On Sat, 06 Dec. 1997, Simon Buckingham wrote:
>You cannot soundly access the unorganization philosophy on the basis of 4
>posts- they are not even to be found on unorg.com yet- to understand
>unorganization in any depth it is neccessary to read the book material on
>unorg.com- in particular as an intoduction the four fundamental forces in
>the unorganized world in http://www.unorg.com (snip)
Simon, I read the four "books" prior to my first post and was delighted at
the similarity and parallel evolution of our thinking in a number of areas
- even if we do use different terms, images and philosophical approaches.
My comments in the first post are, I hope, reasonably informed re the
unorg philosophy.
>You are not talking about people as I am, but organizations and
>environments- these things are vehicles for people to thrive in- and
>should not remain the central focus of attention. They matter only in so
>far as they help or hinder people from achieving their full economic
>potential. Too often static organizations and economics hinder individuals.
My post was indeed about organizations and adapting to the circumstances
and environments they exist in. Your clarificaton about your interest in
people is useful. Again we are thinking in similar paths but not fully
revealing it in limited posts. People are also part of the equasion of
the "living" concept. Not long ago, I submitted some book queries about
developing "living" lifestyles as well as organizations. The five living
principles apply to our individual workstyles and livestyles as well.
Just for the record, the working title of this book effort is "Get Alive,"
a play on the "get a life!" admonishment.
>Your model seems preoccupied with avoiding the perpetual threat of
>extinction explicit within evolution- you talk of survival. I am not
>interested merely in survival- we can survive in static organizations-
>most of us still do- (snip)
No appologies for a focus on survival - the principle is sustainability -
for the living/learning organization won't help anyone much or for long if
it does not survive or is not sustainable. Remember, sustainability does
not mean static, it means long-lasting and recognizes that it may well
change focus, form and operational style many times in the process of
doing so. Humans may be able to survive in static organizations but not
for long in the world ahead for the static organization will not survive!
Organizations that do survive will have to be alive (unorganized?) and
thus will provide many of the conditions we both see as essential.
>Such environmental factors do not matter- they are irrelevant if they can be
>transcended- which I think they can.
Surely we have a misinterpretation here. Perhaps we are using different
definitions of environment. By environment, I'm including all factors
that effect the organization or individual - competition, economics,
politics, regulations, etc. I don't think they are irrelevant. No
organization or individual will survive that does not have "sensors" to
monitor its environment and flexibility to respond to the messages. Yes,
I use the "survive" term a lot as a minimal condition. Thriving is a moot
issue if the individual or organization ceases to exist! It's almost
ironic that in a letter some months ago to Andy Grove, CEO of Intel, I
noted that while the paranoid may survive, only those organizations that
exhibit the living principles will thrive.
>(snip) certainly too many people in too many places doing too many different
>things have found too much truth in unorg for it to be a fad.
Let's close on another note of solid agreement. It's no fad. By whatever
labels we choose, there's no question dynamic, flexible, less rigid and
less controlling circumstances we both describe are the wave of the future
for both individuals and human organizations. We're both testimony to
that reality.
Let me quit here before business turns into busyness. Again, thanks,
Simon, for the stimulating discussion.
Best wishes,
Cliff Hamilton
Progressive Visions
Hillsboro, OR USA
<cliffrh@aol.com
--CliffRH <CliffRH@aol.com>
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