowstone as examples of these principles, as well. The book is also strengthened by many mini-examples of applying complexity science such as Cemex dispatching roving cement trucks and British Telecom doing the same with service trucks to emulate ant pheromone track models in order to provide better service at lower cost.

The book's strength though lies in its proposition of 7 core disciplines of how to use complexity science. These disciplines will help many to begin applying complexity science lessons for the first time. There is also a good discussion of what leaders need to do to assist in supporting the needed revolutions and evolutions for maximum development. It would be unfair to the book to attempt to summarize these ideas here, but I certainly endorse them based on my consulting experience.

After you finish reading this book, I strongly urge you to follow the example of the town meetings described in the book to launch an assessment and begin a process of adaptive leadership in your organization. You will learn much more by practicing with what is in the book than by just thinking about the material.

I also leave you with a challenge. After you have been applying this approach for a while, how can you change your company's orientation so that these organizational processes will constantly emerge in highly effective ways? In other ways, how can you place yourself in the center of the wave's curl where the ride is best all the time? For when you do, your progress will be irresistible.

Rating:
Summary: Shoddy science research
Review: "Businesses...can learn a great deal from nature (p 3)". I wholeheartedly agree, but unfortunately this book does not deliver.

The business research appears well done, but the science reserach that is supposedly it backing up is abysmal. The impression this book has left me is that the writers started with their theories and then handpicked some scientific anecdotes and (sometimes erroneous) generalities to support some of their claims, while other claims (like the Law of Requisite Variety) have no substantiation from the life sciences attempted. This is a backwards approach; I would have liked to see the authors examine the scientific research and then see what the business implications are.

Three examples of erroneous generalities:

1. Endemic island organisms just "tweaking the status quo" (in reality, this is where the greatest diversity happens; its the 'weedy' organisms like starlings and dandelions that adapt by just 'tweaking'). (And I will try to ignore the goof about the dodo being from the South Pacific).

2. The idea that cooperation and altruism are major forces that organisms "seek" (in reality, these have been discovered to be incidental effects).

3. Equating the idea that 'every molecule in the human body replaces itself via genetic instructions' with the idea that 'human and corporate bodies are rejuvenated by fresh and varied genetic material'. Those are two very opposed statements.

There is so much biological research that has major implications for organizational research that is lacking here: Memetics and primate social systems are two in particular.

To conclude: The authors apparently have a poor grasp of the biological sciences, so that means their attempts at backing up their claims with biological reserach is suspect at best.

Rating:
Summary: Surfing the edge of boredom.
Review: I love chaos. It's such a promising concept. Tom Peters presents a much more exciting presentation of the kind of information this book covers. Something tells me that this book is really just a public relations document for the authors. They just want to give themselves a little bit more credibility. While most management books probably have that aim this book just stinks with it.

Are we really supposed to believe that the case studies they provide are inspiring? US Army? Tupperware?

I usually read this kind of book in the bathroom. I started to neglect my natural process because "that book" was sitting in there.

I came away with nothing new about chaos theory. I learned even less about how it can be used by business - especially my small business.

Rating:
Summary: Can't see the use
Review: I read this kind of books hoping to find useful ideas for my business. Here I can't find any.

Even if one is just curious, the book is too full of platitudes. For instance, the Army chapter (in which I was genuinely interested) waxes high on gruelling experience, after-action review, and all that. But what's the big deal? Mutatis mutandis, I did the same in sports training twenty years ago.

PS: I think I got unhelpful votes from people disliking my Army comments, so I edited this review to better reflect what I mean. But let me make it clear: independent of any view of the military, this is a bad book.

Rating:
Summary: Belongs on your list of books on chaos
Review: In the process of reading a number of related books on chaos and complex adaptive systems, Surfing in the Edge is one on my current list. It compliments well other readings, and in many cases quotes meaningfully from them (e.g., Haeckel's - Adaptive Enterprises; Kelly - New Rules for the New Economy; McMaster - Intelligence Advantage).

I found this book an easy read, constantly underlining sentences and putting the book down to reflect on what was said and my own past experiences. I could see why my past approaches to management and motivation (especially reward systems which the book discusses in depth), described here as being used even by management considered open and progressive, was not successful, or if successful, not sustainable.

Anyone looking for specific answers on what organizational approaches should be used to take advantage of the concepts behind chaos should perhaps focus on this book's emphasis of things being messy, emerging in ways we cannot predict, and the experience of generating change not being straight forward (Herding Butterflies). If one can have faith that in the designed sloppiness, good things can be emerging, that faith could help one and other true believers stay the course without returning to command-and-control methods. It takes a whole new mindset to create the kind of change described in this book, and it takes a degree of critical mass in gaining converts who will in good faith implement the precepts over what could be a long period of time. The need for patience is well explained in the book.

