Andrew's BookStore : Book Review / Discussion
"The Third Wave" and "Powershift"
How Alvin Toffler, the greatest social thinker, gives us many useful concept / thinking model for our direct application in our daily life, personal or organisational? Are you still going through the motion of life in a fragmented and snap-shot manner, reacting and fire-fighting, while obviously there is a pattern of order evolving that you are un-aware of?
Alvin Toffler is no stranger to many. His thought provoking books have provided much insights and inspiration on human life and activities. While many organisation realise their snap-shot motion behaviour; reacting to symptoms and unable to see the total coherent picture of their own action and reaction, Alvin Toffler has taken us to a greater height, to see the pattern of society activities over different era and centuries. He introduced the change pattern as Waves, with characteristics well described for each of the three waves. There are waves, pattern that is evolving, emerging, directly and indirectly affecting aspects of our life, likewise our action and reaction contribute towards the pattern and waves. Have we recognised it? Or are we merely rising with the rising tide and disappearing with the receding?
Is it possible that your understanding of "power" enslaves you, blinds your vision and makes you an unhappy person?
Alvin Toffler's understanding of power as three aspects 1) Wealth 2) Authority 3)Knowledge. This can become a useful model for application within organisations. Too often people associate "power" with "authority" only e.g. CEO with institutionalised authority has "power to change things, to make things happen", ignoring other more enduring power :"Knowledge". This leads to conclusion and slogan in management literature that "CEO must be committed (implying he has the power, which is actually the authority, to implement change). Much opportunities are lost in the pursuit of organisation excellence, generating stress and frustration, when little attention is made on "Knowledge" as an enduring source of Power. "Knowledge" needs not necessary reside in those with institutionalised authority. Illustration of "Knowledge" power on a societal scale that causes power-shift by Alvin Toffler's certainly gives us the right focus in our quest for excellence or quality life the organisation that we live in.
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Andrew Wong
(Business System Observer, Sarawak, Malaysia)
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