These three skills require the even lower-order, or more specific, skills of visioning, marketing, leading, managing, and work designing. In turn, these skills rest on an understanding of specific theory including those of open system, creating, optimizing, variation, motivation, theory of knowledge, and leadership. And on and on. . . . There is no learning without theory.

Without the specific skills and theoretical underpinnings, no organization can expect to design a whole system to operate at peak performance. It would difficult, if not impossible, to compete effectively against an organization which operates effectively from such a base of skills and theory.

All executives would like to achieve sustained peak performance. We define it as a business or professional organization being:

• Supplier of choice by customers or clients
  
• Employer of choice by employees
  
• Stock of choice by stockholders
  
• Customer of choice by suppliers
  
• Company of choice by the community
  
• Profitable long-term for all stakeholders