Play:
More precisely,
we believe that adults in organizations play purposefully. These purposes may
include: to bond and cooperate socially, to build new cognitive skills, to compete with each
other and/or to express their affective emotions more freely. As adults, they also play with a
strong sense of identity, and frequently they put this identity on the line as something that is
constructed (or deconstructed) through the play activity. We find that adults in organizations
play in a non-trivial manner, exhibiting much zeal and devotion, and that their play activity
contributes directly to their ambitions and objectives.
We at the Imagination
Lab are curious about how adults in organizations play in order to
construct new knowledge, share meaning and transform their values and beliefs as they cope
with emerging business challenges. We maintain that work and play are not fundamentally
opposed, but rather complementary, and furthermore that play and work must co- exist in
order for individuals and organizations to learn and survive through change. When adult play in
organizations is important, purposeful and potentially transformative, we call it "Serious Play",
and we are currently conducting research to investigate how organizations are transformed
when they play seriously.
Complex Adaptive Systems:
The emergence concept
is one of many being studied as part of a broader framework of
research into how complex adaptive systems work.
We are exploring
how the benefits of emergence can be intentionally fostered--not simply
experienced by accident. Our research findings suggest that proximity, coherence, emotion, and
rules of thumb (heuristics) might play important roles (see "Dealing with Surprises:
Collaboration in the LEGO Mindstorms Team").
We are particularly
interested in exploring simple, principle-like heuristics that guide rather than
prescribe action (see "Organizational Heuristics: More than Simple Rules").We are informed
by
theories of complex adaptive systems, organizational science, knowledge, and social
psychology.
Identify/ty
"From Metaphor
to Practice in the Crafting of Strategy."
Furthermore, we
believe that the innovative strategies organizations develop as they imagine
their own identity points to a profound relationship among "Organizational Identity, Imagination,
and Strategy."
1. Imagination Lab
