Dynamic Equilibrium

Most institutions and enterprises seek what Donald Schon (1971) called a “stable state.” Their resistance to change tends to be proportional to the need for it. The more turbulent their environment, the more stable the equilibrium they seek. They fail to realize that the only equilibrium that can be obtained in a turbulent environment — like that obtained by a ship in a rough sea — is dynamic. A turbulent environment requires that institutions be ready, willing, and able to change themselves. Without changing themselves, they cannot adapt effectively to external change.

—Russell L. Ackoff, The Art of Problem Solving