"The Gamble" Model

I was recently challenged by a friend of mine who used to teach at HBS to read The Gamble by Thomas Ricks and build a multi level organization model. The book is incredibly interesting (my favorite Ricks book so far) and really shines some light on the situation in Iraq. Absolutely fascinated by the maco-level change General David Petraeus was able to impact as a micro-level force; I decided to use the phenomenon of stochastic resonance (most commonly used in examining neurodynamics) to explain how embracing the chaos between stable state organizations uniquely positioned Petraeus to make this change.

Every attempt at describing the model in written form felt too much like a book report, so I decided to use Apples Keynote to build and animate the model. As I built the Keynote model, my written description got better. As my written description got better, it forced me to improve my Keynote model. I found great power in using simple dots to explain a complex model.

Modeling forces you to think about getting from point A to point B, and doesnt allow you to hide behind bullet points or a static two dimensional graphic/chart. I will be updating www.mondaydots.com with information on how I created this presentation with a step by step break down of some of the elements.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• organizational theory
• stochasitc resonance
• mondaydots.com
• The Gamble