Russell L. Ackoff
The mid-twentieth century saw the emergence of operations research and systems thinking as serious disciplines, drawing together mathematics, philosophy, and organizational practice into a coherent field of inquiry. Russell Lincoln Ackoff, born in Philadelphia on February 12, 1919, became one of the figures who helped define that convergence, working as an organizational theorist, economist, university teacher, and consultant across a career that stretched well into the twenty-first century.
Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and its School of Design, Ackoff worked in English and Spanish and held United States citizenship throughout his life. He rose to the position of Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania — an institution with which his professional identity remained closely connected. His work as an adviser and consultant placed him at the intersection of theory and organizational practice, and he is recognized as a pioneer in operations research, systems thinking, and management science, fields that were still finding their institutional footing when he entered them. That pioneering character set his contributions apart from those who inherited already-established frameworks.
Recognition of Ackoff's standing within the scholarly community came through formal channels as well. He received the designation of Fellow of the American Statistical Association, an honor that acknowledged both the rigor and the reach of his analytical work. He died on October 29, 2009, in Paoli, having spent the better part of nine decades engaged with questions of how organizations think, adapt, and function within larger systems.
Quotes by Russell L. Ackoff
The result is a book that cannot be read easily. It requires study. We hope that some will have the patience and inclination to do so.
All through school, we are shown that making a mistake is a bad thing, something for which we are downgraded. This reveals how little conventional schools are interested in learning, because we never learn by doing something right; we already know how to do it. Doing it right does confirm what we already know, and this has some value, but it contributes nothing to learning. We.
Exams do not assess anything significant to the future of children, because no one knows how to assess or measure the key factors to the future success of any person, child or adult. They are a closed system; tests exist for their own sake. They measure the ability of the entire school community – children, parents, teachers, administrators – to focus all their efforts on producing good results on tests! Nothing more, nothing less. To.
It is the satisfaction we derive from ‘going there’ in contrast to the satisfaction derived from ‘getting there.’ Recreation provides ‘the pause that refreshes.’ It recreates creators.
Unless people can express themselves well in ordinary English, they don’t know what they are talking about.
Errors of omission, lost opportunities, are generally more critical than errors of commission. Organizations fail or decline more frequently because of what they did not do than because of what they did.
So much time is currently spent in worrying about the future that the present is allowed to go to hell.
The lower the rank of managers, the more they know about fewer things. The higher the rank of managers, the less they know about many things.
Art inspires, produces an unwillingness to settle for what we have and a desire for something better. It is the product and producer of creative activity, change; it is essential for continuous development.