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Business Nugget by Robert Morris The purpose of these brief commentaries is to provide a variety of different perspectives on major forces now active within the global business community. Hence the importance of two books written by Stan Davis: Future Perfect (published by Addison-Wesley) and BLUR (written with Christopher Meyer and published by Warner Books). In the first, Davis poses what he calls a “simple syllogism”: The major premise is that time, space, and mass are the known dimensions of the known universe. The minor premise is a case in point -- that your business is part of the universe. Juxtaposing the two premises, the conclusion is that time, space, and mass are fundamental dimensions of your business. Future Perfect is an exploration of that power which comes from embracing this conclusion.Davis asserts that any business, indeed any organization, must make time, space, and mass intrinsic to what it is, to what it does, and to how it does it. The title of the book refers to how the “beforemath” must be managed: “that is, the consequences of events that have not yet occurred. This is managing in the future perfect tense.” To do so, managers need a new theory to explain and further the transformation now underway. From Davis’ perspective, a basic progression governs the evolution of management in all market economies. Specifically: “Fundamental properties of the universe are transformed into scientific understanding, then developed in new technologies, which are applied to create products and services for business, which then ultimately define our model of organization.” Throughout Future Perfect, Davis contrasts a mechanistic model with a holistic model. For example, whereas the mechanistic model defines the present and “predicts” the future in terms of the past, the holistic model suggests that the present is the past of the future and thus “organization can be used to push the strategy toward its realization rather than be pulled along by [a strategy based on the mechanistic model].” Stated another way, what is needed is a strategy which (holistically) anticipates now the consequences of time, space, and mass relevant to events which have yet to occur. Davis’ own strategy is itself holistic in that he examines the interdependence of time, space, and mass. The implications of the Internet suggest that time, space, and mass as traditionally defined no longer exist. That is, time “is a way to measure, and hence define, existence.” Such definitions are culturally imposed. Organizations that manage themselves in the future perfect tense create products and services in real time, which can be delivered instantly. They thus have a significant competitive advantage over those organizations that are guided by the mechanistic (or industrial) model. With regard to space, Davis contrasts the joint venture model with the strategic alliance model, once again demonstrating convincingly that the holistic model is superior to the mechanistic model. In the chapter entitled “No Matter”, Davis then observes: “Businesses in the new context are different from the older industrial-based ones, to the degree that they allocate increasingly intangible resources to provide incrementally intangible products and services, for ever more intangibly defined markets.” In one of the most informative chapters, “Mass Customizing”, Davis examines five technologies in terms of what they offer as models for the “new economy”: holography, parallel processing, customized chips, biotechnology and genetic engineering, and customized catalysts. An earlier point is worth repeating: “Fundamental properties of the universe are transformed into scientific understanding, then developed in new technologies, which are applied to create products and services for business, which then ultimately define our model of organization.” Davis concludes Future Perfect with the suggestion that this progression is necessary to support a new conception for a new economy, providing “scaffolding” which ultimately becomes unnecessary. “When management treats time, space, and no-matter as resources rather than as roadblocks, our methods of organization will no longer be lagging behind, at the end.” In other words, as products and the service thereof become essentially the same, so must strategy and organization. Laggards will not survive. For those who are determined to manage in the future perfect tense (i.e. managing the consequences of events that have not yet occurred), Future Perfect is an essential source of guidance...and inspiration. Davis’ more recent work is BLUR (written with Christopher Meyer), a very different book indeed. We are told that it is an “invitation”...a “window into a conversation which we hope you will join -- an ongoing, organic exchange of opinions among people with differing views and experience.” The subject to be discussed is the speed of change in the connected economy. Here is how BLUR is organized:
Recall one of the key points made in Future Perfect: Organizations must manage the consequences of events that have not yet occurred. How? Prime Minister Begin was once asked how he and President Sadat were able to reach so many agreements after years of conflict between their respective countries. “We did what all wise men do. We began at the end.” While it may not always be possible to specify future events, unlike objectives such as peace between Israel and Egypt, it is possible to recognize their consequences....then manage them. “Every act of business and the connected organization operates and changes in real time.” Therefore, speed of recognition and response is essential.In Chapter 8, the authors provide “50 Ways to BLUR Your Business” and “10 Ways to BLUR yourself.” (These two lists alone are well worth the cost of the book.) All that precedes this final chapter examines the speed of change in the connected economy. The two lists then answer the question, “Now what?” The authors strongly encourage readers to share their own experiences. “What’s the best example of BLURing you’ve seen?” and “Reflecting on that example, what’s the general lesson to add to “50 Ways to BLUR Your Business...and 10 Ways to BLUR Yourself?” Read BLUR and then respond to one or both questions. Here’s the authors’ e-mail address: blur@ey.com. They hope to hear from you. Find the full list of Robert Morris's Business Nuggets featured by Eastbook.com here.
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