Category Archives: Russ Ackoff

Questions?

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Skip Walter

Twas the night before Halloween and I couldn’t resist. My lovely bride stocked our house with our annual sugar overdose and I dove in. The Heath Bars and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups somehow leaped into my hand. As the sugar … Continue reading →

Posted in Ask and Tell, Content with Context, Entrepreneuring, Flipped Perspective, Learning, Russ Ackoff, Working in teams | 1 Comment

Advice to a Non-Technical CEO of a Software Startup

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Skip Walter

One of the challenges of an early stage software start-up is whether to have a non-technical CEO who has a good set of relationships with prospective customers, or to have a CEO who really understands the technology and the art … Continue reading →

Posted in Ask and Tell, Attenex, Content with Context, Design, Human Centered Design, Learning, organizing, Russ Ackoff, Software Development, User Experience, Working in teams | 13 Comments

Digital Humanities – Really?

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Skip Walter

Russ Ackoff shared that the best knowledge system he knew was to have an intelligent set of graduate students that knew him.  In 1985 when we were meeting regularly, he described the joy every morning of coming in and having … Continue reading →

Posted in Content with Context, ebook, Human Centered Design, Idealized Design, Intellectual Capital, iPad, Knowledge Management, Learning, Relationship Capital, Russ Ackoff, social networking, Teaching, University, WUKID | 13 Comments

The Economy of the Firm – Russ Ackoff

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Skip Walter

Russ Ackoff had an incredible eye for looking at things we all take for granted and see the systems implications behind them.  As we gear up for another election year, and hear both parties share their vision for what democracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Content with Context, Quotes, Russ Ackoff, User Experience, WUKID | 3 Comments

The One to One Future

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Skip Walter

I hate buying clothes, particularly business suits.  But I have added a lot of weight, so it is time to get a new business suit.  But still I delay.  Then, Greg, a neighbor who is the Men’s Clothes Purchasing Manager … Continue reading →

Posted in Content with Context, Human Centered Design, Idealized Design, Knowledge Management, Learning, Russ Ackoff, User Experience | Leave a comment

Russ Ackoff – The Aesthetics of Work

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Skip Walter

While working with Russ Ackoff, he noticed that the company that we were working with at the time – Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) – seemed to be stuck in OK performance, but not exciting performance.  He pointed me to one … Continue reading →

Posted in Content with Context, Russ Ackoff, User Experience, WUKID | 5 Comments

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Skip Walter

As I was writing a previous blog about Russ Ackoff, I remembered the many wonderful interactions I had with Russ. While we were working on the Idealized Design of the University, Russ and three of his graduate students came up … Continue reading →

Posted in Idealized Design, Russ Ackoff | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Russ Ackoff on An Idealized Design for a University

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Skip Walter

In 1986, while managing Digital Equipment Corporation’s ALL-IN-1 $1B per year office automation development efforts, a colleague sent me a copy of Russ Ackoff’s Creating the Corporate Future (1981).  To paraphrase Russ’s famous introductory lectures on how he came across … Continue reading →

Posted in Idealized Design, Russ Ackoff, University | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Knowledge versus Information

Posted on January 3, 2008 by Skip Walter

As I was wandering into a client today, Greg asked one of those questions that lead to a teachable moment: “So Skip, it’s clear from our working sessions that you think that knowledge and information are two different things. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Knowledge Management, organizing, Russ Ackoff, WUKID | 3 Comments

Synthesis versus Analysis

Posted on December 30, 2007 by Skip Walter

When I do consulting work for a client, sooner or later I’m asked “what is this process you are using?” Often, this is a polite way of saying that they would rather have a nicely laid out, step by step … Continue reading →

Posted in Idealized Design, Knowledge Management, Russ Ackoff, WUKID | Tagged , | 1 Comment