Ackoff Center Weblog

Russell Lincoln Ackoff

By Maurice W. Kirby and Johnathan Rosenhead

A chapter from the book: Profiles in Operations Research, Pioneers and Innovators

Written, Compiled and Edited By Arjang A. Assad and Saul I. Gass

The book which is published by Springer, includes 43 profiles of who is who in OR, organized chronologically. The book exposes "the history of the origins and early development of OR, how it evolved, all interwoven with personal backgrounds, tales, vignettes, and pictures." The chapter on Ackoff is very interesting and informative. Specifically, It covers his early years including his relationship with his parents and his family as well as his education at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

A call for participation in San Jose, CA USA, July 15-20, 2012

The systems sciences provide a platform of concepts and language that enables communities of interest to transcend disciplinary boundaries towards developing new knowledge and perspectives. The ISSS 2012 theme of Service Systems, Natural Systems draws attention to complex issues in today's world, where dialogue amongst the learned may lead to better futures.

The 56th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, July 15-20 2012, at San Jose State University, California

Systems Thinking Applied to Management

After more than 15 years away from academia, Russ Ackoff returned to teach a full graduate seminar at University of Pennsylvania.  In fall 2003, he taught DYNM 666: Systems Thinking Applied to Management in Organizational Dynamics graduate studies located in the Penn School of Arts and Sciences.  When the course was announced the registration requests were so high that a lottery with random drawing had to be established to admit the 25 graduate students who could attend.  The course ran for 3 hours per week for 12 weeks.  Russ was 84 years old.

To access the lecture series, click on the following link: Fall 2003: DYNM 666 Systems Thinking Graduate Course (Prof. Ackoff)

The Decision Loom: A Design for Interactive Decision-Making in Organizations

a triarchy press publication, by Vincent Barabba Publication Date: 30th November 2011No of pages: 292Book type: Paperback

Drawing on a lifetime of experience, Vince Barabba sets out, in The Decision Loom, the four core capabilities that any organization needs to put in place to make his proposed approach to decision-making work. They cover 1) having an ‘Enterpris Mindset that is open to change’, 2) thinking and acting holistically, 3) having an adaptable business design and 4) using the right combination of problem-solving and decision-making methods.

Part 1 of the book – The Journey – chronicles the author’s professional life, focusing on more than 30 ‘Lessons Learned’. To name just one: ‘Surface and make explicit the underlying assumptions that would have to be true for your particular problem-solving approach to prevail.’ Each lesson is derived from – and illustrated by – his professional experience in major political campaigns and at Xerox, Kodak, GM, the U.S. Census Bureau and elsewhere.

Part 2 describes an ‘Interactive Decision Loom’, sets out the capabilities required to make it work, and sketches an ‘idealized design’ for creating a Decision Loom in your own organization. It focuses on the process of inquiry (which must underpin decision-making), anticipating problems, and the four core organizational (not individual) capabilities needed in a dynamically complex organization (that is to say, all organizations).

The four capabilities all draw on the lessons learned in Part 1 of the book and are illustrated by brief case studies from: LEGO, Xyntéo, Patagonia Clothing, Nintendo, Cisco, and McDonald’s.

If you choose to create a Decision Loom yourself in your own organization, the outcome will be:

Greater interaction across the enterprise leading to an enterprise that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Decision Loom: A Design for Interactive Decision-Making in Organizations

Idealized Design: How Bell Labs Imagined -- and Created -- the Telephone System of the Future

Idealized design is a way of thinking about change that is deceptively simple to state: In solving problems of virtually any kind, the way to get the best outcome is to imagine what the ideal solution would be and then work backward to where you are today. This ensures that you do not erect imaginary obstacles before you even know what the ideal is.

Nothing better illustrates the power of this idea in action than the experience that Russell L. Ackoff, had many years ago. The experience both enlightened him and proved to him that the idea could facilitate profound change in a major corporation. To watch the video, please clik on the following URL:

http://www.organizationaldynamics.upenn.edu/ackoffvideos

Differences That Make a Difference by Russ Ackoff

Dear Colleague,

We're very pleased, and a little sad, to be announcing the publication of Differences That Make a Difference by Russ Ackoff. Sad because this publication marks for us the completion of over four years of working with Russ and his writing. Pleased because it is a true privilege to have been involved in these publications, arising as they did from the culmination of his distinguished and influential career in management thinking.

The simple philosophy behind Differences That Make a Difference is that complicated problems can often be avoided if you take a moment to define your terms at the outset. Ackoff's aim was to dissolve (not solve or resolve) some of the many disputes in professional and private life that he saw as the result of quite basic instances of miscommunication and misunderstanding.

For example, there is more than one type of error: there are Errors of Commission (doing something that should not have been done) and Errors of Omission (not doing something that should have been done). Once you understand this distinction, you will also understand the benefits to be gained from leading people to act responsibly rather than managing them through fear.

Differences That Make a Difference brings together 57 definitions of such important terms and concepts, many of which underpin Russ Ackoff's contribution to improving organizational health.

This book is a perfect introduction to his writing and thinking. It is, as Charles Handy says in his Foreword, "a manual for clear thinking" - and a fitting tribute to the man.

Read more about the book, and/or order a copy here.


Also by Russ Ackoff...
 
Differences That Make a Difference completes our set of four books by Ackoff. Each gets to grips with the serious (and often amusing) business of how organizations work, how they are run and how they could be improved.
 
Russ Ackoff's books make perfect gifts - for managers, leaders, executives, MBA students, hierarchs and heterarchs of all ages.
 
Read more about Management f-Laws, Systems Thinking for Curious Managers, Memories and Differences That Make a Difference (with links to order copies) here.
 
About Triarchy Press
Triarchy Press is an independent publisher of books and pamphlets focusing on organisations, how they work and the way we work in them.

Memories by Russell L. Ackoff

......Coming Soon from Triarchy Press

Russ Ackoff left two unpublished manuscripts when he died in late 2009. Memories is a collection of extraordinary stories, drawn from his life experience. Each is used to illustrate a belief, principle or conclusion central to his theories of Systems Thinking and Design.

Memories is published in paperback and hardback this Fall.
For further information visit:
www.triarchypress.com/ackoff_memories

A Message from the "Systems Thinking World"

Based on the apparent interest in the Systems Perspective, I'd like to invite you to join the Systems Thinking World discussion group at:

Systems Thinking World

Systems Thinking World provides a context in which to discuss anything and everything from a systems perspective. Systems perspectives include the application of hard and dynamic systems methodologies along with the soft systems approaches as well as the emancipatory and postmodern systems methodologies.

The endeavor is to promote further awareness and understanding of the power and value of the systems perspective and the creation of content essential to enable one to develop and evolve the skill and ability to think and act systemically. The belief is that employing a systems perspective will provide individuals, groups and organizations a greater likelihood of creating the future they desire with fewer unintended consequences.

Gene Bellinger

STW Group Host

Also, visit SystemsWiki for additional resources in systems thinking.

Announcement from Russell L. Ackoff Group (Linkedin Groups)

In honor of Dr. Russell L. Ackoff, I would like to invite you to be part of an exciting process to, as designer, create a valuable resource for the Systems and Design Thinking communities. As you know, Dr. Ackoff was a pioneer in the field of management who changed the way individuals and corporations think about business. Our vision, in cooperation with The University of Pennsylvania, is to create an inquiry center in his name within which anyone who is interested in Systems and Design thinking can explore these worlds and gain access to other interested parties. Our hope is that the inquiry center will facilitate meaningful learning through access to both explicit and tacit knowledge in the field.

Over the next several months, we would like to ask you to tap into your creative capabilities to design what this resource ought to be via the virtual Idealized Design process.

If you are interested in contributing ot the design of the Ackoff Virtual Inquiry Center, please RSVP by sending me an email at Dennis Wilson <wdennis@sas.upenn.edu> notifying me of your interest. If you would like more information about the initiative, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope you will participate in the crucial first phase of this project and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Dennis Wilson