The Art of Company Design

Airplane Design and Company Design have many commonalities. They both have a mission, a context where they are supposed to operate (the air for the airplane and the business for the company) and a strategy, which determines how to accomplish the mission in that context. Design starts from there. In both cases it must lead to a solution that will make the mission accomplishment possible and optimize the resources necessary to do it. In both cases, the crystal ball is not an available tool. Mistakes are, therefore, part of the game. They must be included in the planning and they must be fixed. Fixing solutions, though, is an endless task. The process is called "Learning Experience". A very nice way of putting it! And the "learning" process doesn't stop even when the airplane becomes operational. Designing and redesigning is therefore a common approach to airplane design. Company design is no exception. It is an ever-ending process that requires specific skills and adequate tools to support it. This book doesn't have the ambition of being a reference manual, but only a support to enhance the talents a manager possesses and help him/her exploit them, while performing his/her activities of strategic relevance.