{"id":8690,"date":"2026-06-04T17:17:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/?p=8690"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:17:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:17:57","slug":"karl-weick-ideas-still-resonate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/karl-weick-ideas-still-resonate\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl Weick\u2019s Ideas Still Resonate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\n

Academy of Management Scholar Karl Weick<\/a>\u2014best known for his theories on \u201csensemaking,\u201d including how people and groups find meaning in ambiguous, unexpected, or chaotic situations\u2014died 21 May 2026 at the age of 89.<\/p>\n

He was a professor of organizational behavior and psychology who spent most of his career at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.<\/p>\n

Tributes from across academia have highlighted his legacy and the importance of his ideas and research findings, for social-sciences scholars and business professionals alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl stood out for me because of his gentle wisdom\u2014he could tell stories and draw analogies that made complex topics understandable and their deeper meaning accessible,\u201d said Academy of Management Scholar Andrew Hoffman<\/a> of the University of Michigan. \u201cWhen I first got here, I arranged a conference on the question of why people reject the science of climate change, and he agreed to speak on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was enthralled to hear him explain that people will have trouble understanding a concept if there is no available repertoire to address it,\u201d he said. \u201cHe used domestic violence as an example, pointing out that for a long time, people did not accept that domestic violence is a crime because the norm that \u2018a man\u2019s home is his castle\u2019 prevailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that misogynistic norm was pierced and people came to believe that you could\u2014and should\u2014go into a home if a spouse or child was in danger, people could accept that domestic violence is real, just as climate change is\u2014I still repeat that example to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Treasure trove of ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weick shaped scholars\u2019 understanding of organizational studies, according to Academy of Management Scholar Susan Ashford<\/a> of the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl was the preeminent role model for deep thinking and intellectual creativity,\u201d Ashford said. \u201cHis seminal book, The Social Psychology of Organizing, is a treasure trove of ideas worthy of follow-up\u2014and follow-up so many of us did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScholars have used Karl\u2019s ideas on sensemaking and sense-giving, later ideas on disciplined imagination in theorizing, his ideas on managing the unexpected developed with [Academy of Management Scholar Kathleen] Kathie Sutcliffe, and his famous \u2018Drop Your Tools\u2019 article based on Young Men and Fire by Norman MacLean,\u201d she said. \u201cEarly in my Michigan tenure, Karl hosted a book club, and I will never forget the night we discussed MacLean\u2019s book\u2014you could see the light bulbs going off all around Karl\u2019s head!\u201d<\/p>\n

Only Karl could transform an analysis of a tragic wildfire into a compelling metaphor for organizational change, Ashford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacLean recounts how one firefighter realized that the only path to safety at the top of the ridge was to drop the heavy equipment he carried,\u201d she said. \u201cHe shouted this insight to his crew, but only those who dropped their tools survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl used this metaphor to analyze who so many organizational leaders\u2014and perhaps the rest of us as well\u2014have trouble letting go of outdated practices, technologies that no longer serve the organization, or habits that are no longer productive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensemaking and sensibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weick\u2019s work on sensemaking has been the most influential for understanding the world around us and how it is perceived.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see the world as hostile and you approach the world with that belief, it becomes hostile\u2014replace hostile with political, friendly, etc.,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cAs such, we each live in different worlds that are, at least in part, of our own construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs always, Karl made sense of these ideas with evocative stories,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of his more famous ones is of the three umpires when asked how they call balls and strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n