Russell L. Ackoff Born : February 12, 1919 Died : October 29, 2009 Browse All Authors Top 29 quotes by Russell L. Ackoff Successful problem solving requires finding the right solution to the right problem. We fail more often because we solve the wrong problem than because we get the wrong solution to the right problem. Russell L. Ackoff risk successful management To manage a system effectively, you might focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behavior taken separately. Russell L. Ackoff taken leadership integrity The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become. It is much better to do the right thing wronger than the wrong thing righter. If you do the right thing wrong and correct it, you get better. Russell L. Ackoff efficiency wrong-things get-better Managers are not confronted with problems that are independent of each other, but with dynamic situations that consist of complex systems of changing problems that interact with each other. I call such situations messes. Problems are extracted from messes by analysis. Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes. Russell L. Ackoff analysis independent risk It is far better to do the right thing wrong than to do the wrong thing right. Russell L. Ackoff wrong-things risk management In systems thinking, increases in understanding are believed to be obtainable by expanding the systems to be understood, not by reducing them to their elements. Understanding proceeds from the whole to its parts, not from the parts to the whole as knowledge does. Russell L. Ackoff understanding doe thinking We can only learn from mistakes, by identifying them, determining their source, and correcting them... people learn more from their own mistakes than from the successes of others. Russell L. Ackoff success-of-others mistake people Managers who don't know how to measure what they want settle for wanting what they can measure. Russell L. Ackoff settling know-how want A problem never exists in isolation; it is surrounded by other problems in space and time. The more of the context of a problem that a scientist can comprehend, the greater are his chances of finding a truly adequate solution. Russell L. Ackoff adequate risk space Traditional education focuses on teaching, not learning. It incorrectly assumes that for every ounce of teaching there is an ounce of learning by those who are taught. However, most of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without its being taught to us. A child learns such fundamental things as how to walk, talk, eat, dress, and so on without being taught these things. Adults learn most of what they use at work or at leisure while at work or leisure. Most of what is taught in classroom settings is forgotten, and much or what is remembered is irrelevant. Russell L. Ackoff teaching children school No problem stays solved in a dynamic environment. Russell L. Ackoff no-problem environment problem Every problem interacts with other problems and is therefore part of a set of interrelated problems, a system of problems. I choose to call such a system a mess. Russell L. Ackoff mess problem Art inspires, produces an unwillingness to settle for what we have and a desire for something better. It is the product and producer of creative activity, change; it is essential for continuous development. Russell L. Ackoff creative inspire art Creativity is the ability to identify self-imposed constraints, remove them, and explore the consequences of their removal. Russell L. Ackoff chaos creativity self The lower the rank of managers, the more they know about fewer things. The higher the rank of managers, the less they know about many things. Russell L. Ackoff fewer higher knows For me there has never been an amount of money that makes it worth doing something that is not fun. Russell L. Ackoff amount fun The future is better dealt with using assumptions than forecasts. Russell L. Ackoff forecasts assumption Common sense … has the very curious property of being more correct retrospectively than prospectively. It seems to me that one of the principal criteria to be applied to successful science is that its results are almost always obvious retrospectively; unfortunately, they seldom are prospectively. Common sense provides a kind of ultimate validation after science has completed its work; it seldom anticipates what science is going to discover. Russell L. Ackoff common-sense validation successful Nothing is harder to topple than a fact that supports a deeply held prejudice denied by its holder. Russell L. Ackoff support prejudice facts Errors of omission, lost opportunities, are generally more critical than errors of commission. Organizations fail or decline more frequently because of what they did not do than because of what they did. Russell L. Ackoff errors business opportunity
