Introduction

In Chapter 2, we defined resources as things that are available but are not being used sometimes we can't "see" them because we have too many biases. In Andersen's fairytale, a little child saw that the emperor had no clothes. The ancient Mayans used wheels for toys and obviously knew how to make wheeled vehicles, but they never built them for any other uses. We recommend you review the examples in Section 1.1 before proceeding with this chapter.

Our use of the word "resource" in this book is nearly the same as in common language. Our list of resources includes materials and energy, human resources, information resources, etc. The word "nearly" indicates an important limitation: we are interested in idle resources available in the system and its environment, not in all resources. We are interested in free or very cheap resources, not in expensive additions.

First, we consider the invisible reserves of systems. All systems have gray zones or proximal zones of development. They are areas where we can find solutions that have potential to be developed, but have not yet been developed. They are zones where business opportunities lie.

Second, we look at the benefits from resource analysis. Understanding resources will help you in many ways. The analysis of resources in a situation can independently stimulate new ideas. Understanding resources can resolve the inherent contradiction that creates a problem in the first place. The analysis of resources will help you to foresee the evolution of the system...