Once a company has adapted to a new environment, it is no longer the organization it used to be; it has evolved. That is the essence of learning.
Arie de GeusCompanies die because their managers focus on the economic activity of producing goods and services, and they forget that their organizations' true nature is that of a community of humans.
Arie de GeusI admit that one should never underestimate the capacity of banks to destroy enormous amounts of accumulated capital and reduce, temporarily, the supply. After all, capital is the accumulated savings of mankind. And banks are great masters in destroying enormous amounts of capital with great regularity.
Arie de GeusSince today's companies are totally dependent on a continuing human membership that produces a superior intellectual output in comparison to the competition, then there is inevitably a fight over the right to the bottom line.
Arie de Geus