Really loved seeing this. The fact that Beer published this in 1972 and people are independently rediscovering it while building agentic AI systems is the strongest possible proof that it's durable.
It looks like Jurgen's simplified VSM - of course, with a nicer visual and modern terminology than the original - gives us something many of us have been missing:
A simple way to look at any team or organization and tell whether it can survive and adapt, and where it can't.
The elegant part is that it's recursive. It isn't a level, it's the architecture that repeats at every level. And it really fits to the existing Management 3.0 and unFIX:
* Management 3.0: how people lead and collaborate → Behaviour
* unFIX: how the organization is designed and wired → Structure
* VSM: the functions every company needs to stay alive and adapt →Viability
tldr;
One architecture, one shared language to spot where an organization (human + AI) is strong and where it's fragile. Great!
Really loved seeing this. The fact that Beer published this in 1972 and people are independently rediscovering it while building agentic AI systems is the strongest possible proof that it's durable.
Yes, pretty amazing.
The moment I discovered VSM, it hit me, this is the cybernetic key to unlocking scaling agility in the AI era.
Your artful simplicity is what could finally make it click for the agile community at large.
Can't wait for the sequel Jurgen ♥️
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
It looks like Jurgen's simplified VSM - of course, with a nicer visual and modern terminology than the original - gives us something many of us have been missing:
A simple way to look at any team or organization and tell whether it can survive and adapt, and where it can't.
The elegant part is that it's recursive. It isn't a level, it's the architecture that repeats at every level. And it really fits to the existing Management 3.0 and unFIX:
* Management 3.0: how people lead and collaborate → Behaviour
* unFIX: how the organization is designed and wired → Structure
* VSM: the functions every company needs to stay alive and adapt →Viability
tldr;
One architecture, one shared language to spot where an organization (human + AI) is strong and where it's fragile. Great!
More to come!
Awesome article. And I loved the papa Smurf by the sea 🤪😎
It was hilarious. Couldn't resist. 🙂