Leadership, Innovation and Organisation Management

Although, as Barry Oshry observes, there is no coherent paradigm associated with contemporary thinking about organisations, there are a great many theories. Triarchy titles in this area pay particular attention to Cultural Theory (the different ways of organising), Triarchy Theory (the different ways of getting things done), and Systems Thinking (ways of seeing how ‘things’ organise themselves and how organisations work). 

Our authors frequently conclude that a) things are not what they seem – for example, in the case of innovation, leadership or development/training, individuals consistently matter less than the larger system; b) conventional solutions do not work; and c) a broader, more contextual, regenerative approach can dissolve problems that resists be solved or resolved. See more about leadership and Triarchy theory here.

Key   Leadership, Innovation and Organisation Management titles ...
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Thinking Systems​
An Organic Language of Harmony for Human Survival

Robin Asby 
A guide and exploration for newcomers and experienced Systems Thinkers alike. 
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In ­Thinking Systems Robin Asby explores Systems ­Thinking from a process perspective and shows how this perspective generates new insights, particularly into the problems that we face in the stewardship of our planet. It explains how a process-based approach allows us to think differently and how it can be widely applied.
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Herding Cats Revisited​
Being more advice for aspiring academic and research leaders

Geoff Garrett and Sir Graeme Davies
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Herding Cats Revisited guides academic/research leaders and aspiring leaders through the process of learning to accept and embrace the qualities of their ‘cats’ so they can tempt them into successfully achieving exciting and demanding goals with agility.

Once again, the authors address common leadership and management themes, like making tough strategic choices, leading change effectively, crisis management, dealing with bureaucracy, managing social media, allocating resources, managing budgets and ensuring effective implementation.
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Being with Others​
Nelisha Wickremasinghe
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How the hidden drives of the Trimotive Brain keep us ‘in threat’, cast a spell on our lives and shape the patterns of our relationships + 4 Perception Practices we can use to change those patterns.
 
Many of our significant relationships are based not on trust and respect but on an unconscious compulsion to deny our problems and fears. We see the consequences at home and at work, where we repeat the same mistakes and act out familiar patterns of behaviour with our partners, friends and colleagues in ways that leave us stressed and unhappy.
 
In Being with Others, psychotherapist and business psychologist Nelisha Wickremasinghe explores how it is impossible to build healthy relationships when our brains and bodies are in threat. Following on from Beyond Threat (below) she unravels why so many of us are often in threat, and how we can overcome these feelings to find freedom and forgiveness in our relationships.
Context Context Context, Barry Oshry
Context, Context, Context: How Our Blindness to Context Cripples Even the Smartest Organizations ~ Barry Oshry

Barry Oshry draws on a lifetime's experience to explain the nature of the problem with our organizational structures... and the ways in which we can dissolve the problem. The result is a guide to Systems Thinking for Organizations that's as short, clever, engaging, bright and helpful as any business book you will ever have picked up. Do read it. Get it into the hands of teams and team leaders, trainers, HR people, senior managers and chief executives. ​
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Systems Thinking for Curious Managers
Russell L. Ackoff (with Herbert J. Addison and Andrew Carey) 

Systems Thinking for Curious Managers features more than 40 new and previously unpublished f-LAWS (in the same vein as those published in his 2007 title, Management f-LAWS). As before, each f-LAW is accompanied by a witty, sometimes acerbic and always insightful commentary. Any one of these could serve as the ideal starting point for a strategy or planning meeting, for a team discussion, for a position or briefing paper.
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Beyond Threat​
Nelisha Wickremasinghe
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How the hidden drives and motivations of the Trimotive Brain determine our behaviour at work -- and what we can do about it.
Beyond Threat is written for people leading and changing organisations. It offers a radical new understanding and awareness of the limitations we bring to work with us every day - and the possibility of transforming our experience and capabilities.

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You might also be interested in our other subject areas ...
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Education Health & Public Sector Management

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People in Society
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The Search for Leadership: An Organisational Perspective
William Tate 

Most organisations – public, private and third sector – know they need to offer better leadership. But, in trying to do so, they too often look in the wrong place. The Search for Leadership is a comprehensive study of the way leadership operates in organisations. The book is split into two parts – the Thinking Challenge addresses the theory of systemic leadership while the Intervention Challenge tackles the practicalities of implementing a systemic approach to leadership and leadership development in any organisation.
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The Organic Systems Framework:   A New Paradigm for Understanding and Intervening in Organizational Life
Barry Oshry
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This compelling short book:
  1.  establishes that despite the frequent references to paradigms and paradigm shifts in the management and organization literature, there are no scientific paradigms in the field (paradigms as defined by Thomas Kuhn).
  2. proposes the Organic Systems Framework as a legitimate candidate for paradigm status -- from which will follow research to extend, test and apply the framework.

All Leadership, Innovation and Organisation Management titles ...

Ackoff's F/laws: The Cake
A Little Book of f-LAWS  
Being with Others
Beyond Threat
Context Context Context
Differences That Make a Difference
​​Ecolonomy
Herding Cats Revisited
Herding Professional Cats
Inside Project Red Stripe 
Leading From Example
Management f-LAWS
Memories ​
Monkeys with Typewriters
No Secrets! Innovation through openness
Organising and Disorganising 
Strategic Foresight
Strategy, Leadership and the Soul 
Systemic Leadership Toolkit 
Systems Thinking for Curious Managers
​The Decision Loom 
The Innovation Acid Test
The Need for Change
The Organic Systems Framework
The Search for Leadership
The Three Ways of Getting Things Done
The Innovation Acid Test
Transformative Innovation