Harvard Business Review

Dear Prof. Hamel,

Thank you for highlighting yet another aspect of management that is crying for attention.

Management innovation does not happen the way one would like it
to probably because of what might be termed "the era of suspicion"
that we live in. In most organizations that we come across, the focus appears to be on individual performance, even one-upmanship often to the detriment of the enterprise. Trust, and a feeling of mutual dependence (the mountain-climbing metaphor) is sadly missing in today's organizations.

As a corollary to the above, the concept of empowerment that is central to developing a virtuous cycle of learning, is conveniently forgotten. Authority is centralized and the lack of relationship between authority and accountability is sometimes baffling.

The time is ripe to go back to our roots - the concept of simple living and high thinking. This is not to suggest that material comfort should be discarded but only to highlight the core value of means being as important as the ends. If only each one of us can be true to ourselves, and work for the greatest good of the largest number (John Dewey), management innovation might yet become a reality.

Warm regards

Hello Gary

I find the concept of management innovation quite suited to the discipline of futures studies. I am not a futurist but have worked with some very good ones. For those who are unsure what futures studies means or what a futurist actually is - it has nothing to do with reading the stars or tea leaves for that matter. Futures studies uses a disciplined inquiry approach to identify futures that are both plausible and desirable - given where we are now and historical patterns.

Some questions for readers to ponder:
* What are the emerging issues of management? Look beyond the here and now (*eg leadership as part of management) to 20 years ahead. What is going on now that is likely to be an issue then. Most people when they do this exercise find that the issues they identify are much closer to reality and needing attention than they had first thought?
* What drivers exist for pushing management innovation whether or not managers want it (eg an emerging generation of soon to be staff who when asked where they will go to university, calmly list several different countries as options).
* What weights from the past hold back management innovation and act to keep things as they are now?

After pondeering these questions seriously, you will find a small number of distinctly different but plausible futures emerge.

The questions then become which of these plausible futures is most desirable and what will you do to bring that about.

Kindest Regards
Shaun Killian