Review: Stafford Beer — Brain of the Firm (1981)
Wish there was a model that could predict whether an organization is viable? But wait, there is! And hardly anyone knows about it.
Objective of the article
This is the article I would have liked reading when first researching about the Viable Systems Model (VSM) as part of my Systems Thinking study. It summarizes the key points of the book and provides practical examples to easier understand the model. I hope this helps you get a first overview and understanding how Beer’s idea might apply to you.
How to survive change?
Change is threatening to systems / organizations and often times the system is unable to fully understand the change happening and the new ideas emerging from it. Even if it is understood, the established system is in control of the resources needed to adapt and innovative. As the change threatens its existence, it is questionable whether the establishment would apply the resources to change itself even if not changing means death. For example if a new customer demand comes up, a new team might have to be formed which draws its members from existing teams, thus impacting their processes and the team leader’s status. Beer argues that there are thus two…
