Nov 29, 2009

I have been blogging sporadically for a while now. There are bursty prolific periods followed by long gaps when a little procrastination eventually leads to writer’s block – kind of like evolution and punctuated equilibrium. Given that I have several interests I had started independent blogs to reflect each of them. As a consequence the number of blogs proliferated. Unfortunately, whenever I had the urge to write I would have to think about which blog I would be most appropriate. Some of the spontaneity was thus lost in the process.

I tried several approaches but no clean architecture emerged, till finally I figured that my interests clustered around three levels of systems – in the manner my friends with interests in architecture would describe – Macro, Meso and Micro. I was either interested in writing something which was very personal – me and the worlds I create, which became the ‘Ahambrahmasmi’ blog. My interest in the world of large complex systems, which crystallized during my studies of the future program became – ‘Sustainably achieving Purpose’. Actually, ‘Sustainably Achieving Purpose’ (S.A.P.) is a leitmotif for all my work, so in reality it applies to everything I do. However, here on this site, the blog deals with the larger ‘macro’ issues.

My professional life has primarily dealt with the Enterprise in one form or another. There has been an evolution even there. The initial years were spent designing and building large complex technical systems. It then moved to the domain of business and subsequently, the application of technology to business. Business eventually became enterprise, and my ideas naturally evolved into the notion of Enterprises as Social Systems.

My interest in all the three levels is increasingly about the Human Element that informs them. All effective designs, those that can indeed ‘sustainably achieve purpose’, are intrinsically social, and often socio-technical. The ‘Human Social Systems’ theme therefore touches all the three facets of my persona. This insight became the basis for my latest blog – ‘Living Enterprise’ – a gap which needed expression.

Previous posts on this blog have touched on the topic of enterprise sociality and social computing. Based on what I have just described, those posts do not belong, but I am going to leave them here. They will perhaps help me trace the evolution of my own thinking, sometime in the future when I look back.

So, here we go. Another step in a progression that is leading somewhere for sure!