The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra: Organization Philosophy for Business

Chapter One of Part One of the book begins with these words, “This book is about a new scientific understanding of life at all levels of living systems – organisms, social systems, and ecosystems.”

That’s a tall order, especially where there’s as much developing thought as there is in all of those areas. The promise that is implied here is that if you read this book, you will understand systems thinking in ways that you can apply it in many different contexts. The author makes good on the promise.

To put this book together, Capra spent a lot of time talking with scientists in a variety of fields. Any good journalist could do that. Capra adds the insight that comes from his own scientific training and the additional knowledge he’s gained on other writing projects.

He brings all of that understanding together in this book, using a style that is elegant in the way that a mathematical proof is elegant. The book begins with an explanation the cultural followed by the story of the rise of systems thinking. Capra then moves on to a review of the best of systems thinking today.

Even though the writing style is excellent, this is not always easy going. The ideas stretch and pull at your pre-conceptions. Consequently, this is not a book that you read easily or quickly.

It took me almost two months to work through it. I found that I would read for awhile and become fascinated with the ideas I was picking up and go off and think about them, dipping into other books to check my understanding and to test Copra’s unique synthesis. Then I’d be ready to move a little further and the process would repeat itself.

Since my first full reading of the book, I’ve gone back to individual parts of it over and over again. I’ve also found that Copra’s book is a wonderful handbook to keep by my chair. When I’m reading books that purport to be about systems thinking or the biological model of organizations, I use this book to help my understanding.

As far as I know, this is the only synthesis of the different strands of systems thinking brought into one volume for a non-professional audience. It is excellent.

You should definitely buy this book if you want to understand systems thinking as a way to look at ecosystems, social systems, organizations, tribes, or just about any other kind of organization.

This is a book that repays the attention and effort that it demands. It’s powerful when you read it for the first time, and it offers value when you return to parts of it later. I’d also suggest that you buy the audiotape summary of the book as a way to review key points.