eStrategy - A Poem

Abstract:     
The dotcom strategies, as a class, may be called experimental-radical strategies. Experimental, as opposed to logical: willing to act without the guidance of theory. Radical, in contrast to incremental: breaking with the past. The counterpoint to the dotcom strategies, the traditional strategies, would be the familiar logical-incremental - guided by theory and continuity with the past. Complementing these two are the two other combinations logical-radical, exemplified by business process reengineering (BPR) and out-of-the-box thinking, and experimental-incremental, epitomized by the total quality management (TQM)-based strategies. These four strategies constitute a simple 2x2 typology.

The Internet punctuated the equilibrium in the business environment. It opened new opportunities on a scale unparalleled in recent business history and mobilized resources on a matching scale. The explosion of experimental-radical strategies was a result of this combination of resources and opportunity - angel investors chasing foolish entrepreneurs. Now, there is a new post-punctuation equilibrium; there is a new balance between the four strategies. The Internet has transformed business strategies.

The poem "eStrategy" explains the above typology and transformation of strategy with concepts from cybernetics, semiotics, general systems theory, biology, psychology, thermodynamics, information theory, organization theory, and strategic management. At the core of its thesis are the symbiotic relationships among three pairs of constructs: organization and information, information generation and information dissipation, and strategy and entropy. The semiotic engine drives these three symbioses. Everything, after all, is a construction of our mind.

Keywords: eBusiness, Strategy, punctuated equilibrium

Working Paper Series