Systems Thinking for Curious Managers: With 40 New Management F-Laws

This gem of a book introduces the extraordinary world of Systems Thinking and its 'Dean', Russell Ackoff, to curious and enquiring managers, teachers, business people - anyone, anywhere who works in an organisation. Finished just before Professor Ackoff's death late in 2009, "Systems Thinking for Curious Managers" opens the door to a joined up way of thinking about things that has profoundly influenced thinkers and doers in the fields of business, politics, economics, biology, psychology. Although Systems Thinking was 'invented' early in the 20th century, even Peter Senge's best-selling "The Fifth Discipline" (Systems Thinking is the fifth discipline) failed to popularise the term. But now, in business and academia, in the public sector and in the search for solutions to the environmental problems we face, Systems Thinking is being talked about everywhere. In the same way, it's only since his death in 2009 that management thinker, writer and guru Russell Ackoff has achieved the reputation he deserves. This timely book presents 40 more of Russ Ackoff's famously witty and incisive f-Laws (or flaws) of business - following on from his 2007 collection "Management f-Laws". All those in this collection are new and previously unpublished. Andrew Carey's extended introduction ties these f-Laws into the rest of Ackoff's work and gives the reader new to Systems Thinking a practical guide to the implications of Systems Thinking for organisations and managers. The Foreword by Jamshid Gharajedaghi is a moving tribute from Ackoff's friend and business partner of many years.

About the Author :
The late Russell L. Ackoff was the Anheuser-Busch Emeritus Professor of Management Science at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He wrote numerous books on Systems Management, the most recent of which were Beating the System, co-authored with Sheldon Rovin, Re-Designing the Corporation, Ackoff's Best and Idealized Design, co-authored with Jason Magidson and Herbert J. Addison. A founding member of the Institute of Management Sciences, his work in consulting and education involved more than 350 corporations and 75 government agencies in the United States and beyond. Management grandee, he was ranked 26 in a recent list of the world's most influential business thinkers.

Review :
"* "One of the biggest breakthroughs in how we understand and guide change in organizations is systems theory and Systems Thinking." Dr Carter McNamara * "...taking a Systems Thinking approach we have achieved transformational results in a matter of weeks and months, not years." Denise Lyon, East Devon District Council * "Systems Thinking offers a powerful new perspective, a specialized language, and a set of tools you can use to address the most stubborn problems in your everyday life and work." Pegasus Communications * "Systems Thinking is both a mindset and set of tools for identifying and mapping the inter-related nature and complexity of real world situations. It encourages explicit recognition of causes and effects, drivers and impacts, and...helps anticipate the effect a policy intervention is likely to have..." UK Cabinet Office: Prime Minister's Strategy Unit * "...one of the most influential management gurus of the 20th century... His ideas about systemic thinking are vitally important today if the world is to come out of the current economic crisis in better shape than it went into it." The Economist * "The Einstein of Problem-Solving" Steven Brant, Huffington Post * "...a too well-kept secret... a brilliant thinker" Stefan Stern, Financial Times * "In a world of high sounding qualifications, Professor Russell Ackoff was a genuine subversive.... businesses - and many other organisations - still have lots to learn from him." Peter Day, BBC"