Thirty years ago the English scientist and novelist C.P. Snow talked of the “two cultures” of contemporary society. Management, however, fits neither Snow’s “humanist” nor his “scientist.” It deals with action and application; and its test is its results. This makes it a technology. But management also deals with people, their values, their growth and development—and this makes it a humanity. So does its concern with, and impact on, social structure and the community. Indeed, as has been learnt by everyone who, like this author, has been working with managers of all kinds of institutions for long years, management is deeply involved in spiritual concerns—the nature of man, good and evil.
Management is thus what tradition used to call a liberal art—“liberal because it deals with the fundamentals of knowledge, self-knowledge, wisdom, and leadership; “art” because it is practice and application. Managers draw on all the knowledge and insights of the humanities and the social sciences—on psychology and philosophy, on economics and on history, on the physical sciences and on ethics. But they have to focus this knowledge on effectiveness and results—on healing a sick patient, teaching a student, building a bridge, designing and selling a “user-friendly” software program.
Friction Is Opportunity
Why Technology Matters For Sustainable Development
In his book Zero to One, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel addresses the distinction between globalization and technology. Globalization constitutes “horizontal progress”, he writes, or “taking things that work somewhere and making them work everywhere”; and China is the “paradigmatic…
Silent Leadership
Complex Systems
Beginner’s Mind
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.
– Shunryu Suzuki-roshi
Planning vs Design
Planning applies established procedures to solve a largely understood problem within an accepted framework. Design inquires into the nature of a problem to conceive a framework for solving that problem. In general, planning is problem solving, while design is problem setting. Where planning focuses on generating a plan—a series of executable actions—design focuses on learning about the nature of an unfamiliar problem.
Problem Formulation
Bitcoin and Emerging Markets
In my op-ed for Mint, I write about the potential applications bitcoin could have specifically for emerging markets like India: India’s banking and financial services industry has incumbents that are inert, sloth-like and highly risk-averse. The banking industry in particular…