The Complexity Paradigm - by Doug Garnett (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this groundbreaking book, Doug Garnett shows how complexity science reveals a new understanding of how business works that is as useful on the front lines as in the C-suite.

Book Synopsis

Business today remains tethered to a paradigm that is long out of date. This mindset assumes that universal answers exist: businesses can simply apply compartmentalized operations and follow linear paths to success. Experienced managers know business doesn't work this way. Where should they turn?

In this groundbreaking book, Doug Garnett shows how complexity science reveals a new understanding of how business works that is as useful on the front lines as in the C-suite. This discipline--the study of behaviors in highly interconnected, adapting systems dominated by emergence--is revolutionizing fields from biology and economics to psychology and artificial intelligence. Recognizing a business as a complex adaptive system operating within other complex systems changes our perspective on everything from core concepts of demand, profit, and strategy to the nature of business success. Managers who grasp the order hidden within complexity discover not only a powerful new understanding of their role but also potential for dramatic contributions to success.

The Complexity Paradigm features vivid examples ranging from local coffee shops to major corporations like PepsiCo, Boeing, Mattel, Starbucks, and General Motors as well as tech giants such as Apple and AT&T. Grounding eye-opening theory in the realities of business, this foundational look at complexity offers deep insight and value for practitioners and students alike.

Review Quotes

An invaluable book offering cohesive, helpful ways to think about business decision-making. It offers intellectual depth for the curious technical reader while remaining clear and accessible to professionals seeking effective tools and techniques for working with complex and adaptive systems.--Lisl Macdonald, Spring and Atlas

About the Author

Doug Garnett is the founder and president of the consulting firm Protonik LLC, which specializes in market research and consumer behavior, and an adjunct professor in the School of Business at Portland State University. His clients have included Lowe's, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Apple, and DuPont. Garnett's background in creative arts, applied mathematics, and market strategy lie behind his thirty-year career running businesses and introducing new consumer products in retail stores.