I said in the previous post that I would write this one about the Viable Systems Model but I will save that for next time. I just wrote a very quick summary of my book in an email to a friend, and thought I might as well post it here.

What it boils down to is this:

(1) Lean, quality and agile manufacturing were the last big disruptive management innovation.

(2) Engaging people in sharing their tacit knowledge of processes and their machines, problem‐solving and continuous improvement, especially those previously overlooked on shop floors, was core to the success of lean, JIT, quality etc. No engagement, no lean. This was about committing to a different philosophy of work, changing attitudes (esp. middle management) and new ways of doing things.

(3) We are now in a new phase of disruptive management innovation.

(4) I contend that there is a legacy of learning that we can profit from as we move into this new phase, enabled and energised by social networking and collaboration technologies.

(5) Patterns and parallels can be discerned, and there are differences. This is what the book explores.

(6) Continuous improvement in the previous wave of disruptive innovation is now the collaborative intelligence of the second.

(7) In the first wave, management innovations were concerned with accommodating process innovation and control. Only then processes were largely contained, constrained, tangible and visible.

(8) This new wave is also about process innovation and control / coordination. Only now processes are global, distributed, invisible and intangible.

(9) The book explores implications for management education, implications for making the transition to new ways of working and managing, and implications for supporting organisational structures and systems.

(10) The book also tells stories of people and companies I have worked with (and some I have not) who set about making the transition to new ways of working and managing. It also pulls together tools, technologies and approaches to help people get started in making the transition for themselves.

Phew!