ABSTRACT

This fascinating book argues for a new way of looking at the world and at human systems, companies or (Western) society as a whole. Walter R.J. Baets argues that we should let go of our drive to control, manage and organize, in order to be able to create an ideal environment for continuous learning, both for ourselves and for our collaborators.

Arguing in favour of a holistic management approach, and very much in opposition to the short-term shareholder value driven approaches that are popular today, Baets’ book develops a logic founded in real life observations, examples and cases that every reader will recognize in their daily practice. It guides the reader to understand an alternative paradigm and allows them finally to be able to work with the dynamics of business on a daily basis.

A must-read for students of complexity, strategy and organizational behaviour, this well-researched, well-argued book skilfully guides the reader through this interesting subject.

chapter 1|13 pages

We humans

chapter 2|19 pages

Paradigms, truth and postmodernism

chapter 3|25 pages

The underlying theory: a new paradigm

chapter 5|23 pages

Knowledge and learning

chapter 6|18 pages

The learning manager

chapter 7|13 pages

Does our society ever learn?

chapter 8|26 pages

The quantum interpretation

chapter 11|4 pages

Epilogue: some poems of Erna Oldenboom