In an earlier blog post, I spoke of the style of technology leadership coming from Japan. In this post, I would like to explore how the philosophies of Japan including Zen Buddhism and Bushido can be understood as contrasting ways to adopt SOA in your organization. I’m not a religious person, but I have spent a number of hours in zen meditation at silicon valley’s Kannon Do Zen center, and feel that I have some familiarity with the traditions of my family.
The Samurai Approach to SOA
Of the principal Zen Buddhist groups in Japan, my family hails from the Sotoshū (曹洞宗, the Sōtō school). In all things, the Sōtō believe in what is called “gradual enlightenment”, which is in contrast to the Rinzai school which believes in “sudden enlightenment”.
The Rinzai believe that by concentrating on a kōan, a puzzle that escapes rational explanation (famous example, what is the sound of one hand clapping), there can be a transcendental moment from which the mind breaks from logic and achieves enlightenment.
In SOA, that kōan is “what is the business value of SOA?”
If this question were so easy to justify, then all beings would be enlightened, and all enterprises would achieve perfect architecture. The reality is that this kōan is very hard to penetrate. Is it agility? Reusability of components to build Business Processes? Dramatically lowered cost of IT operations? Each of these ideas is a kōan by itself!
Rinzai Zen has long been associated with the Samurai warriors. The philosopy of Ichi Geki Hissatsu (to kill with one stroke of the sword) is compatible with the idea of sudden enlightenment, the single blow of the katana during warfare or a blow from the kyôsaku during sitting meditation is enough to awake the warrior from the bonds of earthly torpitude.
This type of samurai SOA is the kind that predominated 2007-2008 and is seriously being questioned at the moment. Some call this “Big Bang” SOA and it requires a great deal of budget, very large SOA Competency Centers and a command-and control infrastructure only a Shōgun could love.
The Farmer’s Approach to SOA
The Sotoshū are not associated with Samurai at all, although there certainly were famous Samurai amongst the ranks of the Sōtō. They have been traditionally associated with humble farmers.
Farmers are patient. They cultivate. They are aware of the cyclical rising and setting of the sun, of the seasons. It’s appropriate to be mindful of the right season and to cultivate the right actions in the right seasons. Don’t try to plow the earth in the winter! Farmers have a great sensitivity to their environment and understand the interconnection of all beings in nature.
Think Globally, Act Locally
There’s a well-known saying from the environmental movement called “Think Globally, Act Locally”. This means thinking about the impact to the environment, but not trying to change the world all at once, but trying to change what you can–the local environment. Please recycle that soda can in your hand, that sort of thing.
And a terrific mandate from the perspective of Enterprise Architecture. Enterprise Architects by their nature think globally, and in 2008, many architects too their global thinking across the whole Enterprise. This was a natural effort, because achieving awareness of the “global” situation in IT, you become aware of the inefficiencies of siloed organization.
Tribes dont have to be business units. They can be accumulated around a single software vendor’s “platform”. They can be accumulated across geographic boundaries. They can be by employer if you have multiple companies working together such as with System Integrators. Tribes can be across ministries or departments.
One of the first things you notice is the inefficiency of tribalism and the “good for me, bad for you” practice that comes with it. This is one of the key themes in my book, SOA Adoption for Dummies, which will be launched in japanese language in the spring. This is a global idea, perhaps not the size of the whole planet, but at least the size of your whole enterprise.
Overcoming these natural human tendencies to form warring tribes is the zen of creating perfect organization. Organization that is in harmony with technology and in harmony with one another.
Perfect organization *can* be achieved through the stroke of the sword, through military might. However, 2009 is not the season for this. Budgets are cut, organizational will is lowered and people are in a “recession” mindset.
2009 is the season for “gradual awakening”–the realization that all parts of the enterprise contribute to the survival of the whole. A realization about the interconnectedness of things and our part in the whole of society. A realization that “Service” orientation does not just mean component orientation, but in fact the human desire to be of service is an integral part of the cybernetic system of the enterprise–and how tribalism gets in the way. The ability for your Enterprise as a whole to serve the outside world is no longer a matter of increasing margins, it is a matter of absolute survival.
Cultivate mindfulness of your karma
A way to sow mindfulness is to look closely at the costs of behavior. In economics, an Externality is defined as an impact on any party not directly involved in an economic decision. A classic example is how some manufacturing processes can cause pollution that puts a terrible cost onto your neighbors.
Study how tribal behavior in your organization puts pollution into other organizations within your enterprise. You can begin by measuring these costs and showing these measurements to the upper management.
In Buddhism, the concept that we are all interconnected and our actions have repercussions that come back to us is the law of Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म). Thus if we pollute our organizations with political infighting and me-first behaviors, we are sickening our own environment and lessening the ability of our Enterprise to provide service to the outside world. This will surely come back to haunt your peace of mind and possibly result in adverse consequences to your organization. Some organizations respond to this by becoming even more political and these siloed organizations fight each other even more fiercely. This type of vicious cycle can result in the “death spiral” of organization, and the eventual collapse of your company.
In order to manifest the change we need in 2009, we need to create virtuous cycles, not vicious cycles. Taking the spirit of Kaizen (改善, Japanese for “continuous improvement”, a business philosophy), we can first become aware of the externalities, the toxic pollution in our organization caused by tribal behavior. We can raise business awareness of these toxins by measuring them. By showing these measurements to decision makers, we can help restore harmony to our Enterprises. And this will improve the way in which our Enterprises can serve the outside world, thus truly achieving an enlightened form of service orientation.
My 2 cents (or 2 yen),
Miko
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