Open Conceptual: Built to Learn
Think of an enterprise as an open concept — an idea extended to its most radical, self-referential extreme.
Think beyond open innovation to a more pure brand of open-ended autopoiesis, or self-creation: an enterprise creating itself around the objective of defining its own objectives, asking the question, what’s an enterprise really for?
Think not just “enterprise” in the everyday, business sense; enterprise in the original and more general sense of an undertaking – an adventure, an experiment, something done both as a means to an end and as an end in itself — which could be anything artistic, scientific, commercial, or social: anything that takes a risk for the sake of creating or discovering something better.
This undertaking accomplishes two notable things:
- concepts — insights and answers to questions, knowledge on the the nature of creativity, enterprise and change (read Truth, Will & Relevance).
- concept development — practice answering questions, an ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity to not just survive but thrive when outcomes are uncertain.
Call this a counter-cyclical investment: an ability to make something out of uncertainty isn’t worth much when everyone thinks things are certain, but it comes in handy when things fall apart or when we have to start anew.
In the mean time, the value remains mostly hidden, visible only a few who love learning and turning over new ideas, both as a means to better ends and as an eminently fulfilling end in itself.
Contact or follow Open Conceptual and Brian Frank on Twitter to learn more.
