Rethinking and interacting with structures

Rethinking and interacting with structures

When I first read blue ocean strategy, creative thinking, and facilitating insights, what struck me the most is the importance of paying attention to structures (e.g., industries, business models, creative thinking matrices) and asking meta-cognitive questions (e.g., eliminating or removing things taken for granted; challenging conventions; abstracting what works in one context and experimenting with it in another context).

The basics of strategy seemed to be guided by identifying structures and their forces to react accordingly. On the other hand, a bolder perspective is to mold and shape structures – from “responding to industry forces” to “creating industries or creating industry forces”.

Today’s gospel highlights the need for a more proactive life – fulfilling the commandments means attempting to understand the commandments’ spirit. A flourishing life is not about minimum compliance with the rules and norms that bind us; but rather, it is about fulfilling the principles and spirit that these rules intend us to do.

“I came not to abolish but to fulfill.” Maybe this means that to innovate is not necessarily always about “disruption” and “breaking rules”, but re-centering ourselves and asking:

What holistic value should we focus on creating? And how should we do it?

Matthew 5:17-19. I came not to abolish but to fulfill

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 158: JUNE 7, 2022]