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Deconstruction: Hidden in Plain Sight

The term "deconstruction" has its roots in literary criticism in the writings of the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida . In its original usage, it refers to a method of reading texts that undermines structuralist assumptions about language. At a broader level, deconstruction can be interpreted as a strategy for subverting traditional structures - for unbundling and regrouping - that knocks down ingrained assumptions and unlocks insight.

In literary criticism, Derrida undermines and reverses traditional literary hierarchies. This approach has been adopted in the arts, architecture, and political discourse as a creative tool to reverse expectations and empower marginalized viewpoints. In business, a similar approach is being applied to the delayering of the value chain - finding new sources of value in information embedded in physical processes.

This reversal of traditional assumptions and power structures can be deeply unsettling and threatening. The emergence of previously unimagined businesses that is a symptom of this delayering should cause managers to ask how deconstruction will effect them. At the same time, we should heed Derrida's caution that deconstruction is not a static method or tool: it is continually destabilizing and deconstructing itself.