Colette,
I am very much intersted in the question of "could strategy be a piece of the
generative idea as a foundational piece of a process puzzle." Thanks for the
references. While I am completely supportive of the idea of those miraculous
moments of inspiration. The notion of thunderbolts and aHa's (in my humble
opinion) tends to hide tangible activities that are often difficult to pin
down.
Thanks,
Jon
>===== Original Message From The Wallace Research Group
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>Jon,
>
>I hope you and the list will pardon me for replying so late. A project I am
>currently working on has yielded what may possibly be another view of your
>search for generative idea principles. Bear in mind that I approach this
>from an architectural point of view where 'generative ideas' are often
>based upon a strategy or combination of strategies - including the "Problem
>Seeking" approach pioneered and authored by William Pena in 1969.
>
>In "Reflecting on the Strategy Process" by Henry Mintzberg and Joseph Lampel,
>published in MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 1999, Volume 40, Number 3
>I found a fascinating yet brief coverage on ten schools of strategy.
>The ten schools
>(formed in the 1960's) and a few of their sources identified are:
>
>Prescriptive (ought)
>Design - P. Selznick, K. R. Newman;
>Planning - H. I. Ansoff;
>Positioning - Purdue university + M. E. Porter;
>
>Descriptive (is)
>Entrepreneurial- J. A. Schumpeter, A. H. Cole;
>Cognitive - H. A. Simon and J. G. March;
>Learning - C. E. Lindblom, C. K. Prahalad, G. Hamel;
>Power - G.T. Allison, W.G. Astley;
>Cultural - E. Rhenman and R. Normann
>Environmental -M.T. Hannan and J. Freeman;
>Configuration - McGill University group (including Mintzberg) and
>A.D. Chandler.
>
>The authors discuss how recently there have been more variants - where
>several schools of strategy have combined to be more currently applicable.
>For example, the design school and the learning school have combined to form
>more dynamic capabilities and provide a more future-oriented perspective.
>And, they note that the evolution of strategies emerge from
>"collaborative contacts",
>"competition and confrontation", "recasting of the old" and "sheer
creativity".
>
>While I realize you may only be interested in the mysterious process
>that occurs
>between the "a HA!" moment and when the pen begins to sketch on the
>cocktail napkin,
>I am wondering, could strategy be a piece of the generative idea as a
>foundational
>piece of a process puzzle rather than a solitary lightning bolt idea?
>
>Colette
>
>
>On Tue, 4 Feb 2003 11:05:33 -0700, Jon Nelson wrote:
>>At the moment I am very interested in the idea of generative ideas or
>>principles.
><<<<<snipped>>>>>
>>Maybe quantifiable isn't the right word, but when I am designing I need
clear
>>statements that can lead to action at some point and I need to be able to
>>communicate the nature of the generative idea. Each of these, I believe
>>require a degree of quantifiability.
>>
>>Lastly, an operational principle leads normal configurations. The idea of
>>moving a wing through air to create lift is the operational principle.
>>However, it can implemented in a bunch of different ways. These represent
the
>>normal configurations. For instance, the fixed wing and the rotary wing are
to
>>normal configurations that come from the same operational principle but lead
>>to two totally different creations. In the former we get the standard
airplane
>>we are used to and the latter is the helicopter.
>>
>>To me a critical aspect of the definition of "generative" is that is
generates
>>solutions and influences most (if not all levels of design). It seems that
>>Vincenti provides an operational principle for operational principles that I
>>think would benefit the discussion of generative principles.
>>
>>Any feedback on what I have written would be welcomed. Also, does anyone
have
>>any other references that use this construct of operational principle?
>--
>
>
>.............................................................................
...........................................................
>
>Mary Colette Wallace, Associate Member of The AMERICAN INSTITUTE of
ARCHITECTS
>The Wallace Research Group ...................................
>http://www.wallaceresearch.net
>
>Author "Complexity of New Office Designs: Thinking Through Your
>Future Workplace"
>Searcher:The Magazine for Database Professionals, Vol 8, Number 10,
>Nov/Dec 2000
>http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/nov00/wallace.htm
>.............................................................................
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