The SQUEEZE: What is leadership in an environment that requires self-organization? Ralph D. Stacey answers this question in Complexity and Creativity in Organizations. Stacey aims to explore the concept that organizations function as adaptive structures that aim to respond to changing circumstances on both surface and personal levels where people primarily interact with each other. Stacey provides insight into the subject by combining revelations he gleans from multiple techniques and disciplines, including psychoanalysis and behavioral research. In the book, Stacey suggests that a new organization can become better at learning and adapting. Stacey’s Complexity and Creativity in Organizations recommends a new approach to systems thinking, appealing directly to executives and managers.

Notable Endorsement: “This stimulating and informative book opens our eyes to connections between complexity science and the world of organizations and innovative change. I found this book's treatment of new ideas to be clear, provocative, and inspiring.” -- Brian Goodwin, Professor, The Open University

Common Q’s Answered by this Book:

• What are the reasons why companies are less likely to adapt to change?
• What are some of the catalysts that will prompt a company to adapt to a changing circumstance?
• What are some techniques central to helping people and companies become more self-organized?

About the Author: Ralph D. Stacey is a professor of management. Stacey is also the director of the Complexity and Management Center at the Business School of the University of Hertfordshire. Stacey is a visiting lecturer at universities in both Sweden and the Netherlands, and a visiting professor at the University of Malta. Stacey is an active consultant to major companies and is also the author of several books on management and organization. Stacey is notable for his writings on the theory of organizations; he believes that they are as complex responsive processes of relating. Recent titles of his work include: Strategic Management and Organizational Dynamics: The Challenge of Complexity (2000); and Managing the Unknowable: The Strategic Boundaries Between Order and Chaos (1992).

Book Vitals:

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (January 1996)