The Fractal Organization: Creating Sustainable Organizations with the Viable System Model

by Patrick Hoverstadt

The world of management is in crisis - the old remedies no longer work and organizations are failing at an increasing rate. Although many talk of 'joined up thinking', few offer practical guidance on how to achieve this in organizations. The Fractal Organization sets down the practical implications of a well tested systemic approach to building organizations that are capable of surviving and flourishing in these turbulent times. "An excellent read...Many organizations fail at the mercy of their own ignorance. The author has done an excellent job in making 'the science of effective organization' accessible to management, providing them with a new knowledge to deal with the uncertainties that the markets place upon them."Stephen J. Brewis, Business Architect, British Telecom"...one of the most interesting, thorough and rigorous guides to management that I have ever read, ... introduces new insights in every chapter... carries a credibility which acts as a counterbalance to the sometimes difficult message which he conveys which is that a lot of mainstream management practice is at best ineffective and at worst downright destructive. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in management or systems thinking."Penny Marrington, Course Chair, Systems Group, Open University"In my opinion this book manages to present sound academic theory that is relevant and helpful to the practitioner in the business. I experienced several A-HA moments."Pauline Marsh, Strategy Director, CS&S International, BAE SYSTEMS"The insights of the Viable System Model have been open only to a select few for much too long. Hoverstadt has gone furthest in bringing these ideas to a wider audience...Management books have too often been serious but not practical, or practical but not serious. This book is both brilliantly serious and practical, and often entertaining too."Professor Peter Kawalak, Manchester Business School"Integrates mainstream management ideas with the systems ideas underpinning the VSM, and flows and reads well. As a starting point for developing understanding of the VSM in today's world this book improves greatly on all books that have gone before, I would certainly recommend it to colleagues, clients, and students."Dr. Robin Asby, Course Chair, Communication and Systems, Open University

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

The books and papers I write have come directly from practical consulting work and it’s really important to me that whatever I write about is based in reality. So, although it almost always involves taking a radically different perspective to traditional management approaches, it’s never a flight of fancy, it’s always rooted in solving practical problems for real organisations.

I do consultancy mainly in organisation design, strategy, and organisational change using management science and systems approaches. That basis in systems makes it really easy to provide a different take on a wide range of organisational and strategic issues where the traditional paradigm has been reductionist linear thinking. As well as making the task of developing new approaches much easier, basing it in systems thinking provides at least some reassurance that there is a strong theoretical basis for what we’re doing.

In my spare time (when I’m not doing consultancy, developing new approaches, or writing) I do a bit of academic work, for several business schools and I’m a visiting research fellow at Cranfield. I also chair a community of systems practitioners - SCiO.

Aside from work, I enjoy sailing tallships, climbing mountains, cycling, and pubs and along with Karen Blixen and Sir Walter Scott I share an abiding love affair with Scottish Deerhounds

Reviews

[Łukasz Lichota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book about Viable System Model, a model of organisations coming from Cybernetics that can be applied to analyse organisations as fractal structures.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this and it originally didn't make much of an impression. So I sat on it for a couple of years and then re-read it to decide if it was going to stay on my bookshelf, and if I was ever going to refer to it again. I won't. I think if you have not read much about lean management or Cybernetics (particularly Stafford Beer) then this will act as a pretty good introduction to that world. If you have, then it doesn't really add much. Stafford Beer's books tend to be quite expensive so this is a good affordable introduction to his world. But if you already have books by Deming, Ackoff, Beer, Ashby etc. then this probably won't add much. Worth a read, but not sure it is worth a re-read.

[Michael Berra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieses Buch hat das eine oder andere wertvolle Nugget. In Bezug auf VSM finde ich es aber nicht sonderlich hilfreich - zu unklar ist die Struktur und die Verbindungen zu den versch. S (Systemen 1-5) zu wenig klar und explizit. Ein grosser Teil wird auf S4 verwendet, was interessant sein kann, aber nicht gerade zur Übersicht beiträgt. Für Neulinge in VSM finde ich dieses Buch denkbar ungeeignet, denn ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob sie nach der Lektüre das Konzept und die Denkart wirklich verstanden haben. Da finde ich in allen Punkten „Die 3. Dimension des Organisierens“ sehr viel hilfreicher.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book I wish I'd read this sooner. Patrick has a wonderful approach in his writing style to break down scary academic concepts into words and examples for mere mortals.

This book is a bit influence on many others and it it's great to start the journey of understanding cybernetics with lots of odes to Ashby and Beer.

Can't wait to go deeper down the rabbit hole.

[Philippe Bailleur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for OD people

Great book to learn about the Viable System Model by Stafford Beer which is a great model to re-design organisations without getting lost in hypes.

[HFausto GC]

Excellent book, to apply the Viable System Model !!!

[Johan Oskarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good comments and thoughts. Easy to read and understand. Missing good examples and still a lots of just thoughts.