Minding and Mining the Periphery

Abstract

This paper cites examples of where peripheral events have caused ripples that reached right to the centre of an organisation. However, it also says that activities on the periphery can be a source of strategic insights. It suggests some tools for creating a sensing organisation that include establishing listening posts and developing communities of practice. It concludes by saying managers need to create the ‘ambidextrous’ corporation, whereby they use these tools for probing the periphery without making them a distraction from the central business.