Management calls for creativity and reasoning, intuition no less than analysis. The manager does not simply struggle with problems but has to wrestle with dilemmas. Dilemmas arise out of the whole; problems come with the luxury of being able to reduce the whole to component parts. With dilemmas, unlike problems, there are no right solutions; one can only choose the most suitable decision. This has always been the case but nowadays managers do not simply have to wrestle with dilemmas that arise within their own companies, but also with those that arise from the interaction of their companies with society as a whole.
Karl Marx said that every system carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. Another way of putting this is to say that when a system comes to maturity, dilemmas rise to the surface. Pollution is fast becoming the number-one threat to the future, outpacing other threats such as overpopulation, depleted resources, and nuclear disaster. Pollution, however, is but one horn of the societal dilemma. The need for full employment is another. The present specters of depression, unemployment, poverty, and disillusionment are the other side of the story. The pendulum will swing again, jobs will once more become plentiful, but how much more litter, discarded chemicals, waste material, and waste gasses can our planet survive?
February 8th, 2020 ~
So, the dilemma is often times businesses wanting to decrease the tension that exist within it. Businesses like family and other entities have tension. It reminds me of contrast-desire is created by the contrast of the universe. We have to get comfortable with tension in business. Businesses try to relieve the tension by coming up with systems, among other things, without taking into account the whole that businesses are a part of. Throughout the book, he talks about different aspects of a business. He breaks down work and different types of work – The work is not about the “right” solution. There are no right solutions. I like this concept very much. We seem to think that there is only one way to do things. It makes for decision making that is harsh. Sometimes there isn’t much we can do but show compassion towards ourselves and others. That things aren’t easy and we shouldn’t pretend that we know what we are doing when it comes to decision making in business. Karl Marx comments: “every system carries within it the seeds of its own destruction” is interesting. It seems like Capitalism and Democracy are showing signs of this.
In terms of creativity, Krishnamurti talks about how creativity doesn’t come from conflict. Looking at these differences between these two great minds is interesting to me.