Integrative Thinking & Sustainability 2007 Top 100 Employer Summit March 22, 2007 Jim Fisher Vice-Dean, CCMF Chair in Entrepreneurship, Rotman School of Management

 Professor Emeritus at Stanford University  A leading thinker on organizational learning  We live in an ambiguous world:  “Fuzziness”  Causal inconsistencies  We cope with ambiguity through simplification and specialization Explanations: James March

Experiences in Action Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School

And Not Or

What is Integrative Thinking? " The ability to face constructively the tension of opposing models and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, to generate a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new model that contains elements of the individual models but is superior to each." ~ Rotman School of Management (2005)

Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons Hotels The intimacy and comfort of a boutique hotel Competing Models The range of amenities of a large hotel Vs.

The medium-sized luxury hotel with intimacy and amenities funded by a massive price premium The medium-sized luxury hotel with intimacy and amenities funded by a massive price premium Creative Resolution Vs. Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons Hotels Competing Models The intimacy and comfort of a boutique hotel The range of amenities of a large hotel

A Personal Knowledge System Stance Tools Experiences Who am I in the world and what am I trying to accomplish? With what tools and models do I organize my thinking and understand the world? With what experiences can I build my repertoire of sensitivities and skills? Guides Informs Guides Informs

1.What I see is only a model of reality 2. Opposing models give a different view of reality 3. Better models exist that are not yet seen 4. I am capable of using different models to find a better model 5. I look for and wade into the necessary complexity 6. I give myself time to create and develop a new insight before proceeding Conventional versus Integrative Stance 1.I can see and understand the true reality 2. Opposing views are not reality and are therefore wrong 3. No better model exists because I am looking at reality 4. Where opposing views exist, one view must be crushed 5. I must simplify and specialize to avoid unnecessary complexity 6. I must act quickly and decisively Conventional StanceIntegrative Stance

Victoria Hale, One World Health Traditional for- profit pharmaceutical model Not-for-profit pharmaceutical company with a focus on third-world health Not-for-profit pharmaceutical company with a focus on third-world health Creative Resolution Traditional public health model Vs. Competing Models

Victoria Hale on Complexity I wade into and get through the necessary complexity

A Personal Knowledge System Stance Tools Experiences Who am I in the world and what am I trying to accomplish? With what tools and models do I organize my thinking and understand the world? With what experiences can I build my repertoire of sensitivities and skills? Guides Informs Guides Informs