Transforming the Organization, Part 1

Abstract

Organizations are living, not engineered, systems, and changing them is best done “biologically,” through understanding the sometimes burdensome appliances their evolution conjures. Institutional evolution is not some logical progressus toward a goal by the shortest route or with the smallest expenditure of energy. It is not a matter of simple observable cause and effect, but a complex web of adaptive behavior influencing behavior. Leaders who aspire to transform organizations are unlikely to succeed unless they understand the dynamics of their environment; conceptualize and put into action strategies that will enable the organization to gain and maintain a competitive advantage; and include their people, all along the way, in the process.