The book is clearly not into the biology view of allowing just anything to emerge on its own. Boundaries and interventions are clearly proscribed here as needing to be taken, something very difficult to judge what they should be in a particular situation, but the guiding principles should generate dialogue and reflection from those attempting to design organizations for emergence.

This book does an outstanding job of continually discussing our tendencies to go for optimization as the end goal. In many cases, as described in this book, what we focus on to optimize eventually causes the problem because there are so many ways the efforts can be sabotaged. Those who tend to continually optimize tend to take the traditional approach of assuming predictability of future events (thus assuming few changes will take place as plans are implemented), and as managers having the answers to be imposed on an organization waiting for guidance. This book gives wonderful advice on just what management can and cannot do without the eyes and ears of the masses on the front line where the real change is taking place; it is truly humbling but exhilarating to think of the potential that can be unleashed in organizations if managers will see themselves as designers for emergence.

Wonderful case studies. Normally I tend to gloss over case studies, but those in this book are important, in part because assumed successes later deteriorated and returned to poor results of the past. This awareness alone makes the book worth reading; no organization can assume whatever it is doing right is sustainable. Gains can be reversed much faster than the time it took to get the initial gains.

On page 202, a diagram/framework is proposed, and then described. Harnessing Complexity, by Axelrod, has its own framework. I think the importance is to read these books, take what inspires, and let them all merge into your way of thinking about organizations and motivating people to change how they work together. For those who agree, this book clearly belongs on the list of references where the author has does the homework, and is attempting to clarify a subject that is highly abstract, and one where most organizations will not willingly allocate time to consider or apply its principles. Some organizations have no chance of applying these concepts; some organization only need a worthy sponsor. Sponsors need meaty material to study so they can speak within their organization with credibility, and have references that can direct others to read.

In my view, this book reflects a whole new paradigm gaining momentum of how to best create organizations capable of adapting to the fast changing new economy. It make take a number of years before the wisdom becomes commonplace in practice, and then we move on to the next level of sophistication. One day we will likely be looking back and marveling how, as we do today with Fredrick Taylor, we could have for generations tapped human talent by deploying the command-and-control techniques that still dominate the corporate landscape. I cannot imagine the concepts in these books being one day written as another fad that died.

Rating:
Summary: Read this or be left in the dust!
Review: Its funny. I was reading the review following this one and the person was saying how he could NOT find anything worthwhile to apply to his business. He must not have even picked up the book!

I think there are plenty of great lessons within the book. Its not only a book about strategy, but a new framework to think in terms of. The world has changed greatly in the last 20 years and a lot of the old management frameworks have less significance. Complexity science is the new way to think and this book does a fantastic job of relating the "complex" topic to business. And the rules apply to all areas of the organization: strategy, organizational design, etc. If you want to be prepared to lead the complex globlal organizations of tomorrow, then this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: What's the use?
Review: My criticism can be boiled down to a single line, this one. I read this kind of books hoping to find useful ideas for my business. Here I can't find any.

Maybe I should look for the purely intellectual interest, I don't know. My best advice is this: if you read to find recipes, read something else. Read this only out of curiosity.

And yet again, I was just curious about the US Army chapter but got little out of it - gruelling experience, after-action review, and all that - we did it in volleyball and basket training twenty years ago ... what's the big deal?

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Surfing the Edge of Chaos does a marvelous job of taking many of the ideas being developed in complexity theory and applying them to the business world. In contrast say to Garrett Ralls who tried to do much the same thing, this book succeeds. I found myself continually thinking about not only the examples they provide, but also on my own work experiences and other companies that I have analyzed.

The authors do an excellent job of contrasting their approach (adaptive leadership) with more traditional reorganization (operational leadership). But refreshingly, they also acknowledge that in some cases, the more traditional approach might be more appropriate. There are many interesting concepts being developed by complexity theorists and this book manages to capture many, if not most, of them.

They show repeatedly the need to increase the stress on an organization in order to break past patterns of behavior. Their use of fitness landscapes (the idea that a successful company rests on a peak, and that in order to reach a new higher peak, often you must go down into the valley) is very powerful and at least partially explains why so many successful companies subsequently struggle, or fail, to adapt. Importantly though, the authors also spend a great deal of time talking about the unintended (or second and third order) effects of change. The point is not that you will be able to predict all of them (which is what chaos theory explicity says you cannot do), but rather that you must be flexible enough to roll with those unanticipated consequences.

Does that mean that every idea in this book is new? Of course not, but to be successful, a new theory often must combine the old with the new. And this book does a masterful of applying the ideas of Chaos/Complexity theory to business, of providing a new framework to think about both old and new problems. You may not agree with everything that appears in this book, but you will certainly come away with much food for thought.