|
Recent advances in the study of complexity
have given scientists profound new insights into how natural
innovation occurs and how its power can be exploited. Now
two pioneers in the field, Robert Axelrod and Michael D.
Cohen, provide leaders in business and government with a
guide to complexity that will help them make effective decisions
in a world of rapid change.
Building on evolutionary biology, computer
science, and social design, Axelrod and Cohen have constructed
a unique framework for improving the way people work together.
Their approach to management is based on the concept of
the Complex Adaptive System, which can describe everything
from rain forests to the human gene pool, and from automated
software agents to multinational companies. The authors'
framework reveals three qualities that all kinds of managers
must cultivate in their organization:
- Variation. What is the best way
to manage for development of software? Should the problem
be broken up into small pieces for programmers working
independently, thus enhancing variation, or should there
be a centralized hierarchy of programmers ruled by a chain
of command? The authors show how the decentralized creation
of variation combined with the centralized maintenance
of standards was the key to the success of the Linux "open
source software" project, which brought together
thousands of volunteers in cyberspace to produce an operating
system that can outperform Microsoft's.
- Interaction. Why did northern
Italy prosper while southern Italy remained poor? recognizing
the internal interactions of a Complex Adaptive System
-- be it a national region, a company, or a nonprofit
group -- reveals vital networks of trust. Axelrod and
Cohen explain that in successful adaptive systems, rich
networks of horizontal linkages foster cooperation and
provide an advantage over other less cooperatively networked
groups. In the case of Italy, voluntary associations created
networks of trust in the Middle Ages that became northern
Italy's critical advantage over the south.
- Selection. Is a Pulitzer Prize
better than a National Book Award? How can foundations
and corporations design competitions that have a positive
effect on the evolution of excellence? The authors' framework
makes clear that the worst selection processes are mired
in orthodox standards that have not adapted to a new environment.
The best selection processes, on the other hand, are created
and run by leaders who understand how the standards they
use can transform their organization and its environment.
This simple, paradigm-shifting analysis
of how people work together will transform the way we think
about getting things done in a group. Harnessing Complexity
is the essential guide to creating wealth, power, and knowledge
in the 21st century.
Robert Axelrod is Professor of Political
Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
The author of The Evolution of Cooperation, he lives
in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Michael D. Cohen is Professor of Information
and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He is the
coauthor of Leadership and Ambiguity.
He lives in Ann Arbor.
|
