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Customer Reviews
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Excellent Approach to Organizational Focus and Change  2008-05-15
This book offers a tremendously intuitive approach to focusing an organization on what needs to be changed. Its step-by-step guidance could be a little more detailed but in general it offers a great "blueprint" for improving an organization.
Well worth the read and trying to implement.
A must read  2007-10-13
I purchased this book beacuse it was a required reading for my Leadership class. I am not one that really likes to reads, but I found it a really inspiring book.
Pragmatic Look at Idealized Design Makes This a Useful Management Resource 2007-02-21
When I took a personality test at work years ago, I was identified categorically as a "designer", someone who envisions the ideal result and gets pleasure in developing the road map to make the ideal into a reality. Idealized design founder and former Wharton professor in systems theory Russell L. Ackoff, along with co-authors Jason Magidson and Herbert J. Addison, have elevated my natural inclination into a management philosophy that drives transformative change while remaining true to a company's defined objective. Their primary thesis is that organizations need to be clear on their optimal business outcome and then work backwards to achieve it. This is a major jump ahead of standard process re-engineering since idealized design does not start with a base of falsity about success. At the same time, the concept represents a new way of thinking that may take a while to be embraced by those who must implement it.
In focusing on the idealized vision, Ackoff and his colleagues concisely spell out how many obstacles, often self-inflicted, are eliminated and go as far as identifying the preventative measures that represent a major sea change to a company. What makes the eminently readable book particularly useful is the wide-ranging variety of case studies presented which show empirical evidence of idealized design in action. Most inspiring is Ackoff's own example of working with Bell Labs in the 1950's with the intent of redesigning the telephone. The company was applying then-common practice in looking at making incremental improvements in the standard telephone features - the dial, coaxial cabling and multiplexing. However, by looking at what the management team wanted to achieve as a whole, Ackoff was able to lead the effort toward more revolutionary items such as touch-tone phones, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calls, voice mail, and what was then the beginning of the mobile phone.
From this seminal case study come several contemporary applications of idealized design including fascinating looks at subjects ranging from the redesign of Paris for the future to a drastic overhaul of the current health care system to General Motor's launch of the OnStar system. The most useful chapters are the three most thorough case studies presented - Energetics as an example of the private sector, the Academy of Vocal Arts for non-profits, and the White House Communications Agency as a specific application within the perceived constraints of the U.S. government. The case for idealized design is executed with a minimum of polemics, and the book offers practical information on how best to implement such change in currently vision-blocked companies.
Useful Approach 2006-11-25
"Idealized Design" by Russel Ackoff (primarily), Jason Magidson, and Herbert Addison emphasizes identifying the best solutions for the common business and non-business obstacles and ailments we face in management, work, life, and society as a collective whole.
In "Idealized Design" there are several case studies examined in the private, non-profit, and governmental public sector. Therefore, this book may be useful for readers in many different organizations.
The authors' concepts were reinforced in several case studies. Some of the case studies such as the the study on the General Motors OnStar system seem realistic, while the United Nations organizational proposal appears a bit lofty. One example, is the two seat mini-urban car suggested. a very small mini-car car with two seats: one in front, and one in back. The likes of a giant go- kart. Is this ideal? Why not just design, construct, and use public transportation systems? Less fuel needed and expended (reduced emissions), less parking space allocated, reduced insurance costs, wasted time, and less stress.
Perhaps the suggestion of the mini-car is due to the fixation on car ownership and use for commuting in the high-density populated cities, burbs, and edge cities of America. This fact alone is a major obstacle in designing and implementing the most efficient "idealized design" to rectify this dilemma. However, an obstacle to a potential solution (of more public transportation)is the fact that getting Americans out of their cars is extremely difficult. Hence, the notion of the narrow mini car with two seats becomes more plausible because it is a car. But is it the answer or partial answer to the fundamental problem related to car-reliance? No. It's a temporary band-aid. Perhaps this is a bit too "idealized" in it's design. Anything can be idealistically designed. But what percentage of these designs are implemented?
Los Angeles and Orange County, and numerous other metro regions continue to attempt to lessen congestion by....building more highways. Yes, the new highways are needed. But they are soon filled up again based on statistical studies. And, the population of almost all metro/suburban regions in the U.S. will rise dramatically in the coming decades.
As for the process of solving problems, there are six steps or phases, applied to these new designs and concepts in this book:
1) Formulate the Problem 2) Ends planning 3) Means Planning 4) Resource Planning 5) Design of Implementation 6) Design of Controls
Insights and potential solutions into the Health-Care system and government are also examined. A real issue that affects almost all of us, or people we know. However, political forces and interest groups can cloud six-step process of providing solutions to problem, in issues such as this.
One point in "Idealized Design" commonly touted today is the necessity to constantly think of ways to adapt technology and innovation to improve our lives. More commonly, the impetus is to improve an organization's profit margin and competitiveness.
One concept advocated is 'flattening hierarchies' in organizations in our ever-changing business world because of technological innovations in communication, and the escalation of global competition.
Designing for an idealistic end-result is quite noble. It needs to be done. Sometimes these results are achieved, oft-times they are not.
Yet the planning and designing needs to be done. We, as a society, or as a small or large private or public organization, must always look for the most optimal ways to solve problems, overcome challenges, achieve goals, and make the conditions we live in the best we can.
A good book.
Interesting Reading besides the Good Ideas 2006-07-15
When I first picked up this book I was expecting to see some kind of treatise on industrial design. Here would be new coffee pots, new cars or computers or something like that. Instead, it's not on that at all, but on the designs of business organizations, of new product development, of new technologies.
All in all, it presents a concept, a way of thinking that numerous companies have successfully used, primarily to get themselves out of trouble. You don't think in terms of change when things are going well. It's a way of looking at the set of interacting threats and opportunities and making some sense out of the mess. It tends to be oriented to what can we do right now, with current technology, that does not require too much predicting of the future.
The book has a broad set of case studies. One of my immediate problems is with the future of a non-profit theatre with which I am associated. There's a case study on a non-profit.
There's a case study on the General Motors OnStar system which is a success within a corporation that continues to lose market share and profits. A company like GM must have successes in it's departments, but what happens if the company itself fails?
Some of their case studies are really optimistic. For instance their re-design of the United Nations sounds pretty good from a standpoint of world security. But it has a few problems, for instance, the United States would not be allowed to join.
Some of their projects are pretty far out, like the small Urban car. This is a small, two seater with the people sitting fore and aft. (How will young men and young women make out?)
All in all, a good concept for working on tomorrow's crisis today, just like the sub-title says. It offers a procedure for analyzing a companys situation that can work when properly applied and is a very interesting read. It's interesting enough that reading it on your next plane trip is a good option.
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