"Organizations can rarely be built to last but generally
only grown to achieve," writes Dr. Marc van der Erve in A New Leadership Ethos: The Ability to Predict. A student of science and sociology, Dr. van der Erve roots his writings in the deep, rich soils of
chaos theory, thermodynamics, and Darwinian evolution. The result, a flowering called
"the theory of Emzine", is designed to provide leaders with the ability to repeat
organizational successes and foresee the future. This ability to predict – and
the wisdom to know when to change course or even step aside – is part of the
"moral competence" of leaders.
Beyond Case Studies
Part 1 and Part 2 of this book review examined Marc van der
Erve's analysis of four types of business leaders: transformers, builders,
growers, and confronters. An analysis of Apple Computer, Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC), and General Electric (GE) afforded three valuable case
studies. The third and final part of this book review seeks the heart of A New Leadership Ethos and examines the
boldest of van der Erve's claims – the very point captured in the book's title
– that the distinguishing characteristic of our time is the ability to predict.
The Theory of Emzine
Energy, environment, and evolution underlie the Theory of
Emzine, a portmanteau of the words "existential manifold" and "zine". Such a
naming convention may seem ponderous, but Emzine's tenets are straightforward.
"All observable facts", writes Marc van der Erve, "are forms of organization".
In other words, everything from atoms to Apple Computer is an organization.
Although some organizations (such as markets) require leaders, others (such as
layers of liquid) remain leaderless. Yet both types are "behavioral marvels
that emerge spontaneously to minimize a state of inequality through the natural
selection of the most efficient behavior pattern species – no matter the actors
involved".
Atoms and Apple Computer
Like atoms and Apple Computer, heat flow and human
organization follow a predictable pattern of inequality, the minimization of
inequality, the natural selection of behavioral patterns, and the reproduction
of the most efficient patterns. With markets, inequality is a matter of supply
and demand. With layers of liquids, the variable is temperature. In each case,
the organization's spontaneous attempts to minimize inequality lead to the
natural selection of behavior patterns. In Darwinian fashion, the most
efficient molecular or human behavior patterns reproduce best, leading the
organization to evolve accordingly.
The Ability to Predict
"The ability to predict," continues van der Erve, rests on
the observation that behavior patterns emerge in distinct stages" of
environment, trigger, behavior-pattern species, and environment-sustained
organization. In the case of a business, the environment is "supply-demand
inequality", the trigger is "entrepreneurial leadership", the behavior-pattern
species is "congruently-working people in multiple roles" and the
environment-sustained organization is the business itself. For liquid layers
and heat flow, the stages are an environment of temperature inequality, a
trigger of surface perturbations, a behavior-pattern species of
congruently-moving liquid molecules, and an environment-sustained organization
of the heat flow itself.
For readers without a background (or interest) in science, A New Leadership Ethos: The Ability to
Predict may seem less accessible than a business book such as Built to Last: Successful Habits of
Visionary Leaders by Jim Collins. For the more scientific-minded reader,
however, van der Erve's voice is a welcome sound in a business-book market that
often seems like an echo chamber.
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Re: Book Review: A New Leadership Ethos (Part 3)
