Correspondence : John Hoskyns to Paul Watts

From John Hoskyns to theBIM Hoskyns Group Ltd

Farringdon Road, EC1

Paul Watts, Esq

British Institute of Management

London EC2 17th July 1975

Dear Paul,

    I enclose, with many apologies for the delay, your copy of the Earth Enterprise Report. I had communication with Mss Pick earlier this year and said that I would write to her again. Perhaps you could pass this letter on to her with the report?

I am sorry I am not able to hold it and do something with it because I suspect it is a rather important document. The very fact that so many people she has sent it to do not seem to have responded, could well bear this out: I suppose that, in essence, it is a well-developed paradigm which integrates a great deal of information and as a result offers some insights without which it is very difficult to think sensibly about the Earth  as an energy system. She seems to have predicted the energy crisis successfully.

In total, reading the book perhaps gives one a new language in which to think and cross communicate about the global problems. To use Stafford Beer’s words, it is the metalanguage in which one can handle the “undecidable propositions” which cannot be handled in the day-to-day language of the system.

Sometimes I would like to get Miss Pick to meet Paddy Doyle, who does research work for us in general systems theory. But both her and I are totally locked on other activities which have their own competing deadlines and I am afraid Miss Pick will find this response only too familiar and frustrating. But she deserves something better, I suspect.  

Apologies again for the delay and hope to see you sometime. Yours sincerely,

John A Hoskyns
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From Paul Watts of the BIM

Management House

Miss Joan Pick Parker St. WC2

Peter Ward Associates (Interplan) Ltd 7th August 1975

9-15 London Road, Croydon

Dear Miss Pick,

Attached is a copy of a letter which I have received from John Hoskyns, who some months ago borrowed your Pilot Study of Earth Enterprise. I hope that you will find his letter encouraging and I should like to hold on to my copy of the report, as I get requests from people for it from time to time. But you can always have it back if you really need it.

Yours sincerely,

P A Watts

Head of Special Projects

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From Peter Ward (on compliment slip)

9-15 London Rd. Croydon

11 August 1975

Could not help but see these letters, Joan. Hoskyns could scarcely be more encouraging. I hope your success in steadily securing recognition continues and enter aliases soon in genuine and substantial reward.

Best Wishes

Peter

jmp /15 October 2016