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The Quest for Fitness
A rational exploration into the new science of organization
Mark Michaels
Writers Club, 2001, ISBN 0-595-18133-3
$17.95
Available at www.bn.com, www.amazon.com, and for browsing and purchase as www.iuniverse.com
The Quest for Fitness documents the future of management thought.
>From 1988 to 1994, a group of consultants, scientists, managers, and academics from economics, commerce, engineering, psychology and other disciplines, worked to reconcile developments in science with management theory. Led by the author, the group explored the converging models of complex systems, evolution, genetics, mathematics and chaos, physics, neural networks, computational science and other esoteric subjects to determine their relationship to how organizations work.  
Early findings were eclectic. They were frequently dismissed by contemporary management theorists for their contrarian nature. Notions such as continuous change, unpredictability and its implications for vision-based strategic planning, and self-organization, scoffed at then, are now finding their way into the mainstream of management theory.
Today, we are seeing the ratification of the work of these early pioneers. Yet, there has been little reference to the source of these ideas. Nor has anyone ever presented a concerted new management philosophy that has not been in conflict, in some way, with the converging scientific model.The Quest for Fitness accomplishes both these tasks.
Early reviewers of The Quest for Fitness are excited about the book. Deere & Company’Äôs top strategist, William Fulkerson, writes:
"In The Quest for Fitness, author Mark Michaels interprets current business themes through the lens of complexity theory. Using clear metaphors, references to popular gurus of management and complexity, and commentary on contemporary culture, Michael's explores the inner workings of organizations and why they succeed and fail. He has crafted a good read that is as much a history of late 20th century business as it is a how to book for 21st century business leaders."
Kevin Dooley, President of The Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences, and Professor of Management and Industrial Engineering at Arizona State University adds:
’Ķ The book is insightful and fun to read from front to back, and is full of examples that help the reader understand how to apply these ideas’Ķ I recommend this book highly to any manager wishing innovative solutions to the challenge of managing in today's turbulent world of constant change.
The Quest for Fitness is available at Iuniverse.com, Amazon.com, BarnesNobel.com, Borders.com and through special order at all bookstores.  
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