Categories

Focusing narrowly on many fine details specific to a problem at hand feels like the exact right thing to do, when it is often exactly wrong.

…successful problem solvers are more able to determine the deep structure of a problem before they proceed to match a strategy to it.

Facing uncertain environments and wicked problems, breadth of experience is invaluable.

Going where no one has is a wicked problem. There is no well-defined formula or perfect system of feedback to follow.

…the basic problem of management and business – how to assemble, organize, and motivate groups of people and resources to produce the goods and services consumers want – is the same as it ever was.

Linear, planning-based approaches that start with a clear definition of the problem don’t work when the problem itself is vague or flexible.

Hierarchy represents an effort to solve the universal twin problems of coordination and cooperation faced by any social group.

…hierarchy is by no means a panacea for every problem that an organization faces. Still, it is there for a reason: it helps get activities coordinated and people cooperating.

…there are no universally ‘best’ solutions to organizational problems, only trade-offs that depend on the contingencies facing the company.