In Memoriam: Geary Rummler, Systems Thinker

by Ken Orr

Dr. Geary A. Rummler passed away on 29 October 2008. Geary Rummler was the real thing. There were not many people like Geary in business process management. In a world increasingly dominated by radical management ideas and radical technological innovation, Geary was a researcher, writer, and consultant who focused on organizational change, management control, and motivation. Geary was a methodologist whose methodologies were clear and thoughtful and based on systems models that provided depth. Most important, they worked. Geary was a man who provided simple tools that influenced (tens of) thousands by providing those really interested in business process a way to model -- really model -- business processes.