The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity through Coherence

Citation

(1999), "The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity through Coherence", Work Study, Vol. 48 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.1999.07948eae.002

The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity through Coherence

The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity through Coherence

Michael Lissack and Johan RoosNicholas Brealey PublishingISBN 1857882407$25Keywords: Problem solving, Methodology, Decision making, Thinking styles

In an increasingly fast and complex world, a competitive advantage can be gained by stepping back (or aside) and finding a new vantage point. Lissack and Roos show how to do this and to think about complex issues in a simple and straightforward - common sense - way. This allows the recognition of the coherence beneath the complexity. The book gives some clear pointers which exhibit many of the attributes of common sense - in retrospect (with hindsight) they appear blindingly obvious and simple, but it is the deliberate act of stepping back and viewing a problem or situation with a trained and critical eye that creates this simplicity. There are some guiding principles to establish - and the authors suggest that these should be as simple as possible; life is already complex enough! They then work through some particular approaches ... combine and recombine, recognise multiple roles, create canyons not canals, etc. ... which are often built around the concept of landscape metaphors and show how to translate the overall concept into practical structures and working methods.