The Path of Least Resistance for Managers: Designing Organizations to Succeed (1999) Fritz, R., San Franscisco: Berrett-Koehler

This despite the title is a book about the difference between structural tension and structural conflict in organisations by an accomplished composer, painter and filmmaker who has a deep understanding of how organisations work. Using the natural tendency for energy to move where it is easiest to go – the Path of Least Resistance – he illustrates how organisations that are in structural conflict continue to struggle because the path of least resistance leads energy into unproductive, repetitive cycles. He says that we need to follow the law of least resistance and create organisational structures that channel energy in the direction we desire. His theory of structural dynamics, based on how structure works in nature, people and relationships is combined with his understanding of creativity and composition to help us do just that. He outlines principles and techniques of organisational design, the phenomenon of oscillation, which occurs in organisations stuck in structural conflict, and how we create structural tension that works for the benefit of the organisational vision. The principles are widely applicable to many conflict scenarios and provide valuable new insights for analysis and productive use of conflict.

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