My colleague Aaron Louie busted out this unpronounceable mouthful in an instant message the other day (I wonder if he knows how to pronounce it). Here's the definition from Wikipedia:
Autopoiesis literally means "auto (self)-creation" (from the Greek: auto - αυτό for self- and poiesis - ποίησις for creation or production) and expresses a fundamental dialectic between structure and function.
Here's what I love about it: You can think of the "dialectic between structure and function" as a relationship between tool and purpose, what and why, technology and value, system implemented and need answered.
To me, this is a great expression of the basic challenge of consulting. To be effective, we need to maintain a value-adding, strategic point of view, fastidiously avoiding the easy tendency to focus on tools, technologies, and systems. Simply put, if we're focused on tools, we're fooled into thinking we understand the need, because the need is an element of the tool. If we're prejudiced to implement a blog, for example, we naturally see the problem in terms of the solution provided by blogs.
Even further: We need to resist approaching problems from the point of view of solving them. Why? Because the problems we're assigned to solve aren't always the problems that need solving. Instead, try to understand the shape of the need first, arriving at the tactical solutions as reflections of the need.
Holding the right mindset opens up the possibility of real insight. When we see opportunities to create value, the way to execute arrives with the insight, as naturally as leaves arrive to the tree.
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