Holistic Management, A New Framework
for Decision Making, by Alan Savory
A Book Summary
In this summary of Holistic Management
I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points.
Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on
grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family
or business.
The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
No whole, be it a family, a business, a community, or a nation, can
be managed without looking inward to the lesser wholes that combine
to form it, and outward to the greater wholes of which it is a
member. As a society we have had good success managing mechanical
systems that can be viewed in isolation. We have had ever increasing
problems with large environments and systems that are non-mechanical.
Frequently, advice that appears sound from a specialists point of
view (such as an engineer or economist) proves unsound holistically
in a particular situation. A new generation must be trained to think
holistically for themselves and then weigh and select expertise that
really fits the case. Only the whole is the reality.
Viewing Environments in a Whole New Way
The second insight overturns the belief that all environments respond
in the same way to the same influences. They don't. Specifically the
old belief that all land should be rested or left undisturbed in
order to reverse deterioration has proven wrong. Rest only works in
a nonbrittle environment, rest in a brittle environment damages it.
This second insight raises the question of how grazing animals might
provide the disturbance necessary to the health of a brittle
environment, without overgrazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment