The reason to study methodology alongside technology is because there is a symbiotic relation between the two.
The dust bowl and depression happened simultaneously for a reason. They were not just a case of bad luck striking twice, but rather the result of reckless economic policies that drove the over-farming in the mid-west and risky speculation on Wall Street.
There dust bowl, in perticular, was a case of applying new technology in way that resulted in catastrophe. ( background )
On the opposite side Silicon valley wouldn't have happened without the methodological advancement of venture capitalism over previous forms of seed money.
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side notes:
Part of the reason change only happens after it's too late is because it's difficult to make major decisions during times of prosperity - one of the major reasons for stagnation
another might be that there comes a point when an organization just becomes too big for wholesale change.
