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Monthly Archives: August 2009

Assumed identities

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

As the creature emerged from the chrysalis, the documentary narrator, himself a prominent scientist in the field, announced that the previously observed grub was now revealing its true identity – the adult form of a wasp. But is that true?

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Culturally coherent complementarity

Monday, August 10, 2009

As mentioned in response to an always thought-provoking comment to a recent post by Fred H. Schliegel, much of what has been written here over the past few months has had three purposes. One is to relate the topic at hand to its application at work; another is to consider the manner in which it is understood and manipulated by those of us who think about or attempt to act upon it; and the third is to offer a look at it with respect to its place in current events – especially political and social events particularly, but not exclusively, in the United States. This can be difficult to do, of course, in a basically brief format like this. . .

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The advantages of extinction

Friday, August 7, 2009

In nature, there are a variety of ways that organisms can disappear. There are those associated with predation and competition, of course. But there are two others that are integrally related to the processes of natural selection and evolution. The more interesting of the two from the perspective of organizational design is called . . .

Filed in Capitalism, Change, Design, Individual Leadership | | Comments (2)

Errant evolution

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A key element of the many ideas drawn from science for application in management theories – and, in particular, in more recent notions of individual and organizational leadership – is the concept of evolution. As in so many other such borrowings, of course, the notion is roughly handled, and the results ultimately produce yet more disappointment and disaffection with the very thought of management theorizing. It is a truism, for example . . .

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Genuine geniuses

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

What are those, exactly – geniuses? Are they just super-intelligent people? As we noted yesterday, there is a strong inclination to presume so. Indeed, it is common to rate smartness as ascending by degree from basic common sense, to intelligence, to genius. But we’ve seen before that genius may not be all it’s cracked up to be . . .

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You think you’re so smart

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Of course, we all do think we’re smart, don’t we? Certainly, those who challenge us on the matter think they are. And, as we’ve seen, often the least radiant among us think they shine the brightest of all. But what if we really are smart . . .

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Destructive diversity

Monday, August 3, 2009

Typically, diversity is not destructive at all. Even when it seems most unproductive, it might be working its greatest creative magic. But when it is a conscious construction, it can at the very least be problematic – in its very deliberateness introducing tensions into the dynamics of the workplace that have nothing to do with [...]

Filed in Culture, Group Dynamics | | Comments (9)

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