DESIGN PRINCIPLES

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF EXPLORATION

Life is a process of constant change. The continual increase in complexity gives rise to a constantly shifting environment, to which we must continually learn to adapt. To wait passively for change to impose itself on us, leaves us with an enormous disadvantage. And yet, the actions we take add to the likelihood of sudden change. The best survival strategy is to actively explore the environment and take adaptive action early for a wide range of possible changes. A corporation that is not organised to intentionally explore its present and potential future environments (social, technological, etc.) is not likely to have a long life.

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF HILL CLIMBING (OR FORGONE GAINS)

We constantly seek to be king of the mountain or maximise the returns of our current game. In doing so, we climb toward peak performance. But in this pursuit, we ignore the exploration of other alternatives. For all but a very few, this strategy gives victory at only a low-level game. The inevitable change inherent in landscapes leaves us wide open to the possibility that the hill we are climbing may be losing ground relative to others. Our impulse to maximise the game that we are playing prevents us from exploring possibility. It is essential that we invest some of our profits in exploration even though, for the time being, we could increase our profit by forgoing this exploration.

3. THE PRINCIPLE OF CHUNKING

At any given time, we are only able to handle chunks of a particular size. So we automatically break things into chunks that we consider manageable. To increase creativity or our ability to generate new opportunities, we must develop the ability to make our chunks of experience larger or smaller, at will. This allows us to create new and unique ways of experiencing things and linguistic symbols that go with that and, at the same time, not disrupt our capacity to manage complexity.

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF ORGANISING BY CELLS (TEAMS)

When things are simple, central processing or control are sufficient to manage them. The more complicated, complex, or difficult a situation, the more essential it is that we work in cells or teams. This way of working is also necessary for exploring spaces of possibility. When confronted with complexity, the corporate tendency is to centralise control. It's considerably more effective to arrange the organization in cells that are connected loosely by group, but not individually. The more difficult the challenge being worked with, the more numerous and smaller the teams should be - with limited and carefully designed communication between them.

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF COMMITTING LANGUAGE

We have failed to distinguish speech acts yet, these are the foundation for coordinated action between human beings. The linguistic acts that coordinate action are those that make a commitment and develop a network of commitments. The act of committing is an opening for partnership and coordination -- not blame. A network of such commitments produces extraordinary results.