Most modern management practices are derived from a view of life based on classical science with the individual as an independent actor within the organisation. The result is tools, models and processes that are based on a mechanistic view of life e.g. expecting a simple relationship between cause and effect. Leaders are increasingly finding that these models and tools are limited in their effectiveness, and that new tools or techniques are rarely the panacea they were claimed to be.

The insight from living systems says that this inevitable. In the last hundred years, the physical sciences have come to recognise that uncertainty and complexity are inherent in our universe. Sciences concerned with living systems have shown us that it is important to see such systems holistically and that relationships and adaptation are at the heart of systems that thrive. Organisational Ecology takes these lessons, applies them to organisations and describes the practical outcomes of this new way of thinking.
 

Organisational Ecology comprises a set of principles for organisations based on new science and new thinking, and a set of outcomes that use these principles to provide practical insights into leading organisations.

The IOE uses the model below to show how the Outcomes from this new thinking are derived from a set of Principles which in turn are based on Theories from a number of fields. The IOE’s focus is on deriving, testing and refining the Principles of Organisational Ecology.    Follow the link in the appropriate topic to explore the subject.

The Outcomes are the end results, the benefits, of applying OE principles to an organisation.  

The ways of applying the principles to an organisation; these are what to do to achieve an OE-principled organisation.  

These are the Principles that drive Organisational Ecology. They describe what an OE organisation should look like and how it should behave.  

The Theories that lie behind Organisational Ecology. The theories come from a range of disciplines.