Russell L. Ackoff, iconoclastic management authority, advocates a “systemic” approach to innovation

Abstract

Think tank dynamo Russell L. Ackoff advocates that managers scrap the way they normally approach problem solving in general and innovation in particular. He champions a process called “synthetic” thinking, a way of thinking about and designing a system that derives the properties and behavior of its parts from the functions required of the whole. His suggestions to managers for promoting creativity, innovation and better strategy are: (1) By understanding what’s happening inside and outside the organization, then by developing a vision of what the organization could be within the emerging culture and environment. Next by preparing a strategy for reaching or moving closer to that vision. (2) Through designs that lead require creativity. Creativity involves a three‐step process. The first step is to identify assumptions that you make which prevent you from seeing the alternatives to the ones that you currently see. These are self‐imposed constraints. The second step is to deny these constraining assumptions. The third is to explore the consequences of the denials. Creativity of individuals can be enhanced by practice, particularly under the guidance of one who is creative. (3) By becoming aware of the nature of the fundamental intellectual transformations now taking place and what their implications are for the future of business and management generally. And by attaching themselves to people who show creative thinking and engage with them in the process of redesigning, from scratch and with no constraints, the systems they manage.

Citation

Allio, R.J. (2003), "Russell L. Ackoff, iconoclastic management authority, advocates a “systemic” approach to innovation", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 19-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570310472728