Fitness Landscapes of the earth (II) LO27418

From: Dressler, Winfried (Winfried.Dressler@Voith.com)
Date: 10/16/01


Replying to LO27394 --

>[Host's Note: Here is the URL for At's figure... ..Rick]
> http://www.learning-org.com/graphics/LO27394_crustmind.gif

Dear At and all,

The continental crust, the sea level and the oceanic crust. I have allowed
myself to follow the writings and links, thank you Leo and At for those.
Now I am searching for analogies that may help me to gain some of the
treasures hidden in this thread.

The first analogy which struck me was my personal reaction to the material
presented: Some of it is clear, impressive knowledge that can be learnt
about our earth today - the heights of the mountains, many probably not
yet climbed. Then the costal line, the way how the knowledge was gained
through research and learning, waves clashing against rocks, eroding them.
Thirdly some deep resonance, some of which I can feel but not articulate,
tacit, silence, yet vivid constant becoming - the oceanic crust.

The second analogy is organizational structure: formal organization
corresponds to the continental crust, informal organization to the oceanic
crust. What is interesting here for me is that every member of an
organization reaches into both crusts, thus reflect the whole
organization. It is exciting that not only the biosphere but also a
"living geosphere" provide for rich analogies. Last Saturday I met
Wolfgang Mewes, the creator of EKS (Engpasskonzentrierte Strategie), and
he told me how much economics was part of the humanities 30 years ago and
how heretic it was to suggest analogies from nature for human
organizations. From biosphere to geosphere is a huge step even today,
isn't it?

The third analogy is the most difficult to express for me. Either you can
follow it by your own experience or it will tell you nothing. There are
two composers whose music I love most. They are Ludwig van Beethoven and
Franz Schubert. Although I cannot expect anybody to listen, I am lucky to
have learnt enough so that I can try many of their piano pieces. I have
always felt their music to be complementary. The "Steigerung" of Beethoven
- within his pieces and also within the evolution of his pieces - reminds
me now of the continental crust, while the flow of Schubert, who died so
young reminds me of the oceanic crust. Just compare the most popular
symphonies of both: The ninth of Beethoven ending with the choir "Freude
schoener Goetterfunken" (for an even more dense "Steigerung" I perfer the
choir fantasy for piano, orchestra and choir) and the eighth of Schubert,
the unfinished. The name tells it all. But listen to them!

Finally these three analogies represent once again the three levels (not
planned to do so, just recognized while rereading): The continental crust
of my individuality, the sea level of being formed, washed and eroded by
my membership in various organizations, private and professional and the
oceanic crust of participation in our deep collective evolution.

Of course, the information you can read here through my writings is just a
bit of continental crust... ;-). I am responding to the 27394th wave of
our dialogue. Let us be connected in a deeper sense.

Liebe Gruesse,
Winfried

-- 

"Dressler, Winfried" <Winfried.Dressler@Voith.com>

Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>


"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.