Christoph Nedopil, Ulrich Steger and Wolfgang Amann Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2010, paperback, 408pp., £36.99, ISBN: 978-0230252912

This book is not a quick, easy or inspirational read. If you are more comfortable with the Tom Peters, Peter Drucker or Charles Handy style of writing about managing organisations, this probably is not the book for you. However, if you are prepared to invest the time and effort in properly reading, analysing and understanding what the authors have to say, there are some very useful insights to be gained from it.

Managing complexity in organisations is a big issue, and, given that the businesses many senior executives think they are running do not actually exist, this is a timely work providing a wealth of case studies, theoretical insights and a tool kit for better understanding complexity.

If organisations are to succeed in an ever more dynamic world they must try to make sense of increasingly rich data, growing complexity and continuous change within their own businesses, markets and society as a whole. They must have a theoretical and practical framework on which to base their strategies, tactics and plans.

This book will reward the careful reader with valuable insights and useful case studies, which can be used as the basis for improving the reader's own understanding of the issues and improving the way they approach things in the businesses they run.