“The only managers that have simple problems have simple minds.”

Ackoff (2007) as cited in: Stefan Stern (2009) "Fond farewell to a brilliant thinker". in: Financial Times, November 9, 2009.
2000s
Context: The only problems that have simple solutions are simple problems. The only managers that have simple problems have simple minds. Problems that arise in organisations are almost always the product of interactions of parts, never the action of a single part. Complex problems do not have simple solutions.

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Russell L. Ackoff photo
Russell L. Ackoff 70
Scientist 1919–2009

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