Idealized Design In the face of accelerating turbulence and change, business leaders and policy makers need new ways of thinking to sustain performance and growth. Wharton School Publishing offers a trusted source for stimulating ideas from thought leaders who provide new mental models to address changes in strategy, management, and finance. We seek out authors from diverse disciplines with a profound understanding of change and its implications. We offer books and tools that help executives respond to the challenge of change. Every book and management tool we publish meets quality standards set by The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Each title is reviewed by the Wharton School Publishing Editorial Board before being given Wharton’s seal of approval. This ensures that Wharton publications are timely, relevant, important, conceptually sound or empirically based, and implementable. To fit our readers’ learning preferences, Wharton publications are available in multiple formats, including books, audio, and electronic. To find out more about our books and management tools, visit us at whartonsp.com and Wharton’s executive education site, exceed.wharton.upenn.edu. IDEALIZED DESIGN Creating an Organization’s Future Russell L. Ackoff Jason Magidson Herbert J. Addison Vice President, Editor-in-Chief: Tim Moore Wharton Editor: Yoram (Jerry) Wind Acquisitions Editor: Paula Sinnott Editorial Assistant: Susie Abraham Development Editor: Russ Hall Associate Editor-in-Chief and Director of Marketing: Amy Neidlinger Cover Designer: Alan Clements Managing Editor: Gina Kanouse Senior Project Editor: Kristy Hart Copy Editor: Keith Cline Senior Indexer: Cheryl Lenser Compositor: FastPages Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig © 2006 by Russell L. Ackoff, Jason Magidson, and Herbert J. Addison Publishing as Wharton School Publishing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Wharton School Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales, 1-800-382-3419,
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[email protected] Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America First Printing April, 2006 ISBN 0-13-196363-5 Pearson Education LTD. Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited. Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd. Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd. Pearson Education Canada, Ltd. Pearson Educatión de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Pearson Education—Japan Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ackoff, Russell Lincoln, 1919Idealized design : how to dissolve tomorrow’s crisis...today / Russell L. Ackoff, Jason Magidson, Herbert J. Addison. p. cm. ISBN 0-13-196363-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Creative ability in business—Case studies. 2. Creative thinking—Case studies. 3. Technological innovations—Case studies. 4. Organizational effectiveness—Case studies. 5. Corporate culture—Case studies. I. Magidson, Jason, 1964- II. Addison, Herbert J., 1932- III. Title. HD53.A28 2006 658.4’01—dc22 2005037715 DEDICATION Russell L. Ackoff In memoriam to Aron Katsenelinboigen Jason Magidson To my parents, who have always encouraged and empowered Herbert J. Addison To Gerry, my